happy halloween

As we make our way through October, Halloween is drawing near. Often times, we tend to forget about Halloween costumes and decorations until around October 29th. This year, let’s start a tad earlier so we can all be prepared, and save money. Not only that, we have some ideas for great halloween crafts that you can do with (or without) your kids. Happy Halloweening!

Spruce up your Pumpkin!

There are so many unique ideas if you’re sick of the same old carved Jack-o-lantern. You can go the non-carving route (which is great for the younger ones) and paint your pumpkins. If you’re an adult who knows how to use a drill, you can do some fretwork and create beautiful designs, by simply drilling holes in your pumpkin. If neither of these suits you, you can glue anything you want to your pumpkin (lace, construction paper, googly eyes, etc.) The possibilities are endless!!

2. Fun Treats

Whether you’re throwing a Halloween party or just making snacks for the family, there are so many creative and fun ways to present your food. For instance, do you have a box of clementines handy? You can literally just peel those and stick a small stalk of celery in the top and you’ve got yourself a mini pumpkin! And it’s healthy too! Not only are there super simple treats, but you can put your cooking skills to the test and cook up some ghoulish gourmet!

3. Window Decor

An easy DIY way to decorate for Halloween is through your windows. You don’t have to go out in the cold to put them up and they have a great effect, as they’re a major focal point of your house. A particularly cool idea is to use black bristol board or cardboard painted black, to make shadows that you can put up in your window. All you have to do for them to be seen, is turn on the lights! A great and easy DIY decor idea.

4. DIY Costumes

A huge part of Halloween is getting into those costumes. The hard part is those costumes can run up quite a bill. That’s why DIY costumes are the best way to go, and there are some amazing ideas on the internet on every website you go to. Try looking in your closet for old clothes you haven’t worn and see what you can do with them. You can also go to your local thrift store and check their vintage selection for some fun costume ideas. You never know what you might find. Here are a few photos of some great DIY costumes for young and old.

5. The Magic of Make up

Make up can get the job done on Halloween and you don’t even need to use too much of that face paint. You can dip into your own collection and come up with some great costume ideas. Liquid latex is also a great tool to use when perfecting your halloween make up as it works and molds to create scars, scratches, and basically any wound you can think of.

6. Halloween Cocktails

Halloween is on a Saturday this year, which means there are tons of parties going on and lots of opportunity to make some fun Halloween cocktails! Or even just coming up with creative ways to serve your drinks makes it all the more Halloween-ish. If you haven’t carved all your pumpkins already, you can cut it in half, scoop out the inside and fill it with ice. There you have your own pumpkin cooler! And if you’re looking for ideas of Halloween cocktails, how about a cranberry (or any red juice) based punch with plastic eyeballs or fangs floating inside the punch bowl? A simple and effective Halloween drink!

7. Indoor Decor

There is so much DIY decor you can do with the inside of your home, on a budget. Even if you’re not throwing a Halloween party, it will definitely get you in the spirit of trick or treat! Replace your usual mantle pieces with pumpkins, spooky candles, and other DIY crafts that you can easily make. Something as simple as cutting our paper mice from black paper and sticking them on the stairs for a scary illusion. Or for something more bright when the lights go off, you can make glowing ghost or alien heads out of balloons, construction paper and glow in the dark sticks!

8. Party Supplies

There are some great little props you can get at the dollar store or party supply store, but there’s also great party supplies you can make yourself! You can make a DIY centrepiece for the table at your party, by simply taking your usual centrepiece and covering it in cobwebs, spiders and other inexpensive finds from the dollar store.Another easy DIY trick is to fill wine glasses with your favourite halloween candy (candy corn tends to look the most festive) and stick some orange candles in there too for a great little bit of decor.

9. Outdoor Props and Decor

For all those trick or treaters who are coming to your door this Halloween, wouldn’t it be nice to scare them a little bit? Or just give them a reason to knock on your door. In the spirit of halloween, it’s always nice to go the extra mile and make it fun for the kids. Some great DIY ideas that go beyond the usual jack-o-lanterns are, floating ghosts hanging from your tree (these can be made of wire and cheesecloth) you can also turn your front door into a mummy very easily with white streamers and construction paper eyes!

10. Halloween Baking

We know baking is a famous Christmas tradition. Why not make it into a Halloween tradition as well? Bake up some Halloween themed cupcakes, cakes, brownies and more. It’s easy to DIY your basic cakes into Halloween delicacies with simple decorations and added ingredients. For instance, your usual chocolate brownies or cupcakes can be spiders in seconds, with some m&m eyes and black licorice legs!