The scent of Halloween is in the air! Looking to make this year’s festivities the scary-best ever? Here are some scary good ideas to up your woo-hoo-boo factor.
Exorcise
Decorate your home. Inside and outside, if you can. Whether you have kids or not, there is something great about walking through your home filled with cobwebs you don’t have to worry about hiding from visitors! Dollar stores have made Halloween decorating easy and affordable, so let your creativity jump on a broomstick and fly with your own imaginative ideas to fancy up your digs just for fun.
Recycle
Reuse and recycle old costumes. Do you have old costumes you or your kids will never wear again? Don’t throw them away! Stuff them with old clothes or crumpled newspapers and make them “come alive” on your porch, walkway or entrance to your apartment! You can use old masks for heads, or make the characters into pumpkin heads!
Sit your creepy new friends in lawn chairs or use an old broom as a stand-up backbone. If you want scary good mannequins, buy some plastic skulls and have your stuffed costume people hold their own heads in their laps with a battery-operated candle or flashlight inside to light up their eye sockets!
Pimp Your Pumpkin
Carve pumpkins. Or paint them. Yes, carving is more work, and messy, at that, but can still be fun. The past few years have also seen a shift — pumpkins are now getting a makeover with paint! The only thing limiting you is your own imagination, so get some paint and other cool stuff from the craft or dollar store and create traditional ghosts and goblins, create animated characters like minions or smurfs, or make your pumpkin a work of art with glitter, ribbon or anything else that appeals to your inner artiste! Hint – The internet was made for Halloween and is absolutely loaded with ideas for carving, painting or fancy-decorating your pumpkin if you’re stuck for inspiration.
Want to up the ante with your pumpkin pimpin’?
Why not invite friends and family to participate in an online pumpkin stylin’ contest?
Everyone pays a fee to enter and posts photos on their social media of all the pumpkins entered. Social media peeps vote for their favourite and the best pumpkin wins half the entry fees collected and huge bragging rights, while the other half of the fees can be donated to a charity in your community.
Surprises
Build anticipation. Easy Halloween-inspired treats make a great surprise in your kids’ lunch boxes (or even your partner’s, if they have a good sense of humour!) and get everyone pumped for the big day. Once again, the internet is your friend for more cool ideas.
Family Fun
Make some family fun time frightfully good. Most kids love crafts and that old faithful the dollar store usually has some great kits that only require your kids to sit with glue in hand and your presence watching them put together Halloween-themed items you can use as decorations once the glue dries.
You can also find some spooky crafts that are sure to delight and fright while adding charm and chills to your seasonal decor right here!
Halloween-shaped cookie cutters make an easy and fun family time too if you make or even buy the shortbread dough and simply add orange and black icing! Time together with a yummy outcome? Yes, please!
Movie Night
Plan a scary movie night. Pick movies appropriate for the youngest attendee or save the really scary ones until the young ones are in bed. If you dare, check out this list of horror films scientifically proven to make your heart race.
Snuggle in with pumpkin seeds from your carving and orange cheddar-flavoured popcorn to keep the theme rolling. Scary good times don’t have to be elaborate or expensive, just fun!