Five Cheap and Easy Ideas for You To Make Halloween Special and Have Some Fun With Your Kids

Tomorrow is Halloween, and at our house that is a pretty big deal. My oldest daughter (who would be proud to tell you she is five and three quarters) is totally into it. That makes it a lot more fun for my wife and me. She decided what she wanted to be months ago, and has been wearing her witch costume around the house for weeks now. They say that the money Americans spend on Halloween is second only to Christmas. Are you kidding me?! Let me say that again for the entrepreneurs- In America, Halloween is the second largest retail holiday-  It is second only to Christmas.

This isn’t going to be about making money on Halloween, but the business coach in me couldn’t resist passing that little hint along to anyone who is looking for ideas. This is going to be about the opposite.  This is going to be about things you can do to make tomorrow special, without spending a lot of money.

When I was young, we didn’t have a lot of money; certainly not enough to spend on decorations and costumes.  My mom didn’t have a lot of free time either, being a single mom with three kids and a full time job, and all.  My mom still managed to make things special on Halloween.  Here are some fun, easy things you can do to make tomorrow fun.  They won’t take a lot of time or money.

1. First, make a special breakfast.  That picture above was my daughter’s breakfast this morning.  I made it from a frozen pancake and a banana, and it took all of two minutes (including the 45 seconds to cook the pancake).  You can do the same with a frozen waffle. You can also do something fun like put a couple drops of food coloring in their milk or juice and make a witches brew for them to drink.
2. Get a Halloween shape cookie cutter, and use it on a sandwich for their lunch.  Peanut butter and jelly works great for this, but I have done it with deli sandwiches too (you just have to push a little harder).  My daughter loves eating her pumpkin sandwiches.  You can find these cheap and easy at just about any grocery store.
3. Let your kids draw some Halloween pictures and put them all over your house to decorate for the big night.  This really gets them (and you) into the spirit of things and it gives them something to do while you make dinner or carve the pumpkin or whatever.
4. Let them decorate a pumpkin.  Pumpkins get real cheap today and tomorrow, and I buy a few small ones and let my daughter decorate them.  If you are anything like us, you have some art supplies around the house and if not, the dollar store is a great place to stock up.  A little paint, a little glue and glitter, etc., and you have a project!
5. Just stop at the grocery store on the way home and buy some Halloween cookies or some other special treat for dessert tonight.

These are just a few quick ideas to get your mind working.  Halloween can be a lot fun, especially if you have young children.  You don’t have to spend a lot of time or money to make things special, you just have to get a little creative.  So give some of these a try, and let me know how things go.  Also, if you have any cheap and easy ideas you want to share, please leave a comment and share them here.

Thanks, and Happy Halloween!