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Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Making Halloween Tombstones and Decorating

My yard. I have more tombstones now. 

This year, I have  all the parsimonious decorations ready. Free tombstones I made from free Styrofoam, dirt -cheap tea candles, bricks for the base of the tombstone (scavenged), candelabra for table ($1), four tapers ($1 for about ten of them), vampire brains (Osage oranges, scavenged), ghost candy dish for a quarter, black cloth (leftover fabric) for table, spider web (90% off sale). Anything else? Candy would have been free from Office Max.

Oh, I spent about $20 on a shallow Jack O' Lantern candy dish at a craft show about 20 years ago. A friend who made ceramics had a nice one, not too garish, friendly looking and I bought it. For me to buy full price, you know I must have liked it and really wanted it. Amortized over 20 years, it is really cheap...lol.

My body says, "NO!" to Halloween preparation. I am listening. Each week for the last three or four weeks, we have had an event here that, even with minimal participation on my part, I am in severe pain and drained, muscles hurting all over. I may not even be able to get to the box of decorations from under other boxes.

Last year, I posted a tutorial on making tombstones, a post with pictures in all the wrong places. Here is a replay of that post. These are so easy, it's not too late. I got the Styrofoam from an appliance store, paint is anything blackish. Mine was a mistint, a very greeny black or a blacky green.  Okay, just look, even if you don't want tombstones. I have displayed these for four years, on one night only. Otherwise, they would disappear!

Your turn
I don't want to turn this into a discussion of how evil Halloween is. Or, how harmless it is. I like Halloween for the fun. IF you celebrate Halloween with decorations, do you spend a king's ransom? Or, do you do it on the cheap like I do? What is your favorite frugal Halloween decoration?  Tell us all if you have something different or something that is ordinary and special to you or others. Talk to me so I want feel so desolate and alone. LOL.

6 comments:

  1. We don't decorate. We don't get any visitors for Hallowe'en. We take the boys to town to trick or treat, and they love all the houses with lots of decorations.

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  2. Wendy,
    I have friends in the same predicament. No one comes anymore because of "Trunk or Treat." Church parking lots are filled with cars with trunks of goodies for children to get from people who are not strangers. Then, churches and schools hold events for two reasons: to keep the children safe, and to keep the emphasis on fall festival activities.

    In spite of all the fear of people snatching or poisoning a kid and the fear of "evil" in the celebration, there are hordes (in the good sense) of children out with parents trailing along in the dark or parents letting them out of cars while parents cruise to the end of the block.

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  3. We don't decorate, but I put on my "Hippie Witch" costume (purchased 80% off six years ago) and give out candy to the 5-15 kids who show up. Last weekend my dad was visiting and bought me a bag of Smarties. I am going to use those for trick-or-treaters so this year Halloween is totally free.

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  4. BLD,
    Totally free and 80% off are my kinds of numbers. Matt can be "tie-dye man." I hope you post yourself in costume. It is fun to see what other people do (in a "not creepy" sense.)

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  5. The hubby & I live in apartment, and surprisingly the kids don't trick or treat here. The hubby and I usually just buy a pumpkin & watch scary movies (Paranormal Activity 3 tonight).

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  6. tlc,
    I am not sure if kids usually trick or treat in apartments. That sounds like a good movie. What will you do with the pumpkin, paint it or carve a jack o' lantern?

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Okay, hoping the annoyances have gone away.