Get Ready for Halloween

Do you feel unready for Halloween? I know, it is hard to believe that Halloween is just 5 short days away. If you are feeling a little overwhelmed these are the 3 things I would concern myself most with and in this order...1. costumes for the kids, 2. Food, 3. Decorations. All can be accomplished quickly and in a budget friendly manner.
Costumes - costumes are very important to our little ones and even our big ones. If you have been out to the stores in the last couple of days like myself you can see that costumes are becoming scarce in the big stores like Walmart, Target, & K-Mart. If you are set in buying a complete costume (which I admit I did myself this year) you may want to skip these stores until last and try smaller stores like Walgreens, CVS, or Riteaid. I actually purchased a very cute unicorn costume for my five year old at Walgreens and at a very competitive price.
However, if you are in a financial pinch these ideas are great for costumes as well. How about opening up your and/or spouse's wardrobe up to the kids. Much fun could be had. Gypsies, prom queens, tourists, sports fans, and much more can be made from the contents for your closet. If anything boys can dress up as a housewife, with curlers or shower cap and girls can dress like their dads for work. There of course is always the old stand by old sheet with holes cut out!
Food - Ok, the last thing you need to be worrying about is what to have for dinner while you are getting the kids ready. I have 1 suggestion for you: CROCKPOT! My personal favorite is homemade chili (see instructions below), but soups, stews, and roasts are just as convienent. You can also pre-assemble a 7 layer dip as a snack while you hand out candy. The most important thing is to plan so you aren't running out to a fast food joint to buy junk for your babies who already will be gorging themselves on candy through out the night.
Chili
brown 1 lb hamburger meat seasoned with garlic salt
combine hamburger, 4 15 oz. cans of pinto beans (or your favorite beans), 2 15 oz. cans of tomato sauce, 1 15 oz. can of diced tomatos, and your favorite chili seasoning packet in large crockpot. Simmer on low for 2 hours and then keep warm. Serve with some cornbread.
Decorations - And then there are decorations. Well my personal favorite is natural. I love to buy lots of mini pumpkins and gourds to arrange around the house. These are available in produce sections of grocery stores, pumpkin patches, and farmers markets. Or the faux option is available at craft stores. The above picture if of mini pumpkins placed on my fireplace mantel with a leaf vine draped around it. Very simple and transitions into Thanksgiving quite well. We of course will have our carved pumpkins out by our front door for the big night as well. Another fun decorating trick is to use black construction paper to cut shapes of spiders, cats, ghosts, what ever your fancy and tape them in your front window, then take yellow tissue paper and tape that behind the cutouts covering the whole window...at night turn a light on behind it and you have spooky shadows looking out your window.
Well I hope this helps those who may feel as though they are behind. Feel free to post any ideas you may have in the comment section! Look for my next blog a few days!