Halloween Loot

Last year was the first year that I’ve lived in a rental space where kids could actually come trick or treating and it got me wildly excited. As soon as the Halloween stuff started appearing in the stores, childhood memories came flowing back to me of all the stuff we used to do at our old house for Halloween.

Even when I was still young enough to go trick or treating, I appreciated the thought my parents put into designing Halloween decor. They never wanted to spend the money on giant floating ghosts or professional gravestones that screamed. My sister and I were always encouraged to help them come up with fun and cheap ways of turning our normally cheerful house into something ghoulish.

Last year was no different as I’m still a twenty-something whose steep student loans haunt me more than any of my scary Halloween memories. But, I figured, investing in some of the basics of Halloween decorations will be able to make any budget stretch for years to come. Here’s what I picked up (complete with crappy Blackberry photo. Yes, this photo is so old I still had a Blackberry):

All my Halloween loot- excuse the Blackberry photo!

1) Cobwebs. They’re like a Halloween staple. I’m not familiar with this brand but it promises fifteen feet of scary, stretchy fun. Sure, it’ll suffer some wear and tear over the years but if I keep it stored properly in a large Ziploc bag it will at least make it last for the next few years to come. Little plastic spiders are included. ($3.99)

Update: These cobwebs were fantastic! They’re stretched out a little bit now but so far they’ve lasted wonderfully throughout the season!

2) Even more plastic spiders. (Black spiders show up so well against a black coffee table, right?) These ones are bigger and textured and can be used for anything. I might make a spider family for my cobwebs, or have them marching in a line up the banister of my front steps. They could also be used as fun decorations in a Halloween-themed table setting or as cupcake toppers. ($3.99)

3) My boyfriend and I are still amassing kitchen stuff whenever we can find donations from family members or extra money to spare. One thing we haven’t acquired yet are knives appropriate for pumpkin-carving, a crucial item for Halloween decorating (savvy trick or treaters know only to go to the houses that have lit pumpkins outside). This pumpkin-carving kit comes with two, plus a scooper with a thin edge that scan scrape the insides of your pumpkin, a special marker, and ten perforated stencils to make you seem like a carving genius. ($7.99)

4) A black-light bulb. If you’re only going to get one thing to decorate for Halloween, let it be a black-light bulb. While they may not be energy-efficient (and if one exists that would be kind of neat) you’re only going to use it for one night probably, so it can be re-used for years to come. Place it on your porch, in a lamp on your veranda, or do what I plan on doing and replace your security light. Just one little light bulb can instantly transform your place from normal to spooky. ($3.99)

There were a couple of other items that I was tempted to get, including a scary wooden face that adheres onto your tree to make it look alive for $7.99. A strand of little battery-operated ghost lights would like ghoulish when wound around a tree trunk, or sprinkled through the branches of a tree. Finallly, I was really creeped out by a motion-detected mechanism that shakes your bush or your hedge whenever an unsuspecting trick or treater walks by, but at $27.99 I figured it could wait until next year. Besides, I haven’t even got my Halloween costume yet!

What are some of your ideas for decorating your house cheaply? Or are you the opposite of me and splurged on some big ticket items? Let me know at thetwentiesproject@gmail.com!