How To Throw a Spooky Halloween Party On a Budget
Throwing a Halloween bash with your family and friends is a great way to celebrate the holiday. However, a lot of people cringe at the thought of the costs that would possibly be associated with throwing a memorable, spooktacular party. And, with Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays right around the corner, most Americans are already living on a tight paycheck-to-paycheck budget in preparation for the monies they will be soon spending.
There are a lot of great ways to throw a festive Halloween bash on a budget.
Invitations
Instead of buying and mailing out party invitations, save your money and send out email invites. With websites like Evite.com and Facebook.com, you will be able to not only invite all of your friends and family, but you will also be able to gather and monitor RSVPS directly through these sites. The best part of all is that these services won’t cost you a penny. They are completely free.
Decorations
If your party is taking place before October 31st, then Halloween decorations can be purchased for cheap and in abundance at your local Dollar Tree, Family Dollar, or Dollar General Stores. However, if your party is taking place on October 31st, you can save tons. Halloween items normally go on sale on October 31st, as stores realize that if their holiday-influenced items aren’t sold by midnight, they will have to hold on to them until the following year. You will be able to get major discounts on everything from paper plates to paper machete spiders. Set a budget, and most importantly, stick to it.
Food
The best way to save on food is to make your party a potluck. You can keep the master list to make sure that everything you may want will be provided by your confirmed guests. Don’t ask for anything too expensive or unrealistic. Depending on how many guests you have in attendance, you may be able to have several guests bring meats and other cooked items. Also keep in mind that everyone is not a chef, so for those who don’t feel comfortable cooking have them bring drinks, chips, or desserts. The most important thing is to keep your menu simple. You can never lose with finger foods.
Entertainment
Music: Save money on a DJ and play your iPod or mp3 player through your stereo system or television. If you don’t think that the music you have is a good fit for the party, Pandora.com’s free music app has a great Halloween music channel.
Costume Contest: Costume contests are always a fun and entertaining activity. If you announce to your guests on their invites that you will be hosting a costume contest, you will have a great response of creative and original costumes walk through your door. You can either offer a prize or let them celebrate in just holding the title for the “#1 Costume Contest.” You can even break the costume down in categories and have guests vote for their favorite costume based on categories like scariest, funniest, most original, and so on.
Games and Activities: Here are a list of activities and games that you can also add to make your Halloween bash full of entertainment and laughter.
1. Mummy Wrap – All you will need is inexpensive toilet tissue and willing participants. Players break off in teams of 3 or 4. Each team is given two or three rolls of toilet paper. One person is the model while the others are the workers. The object of the game is to see who can full wrap their model while using all the toilet tissue first.
2. Gross Guessing Game – You will need to blindfold every player and fix containers with disgusting feeling items that are not what they may seem. Have party guests reach into each container and try to figure out exactly what they touching. For example, peeled grapes can feel like slippery eyeballs, while cooked spaghetti noodles can feel like slippery worms, and so on.
3. Halloween Pumpkin Hunt – It’s just like an Easter egg hunt. Fill small plastic pumpkins with treats, and hide the pumpkins both indoors and outdoors. Everyone will be a winner.
Remember that Halloween is meant to be fun, but is not meant to make you overspend and go over your household budget. Pre-planning and staying on budget is the best way to insure your overall party’s success and after holiday monies.
There are still about 3 weeks left to enter Consolidated Credit’s Frightfully Frugal Halloween Contest on Facebook. All you have to do is create an original Halloween costume costing less than $15 for your chance to win FREE money. Click Here to Enter and Good Luck!
Jessica Williams is Consolidated Credit’s Marketing Communications New Media Coordinator. As a member of the education team, Jessica focuses on helping consumers make better financial decisions while living debt-free. She has previously worked with Take Stock In Children, where she was a mentor and communications specialist, and SouthPromo.com, where she managed community relations, event planning, marketing, and public relations. Jessica attended both the University of Florida and the University of Central Florida where she received her B.S. in Interpersonal/Organizational Communications and Marketing. Connect with Jessica on Google+.