Spill the beans... on your Halloween MoneySaving tricks 'n' treats

rallp54

I don't like the legalised 'demanding money with menaces' that is Halloween, and refuse to give cash. We don't really eat many sweets, so when we are given tins for Christmas, they tend to hang around for months! Come Halloween, I can quite happily deal out handfuls of last Christmas' leftovers The kids aren't too impressed, but I reckon they're lucky I open the door at all.....

susiecm3

I love seeing the kids dressed up, never give money but never had anyone asking either, I will be making toffee apples for the ones I know and making little boxes of sweets for the others, kitchen is already decorated but will do the outside on Sunday night, mind they only get something if they are dressed up

PixieDust

We only give to under 10s (there is a sign to this effect on the gate), and they have to be in costume.

One year we cooked up some value spaghetti (back when it was really dirt cheap - no chance these days!!) and added green food colouring. We added plastic spiders and ping pong balls with eyeballs drawn on them in indelible markers....then we made them forage around in the mess before they could get a treat (much fun....for us )

Most of them, adult and child alike, looked aghast at first but nearly all were game to try. One small child clearly missed the point and stared at it for aaaagesssss......and then before we could stop him he grabbed a strand and started eating it with an expression like someone on that jungle programme where they have to eat turtle anus-type things. Bless him, we gave him extra treats

brighteyes1987

Halloween is the least money saving day of the year for me, it's dd bday :rotfl:
I'm lucky though as I dont have to go out in the street freezing cold while she smiles at the neighbours. Her words " why would I want to go out and get rubbish sweets when I've just had a load of toys"
I'm taking that as she is grateful for her pressies??? :cool::cool:

Carriannelouise

julie777 wrote: »

If you are fed up with the whole racket here are 2 suggestions:
1) Put an empty basket by the gate with a large sign "Help Yourselves"
2) Put up a large sign saying "Halloween is Pagan and Demonic"

:rotfl: a lady down my street actually used to do the basket trick!!! memories x

clairexlouise

My daughter at 15 is now too old to go trick or treating, and in my 40’s I think I too should perhaps resist! But we will dress up to greet the many callers.
We decorate our front porch and hallway and if the weather is good we also decorate the garden.
The only expense is the pumpkin each year and a packet or two of digestive biscuits which we decorate in a spooky fashion with icing and cut up left over sweets, to give out to the callers.
About 12 years ago I purchased “spider’s webs” which come out of the loft each year along with huge spiders I made out of old tights (four pairs per spider) stuffed with newspaper and stitched on eyes and mouth I usually add one to my collection each year. I put a washing line up with cut out ghostly shapes in the garden (pinched the idea from something I saw at Chessington Theme Park). Painted pictures of Pumpkins that my daughter made when she was about 4 get stuck on the windows – (she painted sheets of paper orange and I cut out the shape afterwards), We have cardboard daggers covered in tin foil and dripped in blood (food colouring) and then torches draped with coloured cloth & we have spooky sounds playing that I found online (free)
The best thing about Halloween it’s always just after or at the tail end of half term holiday – thus providing hours of entertainment/occupation in the holidays for children making Halloween decorations and preparing biscuits.

I have never paid for a costume some that we have done:
Witch – easy for a small child black skirt and jumper of Mum’s - another skirt worn round neck for a cape –the more ill fitting the better and a homemade hat and broom stick
Wizard – as above but stuck stars (tin foil) all over it and homemade wand instead of broom
Serial Killer – stuck on cereal boxes lots of food colouring and a tin foil dagger
Ghost – easiest of them all an old sheet
Black cat – Black Tights black top of Mum’s tail made out of a leg of old tights stuffed with newspaper pinned on, ears cardboard stuck on headband & drawn on whiskers

Kitchenbunny

I'm having to make some Halloween decorations at the moment, and my sister came up with a tremendous idea. Take a sheet of the larger bubbled bubble wrap and carefully cut around each bubble without popping it (harder than it sounds!). Then, with a permanent marker, draw on a black blob in the centre and let it dry. Voila, safe and non-slimy frogspawn as a decoration

KB xx

tiff

I love Halloween, my children always dressed up and we would visit neighbours that knew we would be calling plus family a few streets away. We might also call on houses that had a lit pumpkin outside or in the window. DS is 13 and DD 11 and still love Halloween bless them.

purpleweasel

Once a kid turned up at our door with a bemused expression and a can of lager, having been given it as a "treat" by someone a few doors down. Our lodger at the time offered him a £ for it and he was happy to accept. I normally get a few sweeties in but we don't get many callers. They always seem a bit unsure about what they should be doing, they "know" from the tv etc that they should be doing this imported custom but haven't quite got the hang of it. Had a few great dressing-up parties when i was a kid but usually reserved my best looking-forwards for bonfire night

A.Jones

purpleweasel wrote: »

Once a kid turned up at our door with a bemused expression and a can of lager, having been given it as a "treat" by someone a few doors down.

What an excellent way to annoy some of the parents. I've got half a crate of awful french lager somewhere, I'm going to give those out to the under 10s.