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Freaky
Frugal Halloween
By Rachel Webb
Retailers love Halloween. Kids love Halloween, but
what about parents? With early preparation and frugal
shopping, Halloween can be a relaxing holiday and
a wonderful opportunity for families to spend quality
time together. An online poll at Halloween Magazine
shows that Moms are spending anywhere from $50 -
$250 yearly buying costumes and decorating the house.
How can you enjoy a freaky Halloween and still be
frugal?
COSTUMES
Be creative and involve the whole family. Start
by looking at your resources and work with what
you have. Jan in Mapleton, Utah used her resources
by dressing her children in her husband's UPS uniforms
from work. The parents were the packages wearing
big boxes with "handle with care" and "fragile"
stickers. They were the hit of the neighborhood!
Since
I have small children I try to purchase or make
costumes that can be used for other purposes like
Princess themed birthday parties or use storybook
characters for school dress-up days, etc. Remember
to check out online auctions and goodwill stores
for costume ideas too. Clearance Sales are my favorite.
FRUGAL DECORATIONS
Carve amazing Pumpkin jack-o-lantern using the FREE
patterns found at: Jack
O' Lantern Carving 101
Try
dressing up a scarecrow and have it up a few days
prior to Halloween so the whole neighborhood gets
used to seeing him as a fixture - then substitute
a real person dressed as a scarecrow Halloween night!
Another
cheap trick - Dig up small shovels of grass, then
remove and spread a little of the dirt throughout
the yard. Next fill the empty holes with grocery
bags and puts the sod back on top. When Trick or
Treater's walk on it they feel like the ground is
moving!
TRICK-OR-TREAT
BUCKET
Save your 1-Gallon plastic ice-cream buckets, let
the kids decorate them with markers or with adult
help paint on eyes with glow in the dark paint!
The
best way to enjoy a frugal and freaky holiday is
to Plan ahead, be creative and look for unusual
resources as an alternative to spending money!
ABOUT
THE AUTHOR: Rachel Webb is a SAHM of 4 and designs
decorative large Magnetic Fridge Calendars. Her
calendars are made entirely out of heavy duty magnet,
guaranteed not to slide off when the kids slam the
fridge door! PERFECT Christmas Gift Idea! Visit
her site: http://www.Note-Ables.com
or e-mail: Rachel@Note-Ables.com
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