Halloween is one of the best days of the year and if you are a Halloween fanatic then you will know that it is never too soon to start prepping for the big day. It only comes around once a year, so you want to make it count with everything from decorations, candy, and good food at the ready for you and your friends. 

Here are 5 useful tips to prepare for Halloween.

 

1. Buy House Decorations Early On

The sooner you buy your Halloween decorations the better! This is because they are going to be cheaper than waiting until the season when all the prices get hiked up. The best time to buy Halloween decorations is actually the first week after Halloween as everything is discounted and reduced to clear. This goes for both outdoor and indoor decorations, the more ground you cover the better! So if you can handle that kind of forward-thinking then it pays off to be organized a year early. The same logic applies to buying costume supplies, so make sure you take advantage of the discounts and you will save yourself a lot of money. 

Also, try to decide on a theme for your Halloween house decorations, for example, do you want it to be a haunted house, a graveyard, a hospital for the undead, and so forth. A theme is always a great idea and it will help your house stand out among the others. If you have younger children you can ask their opinions and get them to feel actively involved and responsible for some of the decorations. This will help them get excited for the day and also teach them about responsibility which is a win-win situation. If you have teenagers then it might be a little bit harder to entice them to help out but I’m sure if you let them have some control over levels of gore then they will hit the ground running. Once again, the sooner you plan the better as you can get everything at a cheaper price and save yourself the headache of rushing to organize everything at the last minute. 

2. Costume Planning

Costumes are one of, if not the most important part of Halloween planning. No matter how old you are, everyone always wants to put 100% effort into creating an awesome costume. If you have little ones then this is always an exciting night for them as they can dress up as their favorite princess, superhero, or movie character while going around and getting candy all night. The issue with costumes is that they can be costly, especially the older your child gets because then they start to want to wear more sophisticated outfits. This is particularly true among teenagers. If your choices are restricted due to budget reasons, consider using coupons or vouchers to give you and your family more choices when it comes to costume planning. Nobody wants to have to hold back for their kids and using discounts/vouchers can put that anxiety at ease for you. 

3. Buy Plenty of Cleaning Supplies

This tip might not seem fitting with the rest but trust me, it is just as important as the others. Halloween can be a very messy night, with candy wrappers everywhere, chocolate smashed into the surfaces, and crumbs all over the couch, you will want to be prepared the next day when you have to clean away all the stickiness from the night before. Plus, if you are unlucky, then you might be the victim of teepeeing, egging or pumpkin smashing and all of those can be extremely messy. While you might not be able to avoid these things, you can certainly be well prepared for them. So stock up on your cleaning supplies and make sure you are ready for any eventuality. Remember, anti-bacterial wipes will be your best friend. 

4. Don’t Forget The Candy!

If you are decorating your house or placing pumpkins outside, then you are likely to have lots of trick-or-treaters knocking on your door. Pro-tip, always buy more than you think you need because running out of sweets halfway through the night can be a real pain when you have to keep turning away disappointed children. The other benefit of bulk buying is that even if you don’t get through all of them, you can save them for next year! Or just use them as movie night snacks once a week and you will get through them in no time at all. Plus, that way there is a little extra for you to snack on throughout the night, which is always a bonus. 

If you are worried about expenses and budgeting, then consider buying sweets from saver shops. One dollar stores/ one pound stores are a great way to bulk buy lots of goodies without having to burn a hole in your pocket. 

5. Pumpkin Carving Kits

If you are a house that enjoys the experience of carving pumpkins then you need to invest in a pumpkin carving kit, maybe even a couple so that way you can have multiple people carving at once and a spare one for when someone eventually breaks their carver. Carving pumpkins is so much fun, but without a carving kit it can be quite a stressful and messy ordeal, so save yourself the hassle and use the kits. They are inexpensive and a lot of supermarkets will sell cheap options closer to the day. 

Get some friends and family around and have a pumpkin carving competition! This brings everyone together for some light-hearted fun and it also works well for you as you have a tonne of decorative pumpkins to put outside your house. It will get messy, but so long as you stocked up on those cleaning supplies as we discussed in point 3, then it will all be fine and dandy.

Halloween is a great holiday to have some fun, blow off some steam and let out our creative sides. So make sure you use these 5 tips to help you be fully prepared for the best Halloween ever. 

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