Money Saving Halloween Tips

By: Lisa Reynolds, Mom Saver in Chief with RedPlum

Costumes: Here are some do-it-yourself costumes that can be created in 30 minutes or less and they’re almost free to make.
*A Bunch of Grapes: With just a bag of purple balloons, a bunch of safety pins and a purple sweatshirt your kid is on their way to grape greatness.
-The time consuming part of this costume will be blowing up all the balloons you will need to cover the front and back of your little guy’s shirt.
-Carefully pin the tied-off portion of each balloon to the sweatshirt. To take it a few steps further, hunt for purple pants or leggings in your kid’s closet and think about dabbing on a little purple face paint.

* Bubblegum on a Shoe in 15 Minutes: This is able to be accomplished in 15 minutes with $0-$20.
-The project starts with finding a headband and a flip-flop you don’t mind sacrificing.
-The shoe gets glued sole-side-down on the headband, which gets painted pink.
-Add an all-pink outfit and an optional store-bought pink wig or a can of temporary pink hair spray and you’re through—one gigantic piece of pink gum stuck to a shoe.

* Dora the Explorer in 5 Minutes: Dora’s one omnipresent explorer, who even kids without regular TV access seem to somehow know and love. And she’s perhaps TV’s easiest star to imitate. This costume will require the purchase of a black wig, but any one will do. When you get it home you’ll quickly cut blunt bangs at the front of the wig and trim the rest into a bob. The rest of the costume consists of red shorts, green socks a pink shirt and a purple backpack. A toy monkey sidekick is optional!

Candy: Make sure to check out your favorite online coupon sites, like redplum.com, to find coupons for your Halloween candy.

Invitations: Put some thought and creativity in your invitation to spark your guests' creative side and build anticipation about your party. Make costumes a must, and promise prizes for the best ones. Take a trip to the local dollar store (a great source of Halloween decorations) and buy some witches' fingers or severed hands. Print up your invitation in a spooky font, punch a hole in the paper and use string to tie it onto the finger, or a finger on the hand.

Lighting: Replace many of your regular bulbs with black ones and line your walkway with miniature jack-o-lanterns.

Decorations:
- Cover helium filled balloons with pieces of white cloth for the illusion of floating ghosts Draw eyes with black marker.
- Create the look and feel of an abandoned old house. Cover the sofas, chairs, dining room table and all other large furniture items with old white sheets. This will give your party space an abandoned look.
- Fog: Place dry ice in a container of warm water. Simply set on floor next to the wall and be sure to keep small children away from ice.
- Ask each of your Halloween party guests to bring a carved pumpkin to the party. Set up a special table with a Halloween tablecloth to display all of the Jack O' Lanterns for all to see. This will also enhance your party décor. Give a prize for the best one.
- Use clear plastic food handlers gloves to make "ice hands." Adding these to your punch bowl will keep it chilled for a long time and look creepy. Use punch instead of water and as the ice melts, it won't water down the punch bowl.

All of these items can be packed away and re-used for next year, or given to a friend for their Halloween party.