Halloween traditions for kids on a budget

It’s one of my favorite time of year again, Halloween. As a mom of a young child who is finally old enough to understand its not just another day, I’ve been trying to find a few ways to make this halloween special without breaking the bank.

These are a couple of ways I am saving money this halloween.

First, let them pick and do their costume yourself.

I suggest pulling up DIY costumes on pinterest and taking time to scroll through them with your child. Most costumes are simple and can be made with clothing that most children already have.

This year, my two-year old decided he wants to be Heath Ledger’s version of the Joker. He already had the button down, black pants and shoes, so all I has to buy was some ribbon for a tie ( I went with the cheapest one inch green ribbon) some green hair spray, and a halloween makeup pallet.

I spent maybe $6 for the whole thing.

Make some of your special effects for their costume at home.

If they need scars or if they’re a zombie that is losing their skin, you can make the scars at home with toilet tissue and liquid latex.

If you need blood, make it with corn syrup and red dye.

Second, have a Halloween movie night.

You don’t have to go out and spend money on this. I have recorded a of couple age-appropriate halloween movies like “Halloweentown,” “Nightmare before Christmas” and “Casper the Friendly Ghost” on my DVR, and my family plans to snuggle in and have a Saturday devoted to watching them all.

A lot of great Halloween movies that 90’s kids grew up on are also on sale right now for $5 at Walmart, and if you prefer to watch them year around, you can go buy a couple for movie night.

If you have older children, there are tons of great horror movies on Netflix to watch together.

Third, take the kids trick or treating.

Children are only going to be little for so long. Take them door-to-door for Halloween. It’s cheap, easy and it only costs you your time.

If you are worried about your child’s safety, there are plenty of churches and communities that are having harvest festivals and trunk-or-treats in well lighted and safe environments. These also tend to have little carnival games, bounce houses and even face painting.

Another way to get your children into the spirit of the holiday, is to decorate together.

It doesn’t take much to decorate for this holiday. Go to Dollar Tree, they have tons of cheap affordable options.

Since my child is so young, I bought window clings to put on our windows and glass front door, a couple of light-up pumpkins for the end tables and some foam carving pumpkins with little kits that you can decorate the pumpkins with.

He had a blast and I paid $10 for it all, and we can reuse it all next year.

Finally, make halloween-themed foods.

You can make your kids’ Halloween trail mix out of popcorn, candy corn, kettle cork, chex mix, candy pumpkins, peanuts and sunflower seeds. Stick it in their bag for a sweet snack with their lunch.

Use a little cream cheese and add little slivers of almonds to make witches fingers for an afternoon snack.

On Halloween night, wrap hotdogs in strips of crescent roll dough and make mummy dogs for dinner. Something like this will be an easy dinner and will make the whole night run smoother.

It doesn’t take a lot of money to make memories with your child. What matters most is spending time with the ones you love.

Enjoy some of these cheap and easy traditions that can make this Halloween special.