Here's a scary statistic: Last year, Americans spent a record $5.07 billion getting ready for Halloween.
Yes,over five billion dollars were spent on candy, costumes, and decorations.
More and more people love celebrating Halloween, which is the second most popular consumer-driven holiday behind Christmas, but still, many of us are also managing budgets.
You might think that people could care less about Halloween when people are being careful with their money, but the numbers say that Halloween is actually more popular than ever before.
People are spending less on holidays like Christmas and spending more on Halloween.
Why? Halloween is something everyone can enjoy without the worry and stress of Christmas, like having to spend all that money on gifts, decorations and having to spend the day with relatives.
Halloween is the escape from all those things and for people who want to be able to get a break from the issues of the everyday world.
Besides, dressing up in fun costumes you get to live in a fantasy world for a short time.
The good news is, you can still enjoy Halloween even if you’re on a really tight budget.
Yes, you can celebrate Halloween without spending a lot of money.
Here are some fun ways to make Halloween special without spending a fortune:
Make fake tombstones out of cardboard. Just cut out the shape, paint it gray, and write RIP or other sayings on them. They can then be placed in a window, or out in the yard.
Ghost Walkway:
You have time, get a collection of milk jugs and you can create a ghost-lit walkway that will look fabulous.
The Scream mask look makes an instantly recognizable, scary ghost face that you can easily replicate on your milk jugs.
Here's How:
You will need several milk jugs and some black construction paper.
Wash and dry each milk jug.
Once dry, use a knife to cut a small hole in the bottom of each jug.
Make ghost faces for each jug by cutting out a pair of eyes, a nose, and a mouth from the black construction paper.
Turn the jug so that the handle faces the back. Glue the faces onto the front of the jug.
Line the jugs along your walkway and turn on the lights. You can also use white Christmas lights to light up the ghosts. Line the ghosts along the pathway, and insert a handful of the string lights inside each jug.
Have a scary movie marathon:
One of the most inexpensive and most fun ways to celebrate Halloween is to get all your friends together for a scary movie marathon. Encourage people to bring one horror movie with them. Watch the movies slumber party style on pillows and blankets spread on the floor with lots of great snacks.
Shop for decorations on November 1. You can save a lot with clearance-priced items -- typically 50% to 75% off -- the day after Halloween and cut your costs for next year's celebration.
Specimen Jars:
With a few leftover glass jars, you can convert a table into a scientist’s lab. By tossing just about anything you can imagine into a glass jar with some food coloring, you can quickly create a cheap Halloween decor piece. Look online for craft ideas for fingers, eyeballs, and other body parts to fill your specimen jars. Make the jars and the rest of your decor seem even creepier by using mood lighting. Turn off overhead lights or switch them out with colored light bulbs, to increase the creepiness factor in your home.
Directions
Collect a few glass jars in different sizes, such as mason jars, spaghetti jars, or old baby food containers.
Find an object to place in each jar. For example, I popped the head off an old doll and stuck it inside a mason jar.
Wash and dry the jar. Place the object inside.
Fill the jar with water and drop in two drops of food coloring. The food coloring will make the object look like a specimen at a lab.
Pro Tip: Around the Halloween season, hobby stores sell small, plastic party favors. These party favors, including miniature skeletons, eyeballs, and severed limbs, all work well in specimen jars.
How about creating ghosts that are chilling and scary?
These homemade Halloween decorations are easy to make.
All you need is tape, a few large white latex balloons, black markers or construction paper, thin white ribbon or string, and a large piece of white tulle for each balloon.
Start by blowing up the white balloons. Either draw faces on with markers, or cut shapes out of black construction paper and tape them to the balloons. Place a sheet of tulle or cheesecloth over the top of the balloon – the larger the fabric, the longer and fuller your ghost will appear.
Gather the fabric at the base of the balloon and tie it with the ribbon, knotting it to keep it secure.
To attach your ghosts to a rail, chair, or other anything else, simply loop a length of ribbon through the back of the "neck" and tie it to another object to hold it up.
How about garlic bulbs and crosses, you never know when vampires will come knocking.
Halloween is our favorite holiday because of the fantasy that surrounds it, as well as the fun events, food and the music.
It doesn't matter if you are a kid or an adult, the idea of dressing up and becoming someone else, if just for one night is just a lot of fun.
Whether it is a party, a haunted house, or sightseeing the spooky houses on the block, it's all fun.
Next week we'll start talking Halloween food, treats and beverages.
Eat, drink and be scary.
