Planning for a frugal Halloween with my family
Posted
Oct 26 2007, 09:38 AM
by
Karen Datko
This post comes from Trent Hamm at partner blog The Simple Dollar.
Halloween is one of my favorite times of year. Where I live, children trick-or-treat by the dozens, dressed up in all types of costumes. My family enjoys Halloween as a harvest celebration as well.
The best part? Halloween offers all sorts of opportunities for frugality. The holiday can create several weekends of fun for the whole family on a modest budget.
Here are our family’s plans for a frugal Halloween:
Buying and carving pumpkins. This eats up a couple of hours, because we go out in the country, pick up several pumpkins of various sizes, and head home. Then we have fun carving the pumpkins. My son picks out a face design or two. I empty out the pumpkins' innards and carve the faces. The best touch: LED pumpkin lights that use almost no energy and give a wonderful glow to the jack-o'-lanterns. Cost: $15.
Making homemade pumpkin pie. It’s easier than you’ve heard. Remove the pulp, then slice the pumpkin’s outer shell into 3-inch strips. Bake them at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, then scrape the pumpkin flesh from the skin and mash it in a bowl with a mixer. If the pumpkin is sweet, you don’t need sugar. Otherwise, add 3/4 cup of sugar or to taste (Sugar in the Raw is best here), a teaspoon each of nutmeg, ground ginger and salt, a half teaspoon of vanilla, 1 1/2 cups of evaporated milk, and four beaten eggs. Fill two unbaked pie crusts. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350 for 35 minutes. Place the pies in the fridge to cool, then brag about your homemade pumpkin pie from real pumpkin. Cost: $5.
Making nonalcoholic apple cider. Buy 10 pounds of apples. I recommend half sweet (red delicious) and half sour (Granny Smith), though to compromise with my wife we make an 80/20 mix. You also should get a muslin sack, although a clean pillowcase will work. Quarter and seed the apples (peeling is optional), then run them through a blender. Dump the puree into the sack/pillowcase, press the juice into a big pan and transfer to a jar. (If you peeled the apples and your pillowcase or muslin sack was really clean, you can eat the leftover apple puree as applesauce.) Refrigerate the juice for 48 hours. Pour off the liquid above the sediment (it’s best to siphon it). Your apple cider will last about two weeks.
Now, hit a home run: Put a gallon of cider in a large pot on the stove. Combine a half cup of brown sugar, one teaspoon of whole cloves, one teaspoon of whole allspice, and three broken-up cinnamon sticks in a handkerchief or cheesecloth and tie it into a ball. Pop that into the cider, then heat uncovered until it begins to boil. Lower the heat so that it gently simmers and remove the cloth ball after 20 minutes. Your house will smell like autumn heaven, and the cider will be delicious. Cost: $8.
Making a costume. Our son will be trick-or-treating for the first time, and we’re making him a simple costume. He wants to be Spider-Man, so we’re going to dress him in a red sweatsuit, make him an appropriate hat, and paint his face with some nontoxic paint. Our daughter (age 2 months) will wear a gifted bumblebee costume. Cost: $4.
Preparing for trick-or-treaters. My face will be wrapped in Ace bandages like a mummy. Cost: zip. The candy will be bought in bulk at Sam’s Club. Cost: $12.
The cost of a few fun weekends spent carving jack-o'-lanterns, baking (and eating) pumpkin pie, making (and drinking) hot apple cider, making our son’s Halloween costume, and sending him out trick-or-treating while other kids stop by? Less than $40.
Other articles of interest at The Simple Dollar:
"Five reasons why having a child isn’t as expensive as you might think"
"Lessons from my grandfather in the garden"
"One thing you can do today that will put you in better financial shape tomorrow"
