Halloween is just a couple weeks away, and it occurred to me, I haven't decorated even one square inch of my house. Most of the Halloween decorations are in the attic, buried under a roomie's plethora of boxes, impossible to find or get to.
I feel like I'm in Halloween limbo this year; I still don't know what I'm going to dress as for the office Halloween party and I'm not sure if I'm going to hand out candy or join my friends as they take their kids around the neighborhood.
Frankly, besides being utterly terrified of the attic situation, I just don't want to spend the money this year.
As I was thinking about all this, I started wondering... How do seasoned FatWalleters celebrate Halloween?
Do you re-use a lot of decorations from past years? Even that spiderwebbing that snarls up like Christmas lights after you take it down? Or would you rather make your own decorations out of stuff you found around the house? How many of you pick up new Halloween decorations every year?
And what about the festivities? Do you hand out treats to the trick-or-treaters or would you rather do something else? And, I have to ask, because really, this post boils down to this:
What's the most economical, yet most fun thing you've done for Halloween?
devilscandys
Addicted Member
posted: Oct. 13, 2009 @ 8:35a
Never re-use the old spiderwebbing. Bugs lay eggs in it and then you end up with a lot of little bugs in the house come spring. It has been too wet here to put up all my electrical outside stuff, so I am not really in the mood this year yet.
devilscandys said: Never re-use the old spiderwebbing. Bugs lay eggs in it and then you end up with a lot of little bugs in the house come spring. It has been too wet here to put up all my electrical outside stuff, so I am not really in the mood this year yet.
Ew. Good to know, makes me glad I don't save it! Just out of curiosity, would it be worthwhile trying to save it in an airtight plastic container or ziplock?
Hope it dries out a bit for you. It's been on the wet side here, too. The snow Saturday, though... that was a little much for us!
MadAnthony said: I usually go to the gym during trick-or-treating hours - this way I don't have to buy candy, plus the gym is usually empty.
stinks that it's on a Saturday this year - I run the risk of daytime trick or treaters when I'm normally at work. Oooh, sneaky! Now I know to send all the neighborhood kids to the gym *evil laugh*
I re-use my favorite Halloween decorations year-to-year and occasionally add something if there's a good sale. I also made my kids' costumes every year and I made some decorations, which have saved me quite a bit of money and it was fun to do. Homemade costumes always look better than store bought. When my kids were younger, we really did up the house, inside & out. Now that they're teens, I don't spend so much time decorating, but I still hand out the "good" candy - so that's probably the only real expense. I still remember when I was a kid the houses that handed out the "good" candy.
There are so few kids TorT these days it's not wise to buy bags of candies and have them rot.
Leftover candy can be donated to your local children's hospital for chemo patients. Chemotherapy leaves a bad taste in your mouth and candy helps abate that taste.
Scream "the sky is falling!" and boycott flu shots.
c7530303
No mo ho hos
posted: Oct. 13, 2009 @ 4:52p
I have some decorations, but I've been too busy to go look for them. I did buy a black cat mug yesterday, with google eyes on wires. VERY cute! I did buy a halloween sweater once, it's probably somewhere in the closet. We don't do the candy thing, don't want to shop for candy, don't want to look at candy, don't want to touch candy. We'll probably do what we usually do--go to the movies!
c7530303 said: I have some decorations, but I've been too busy to go look for them. I did buy a black cat mug yesterday, with google eyes on wires. VERY cute! I did buy a halloween sweater once, it's probably somewhere in the closet. We don't do the candy thing, don't want to shop for candy, don't want to look at candy, don't want to touch candy. We'll probably do what we usually do--go to the movies!
LoL, I don't do the holiday sweater/clothing thing much either. I think I have one Christmas sweater I received as a gift, but really, why spend money on something you can only wear for a month out of the year?
Movie sounds like a great idea. I recommend Zombieland, especially if you're into zombie flicks and halloween-type movies! (I'm not, but I loved the movie!)
You can get some great decorations on clearance after Halloween at Target. I stock up on whatever I can find after holidays and put it away for the next year. I haven't taken out any decorations this year, but might do that this weekend (at least put some pumpkins and hay on my porch). Parents just left after being here a week, we had a pipe break in the kitchen in the last week, and I'm not sure I'm willing to pull out boxes of decorations at this point, but you never know.
AlanS17
Senior Member
posted: Oct. 15, 2009 @ 10:16a
I'm a first-time home owner as of a few months ago so this is my first Halloween where I can actually decorate.
I'm having a big party at my house the day before so I've been going all out with decorations (inside and out). I'm buying everything new, but WalMart.com had some ridiculous clearance sales so I got a TON of stuff. I come from a place that never made a big deal out of Halloween decorating, but I get the impression that people here do.
Dollar stores have proven to provide a lot of treasures for my decorating and party supplies. Trays, candles, candy dishes, Halloween signs - all for a buck. I've also made the rounds to WalMart, Target, and craft stores to get a lot of stuff. I have yet to buy any decorations at a Halloween store - too expensive. In the end, I will have still spent a good chunk of change, but I will have gotten 3 or 4 times what other people usually would for the same money. Case in point - It will cost about $50 to decorate my yard, but I will have over $200 worth of stuff out there.
My strategy is to look for cheap (first and foremost) items that will fit into my scheme rather than finding things that I like and then worry about paying for them.
ooooo yeah, I got some good stuff at Dollar Tree this year. Some plastic skellies that will work for a few year and some neat re-usable spooky signs too. Thanks AlanS17 for the reminder on that resource. They usually have some great seasonal stuff.
Congratulations on the new home, AlanS17! And huge congrats on finding such great deals! $50 for over $200 in decorations?! Wow.
AlanS17
Senior Member
posted: Oct. 15, 2009 @ 2:24p
fuzzymello said: Congratulations on the new home, AlanS17! And huge congrats on finding such great deals! $50 for over $200 in decorations?! Wow. Thanks! I found a lot of stuff on WalMart.com on clearance with free shipping to the store. The one downside is that it won't arrive until a day or two before Halloween.
It will be nice for next year though. I like to buy decorations on clearance after a holiday and put them away for next year. It's a nice surprise when we get them out later!
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