Halloween Night Recap–Wordless Wednesday

We had such a great time Halloween night! The kids made out with tons of loot and then we wore ‘em out at the local Halloween Party! We all danced our socks off! So much fun but I’m glad it’s over! lol

How was your Halloween?

Happy Halloween

Have a happy and safe Halloween everyone!

Check out the two articles below if you need a few Halloween safety reminders or a quick Halloween costume idea.

• How to Avoid Halloween Night Hazards
• 14 Cheap n Easy Last Minute Costume Ideas

How to Avoid Halloween Night Hazards

Image via Wikipedia

Halloween can be lots of fun for kids, little and big but it is also filled with unseen dangers. From exposure to predators to random accidents, Halloween night can be a hazardous night for both kids and adults.

masses of children roaming the streets + restrictive viewing through make up and masks + nighttime conditions = potentially dangerous and hazardous night.

To ensure your kids end up with a bag full of loot and nothing else, here are some safety reminders.

• Use reflective tape on dark colored costumes. Add it to the costume or the trick or treat bag if your kids don’t want to “mess up” their costume.

14 Cheap n Easy Last Minute Costume Ideas

Optimus Prime

Halloween is less than a week away. Weren’t we sitting by the pool sipping a big ole glass of sweet tea last week??? Where did the time go?

We did something this weekend we haven’t done in years: we bought costumes for both the boys. Shocking for this frugal mamma but with trucker hubby on the road, me back in school…I thought this would be the more prudent approach to this year’s Trick or Treating Marathon Event.

Weekend Wrap Up

I hope everyone had a fabulous weekend. We had our share of ups and downs this weekend. For those of you unaware, J-Man has come down with the seasonal flu. We've kept him hydrated and the fever under control so I anticipate a full recovery in a few days. His illness hampered part of our plans on Halloween but we ended up having a great day.

Our day started with a late arrival to the tailgate party. I wanted J-Man to get as much rest as possible since we still had trick or treating to do later. We had so much fun watching the big game with our friends and neighbors. Our school's second division play off game ended in success. Friday, the KCC Bearcats are headed to the Alerus Center in Grand Forks to face Stephen-Argyle. No more watching the football game in the freezing cold! WOO HOO!!! School will dismiss early so everyone who wants can attend the game. With any luck, everyone in my house will be well, otherwise we'll have to follow the game on the radio. ;(

I'm dying to find out where our neighbor, Nancy, got her fun football glasses!

After the game, I put the finishing touches on costumes and everyone got ready for trick or treating. We ditched the Halloween party, again to give J-Man some extra rest time but we still had a blast begging for candy at all the neighbor's houses.

All the costumes except for Wild Man's were homemade. Optimus Prime was simply a bunch of different boxes painted and glued together with openings cut for the head and arms. I made it to work with his snow suit so he would stay warm and toasty during the cold night air. J-Man had a hard time moving in it and quickly lost patience with it. Next year we'll go for a sewn or assembled costume like a Super Secret Spy, Ninja, or even a Professional Chef. Hubby's costume was the easiest. It took less than five minutes. He was a "Nudist on Strike!" Sorry for the bad picture, it was taken with hub's cell phone! The neighbors L.O.V.E.D. his costume so much the kids scored extra candy because of it! My husband-What a nut!

What was your weekend like???

Happy Halloween

I know I've been MIA for the last several days but don't worry, I haven't gone anywhere. My hands are full working on J-Man's Optimus Prime costume for Halloween, reading a couple of books I've been dying to get into as well as fighting a terrible migraine the last two days. Thankfully the latter is gone and tomorrow the finishing touches will be put on Optimus Prime for his big debut tomorrow night. I'll be sure to share photos of our exciting day and J-Man's labor-some costume!

Today we had to travel over 80 miles back to Fargo for yet another doctor's appointment over hubby's back. A few weeks ago his back started hurting again after some seemingly simple act of sneezing while bending over to tie his shoes. We thought he pulled a muscle. After visiting with the doc today, it appears he may have re-herniated his disc but we won't know for sure till another MRI is done. So much for getting back to normal! At least we have a plan so forward motion is better than no motion at all! ;)

We've got a full Halloween Day planned. Our high school football playoff game starts tomorrow at 2pm with a tailgate party kicking off at noon. (YES, they won last week's big game 42 to ZIP!) Soon after the game, the city's annual Halloween party begins at 5:30 with trick-or-treating getting under way as soon as dark hits. Whew that's a lot going on!

As I mentioned J-Man will be Optimus Prime while Wild Man will transform into a fearless tiger. Unless we put something together pretty quickly, hubby and I will just schlep the kids from place to place as an excited but tired 'mom and dad'!

What's everyone else dressing up as for the big day??? Are YOU dressing up with your kids?

If you haven't put together any costumes yet, don't worry-I've got you covered. Check out this great link for quickie costumes! My favorite is the "Pot Head" costume: kitchen pot on top of your head! ;)) Have Fun and be safe!

Spooky Treats on the Ghost Train

This is awesome! There's over 100 designers who are contributing to the Ghost Train. Images, tags, brag books, and so much more will be up for grabs. I can't wait to snatch up some great free Halloween goodies. Who says trick-or-treating is just for kids???

Amazon's Got Halloween Covered!

It seems Amazon's got all our Halloween needs covered! I received an email from them today dedicated to all things spooky and gruesome! I don't shop Amazon much-I'm an impatient buyer. I want the instant gratification of handling what I've just purchased and the shipping time KILLS ME! I'm always more than amazed at all the different things they have from the mundane to the extraordinary! Take a look.

Costumes



Candy



Baking Supplies



Toys



Movies



Music

Books

Everything Else

Spookin Day 2008

Last night was a big success. Both kids got to dress up like they wanted and ended up with tons of loot! Daniel was a tiger but had a hard time keeping his hood up. Seems he preferred it off...oh well. He looked grrrrreat anyway! Joey made a last minute costume change. We planned on being Shaggy and Scooby but, the day before, he wanted to be Luke Skywalker-Jedi Knight. With some help from "The Force", I was able to pull the costume together in no time flat. I simply cut on of my husband's white pocketless teeshirt down the middle and wrapped it around him like a karate jacket, secured it with a knitted black belt from my sweater, tucked a pair of tan pant into his black rubber boots and grabbed the light saber (which we already had in the toy chest). I was informed ten minutes before we headed out the door a proper Jedi wears a cloak. Determined to defeat the "Dark Side", the final touch was converting a fitted queen bed sheet into the cloak. I snipped off the elastic banding and used the corner for the hood, a safety pin to secure it around his neck and cut the excess off the bottom. Had I not been so rushed to get it done, I would have snipped little holes around the neck, and threaded a strip of the sheet through in order to tie it but there's always next year!

First we hit the Halloween Dance Party at the City Hall building. The Lions Club was so generous to sponsor the event! There was hot dogs, soda pop, and popcorn all for a small love offering. They also had door prizes where you didn't even have to be present to win. I'm sure we'll hear something the next day or so if we've won anything. Our local professional photographer & his wife, Loren & Jana Youngren, was there taking spooky pictures for just $3 a set. I'll be sure to update this post when they come in next week. After we ate and had our picture's taken, we headed upstairs to the dance floor! They played the monster mash and other fun songs for all the kids to dance. Well, it was more like playing chase under the strobe lights but they all had a blast. I just regret not getting any photos at the dance. urg!

After our fill of hot dogs, soda, and dancing, it's off trick or treating! We hit a ton of houses throughout the community. We got all sorts of treats: chocolates, gummies, eyeball gum, twizzlers, yogos, even a can of soda. Most folks were VERY generous with their loot and loved the kid's choice of costumes. Most of the homes had at least a pumpkin or two sitting out but, there were a few that were spookin spectacular. Dry ice, motion sensitive witches laughter, floating eyeballs and severed fingers, talking mummies, petrified cats, mummified dogs-It was so cool to see how everyone decorated for the holidays.

We had such a good time, I can't wait till next year!!!!!

Frugal Halloween Ideas

With Halloween around the corner, I've been thinking about inexpensive costumes that don't look "cheap". A few ideas:

• Cardboard boxes & suspenders or rope can be used to make robots, cars, trucks, tractors, etc. I've even seen a porta-potty costume! (How funny would that be at a costume party!) Dress the little one up in the proper outfit to complete the look.
  
• Posterboard, foam board & fishing line can be used to make an easy last minute sandwich costume (lettuce, tomatoe, cheese, & bread), oversized fruit or veggies, slice of pizza, even Spongebob. Just cut out whatever shape you need, some markers, and hang it from your neck...whala, done. You can get really detailed with it using different color poster boards and embellishments along with some glue to jazz it up.
• Old sheets or gauze can be used to create a mummy. Cut it into strips, wrap the little one up and add a little white, grey, and black make up to finish the costume. You can add some little plastic bugs to the strips to jazz it up a bit.
• Goodwill or thrift store are excellent resourses for a number of possible costumes. Any clothing and props can usually be found to make an inexensive costume. Funky mismatched clothes & the proper makeup could turn anyone into a hobo or clown, a suit can turn you into a preacher or news reporter (like Lois Lane or Clark Kent), ball player & chearleader uniforms or scrubs to be a doctor or nurse. With some clever finds at the local thrift store, you can also put together a unique pirate, waitress, chef, soldier or an Indianna Jones type costumes with a few extra props. The possiblities are endless.

Little Birdie Secret has some great party, food, & costume ideas for the season. I really liked the rubix cube costume!

Last year my oldest son, Joey, decided to be a soldier. We had all the props and wardrobe in the house. He had camo pants, a camo thermal shirt, and military style hat. Of course we have several toy guns to pick from and a little of my dark eye makeup finished his costume. It turned out so well, he took 2nd place in the city's costume contest. The homemade robot won 1st place!!! This year my son has finally settled on what to be for the big spookin day: Shaggy and Scooby. This is going to be relatively simple to pull off. We're heading to the local thrift store this weekend to put it together. A simple green V neck shirt, some tan or khaki pants (which we already have) and fake whiskers should do just nicely for Shaggy. I've been thinking about using fake eyelashes trimmed to about 1/4 inch for the gotee but if nothing else, I can always "draw" him one. He has a large inflatable Scooby so all I plan to do is make a leash from a wire hanger so Scooby's not dragging the ground while we're trick or treating!

My youngest, Daniel, was a homemade kitty last year but he was really too little to trick or treak since he was barely a year old. He actually slept through most of it but, this year I'm making use of a high dollar costume bought several years back when my oldest was about his age. After this year, all three of my children will have worn it plus one of my step children so I've definately gotten my money's worth!

Hopefully you've gotten some nifty thrifty Halloween ideas!

Happy Halloween everyone!