To some, Halloween is like a month-long celebration, as they start planning, carefully choosing and enthusiastically creating something special well in advance. Others are not as excited about it as to invest a lot of time, money and effort in holiday decorations and costumes, and some are even skeptical. Many people are so busy that they have no other option but to look for something the very last moment, but there’s also no shortage of those who are not planning to do anything on Halloween until somebody (friends, roommates, neighbors) makes them change their mind. This usually happens shortly before Halloween night, so time is scarce, and you have to do something of the following:
1. Decorating the house
You don’t need to turn it into a haunted house or make it look like a camera crew is working on the next big horror movie there. If you want to add a mysterious touch to your everyday surroundings but don’t know where to start, get some yarn and also consider buying candles (chances are, you even have some already.) White or gray yarn (or even black – for a more dramatic effect) lets you quickly cover anything you wish in cobwebs and transform it instantly even if you don’t add any other decorations. Candlelight turns it into a drastically different fantasy world as if by magic. Both will delight kids and adults alike, while not requiring a lot of time or money. Preferably, just don’t put candles too close to the “cobwebs” or other decorations to avoid the risk of fire, which is a major Halloween safety issue.
The place that looks like the witches’ kitchen doesn’t necessarily have to be the kitchen – it can be anywhere you wish, but if you have some old pots and pans, it’s definitely their time to step into the spotlight (or candlelight, to be precise.) Take some empty jars and bottles to fill them with something that looks scary or unappetizing – bloody red or sickly green, for example, which just requires mixing some paint and water, and drop in some objects that would look like secret ingredients for witchcraft (cotton balls, fabric, sponge or paper shreds, etc.)
If you’d rather not have anything around that isn’t edible or suitable for drinking, use tomato or berry juice and regular foodstuff in jars and bottles, but put misleading labels onto them. You can write something like “pickled grasshoppers” and stick it on a jar of pickled cucumbers, or use “bugs in syrup” for jam. This can spice up your table, kitchen counter or some shelves, making everybody smile while you don’t have to spend any time or money buying something special for Halloween.
2. Setting the table
Besides entertaining your guests with labels and signs that warn them against eating or touching anything, there are other easy ways of making your table look festive. You can carve out apples and oranges, place a bunch or wreath of bright-colored leaves on the table, or even go outside to pick some twigs, dry or withered grass stalks and flowers for a more gloomy-looking bouquet (this can be done even in the darkness or rain.) It is certainly fun to buy themed Halloween napkins and cups, but you can cut spider or ghost shapes out of colored paper to put on the table instead of napkins, and you can write or draw something Halloween-themed on regular paper cups.
No time to carve out pumpkins? Kids loudly insisting on taking part in this process? When carving is out of the question (I’m pretty sure I’d injure myself if I started doing it), just paint these pumpkins. Maybe it isn’t the same fun, but at least it is safe, and even the youngest in the family can create their own pumpkin designs. Any kind of paint will work, even if you don’t have anything but lipstick and eyeliner. You can make very cute pumpkins – or scary, as we all know too much makeup can turn someone into a fright, but it is double the fun experimenting when you know the result will be great anyway. Even if you happen to dislike what you have just painted, wipe or wash it off and start again – so easy as compared to carving, and it can be done very fast if you’re pressed for time.
4. Special Halloween outfit
If you didn’t have time to buy a costume, or perhaps they were all too expensive, don’t worry. You can fashion yourself an outfit to look like a witch or a scarecrow using just some old clothes. No special skills needed, but preferably find clothing you can cut, rip, shred, stain and almost totally ruin. That sure sounds like fun, and should inspire many ideas of how exactly you can turn an old coat, skirt or jeans into something frightful. You can cut one sleeve or trouser leg off, or you can cut it into shreds, you can make a lot of holes and cuts everywhere, sew or glue on patches and simply pieces of fabric or elements of other clothes. As stylish or as messy as you can get, the result is likely to be fun.
Cutting or making a few rough stitches with whatever color thread you grab (no need to match anything) doesn’t take too long, but you can create an outfit using paints even faster. Special textile paints are cool, of course, as they can be ironed and don’t wash off. A plain black T-shirt turned into a monster masterpiece can last you more than just one Halloween night.
Investing in a set of textile paints is a good idea, as they can be used for a variety of projects, for giving your clothes a new look and even for masking some stubborn stains. However, textile paints may not be easily available at any supermarket, so if you are improvising with costume creation on Halloween, just grab whatever is found among the school supplies and paint away, as long as you still have a few minutes for the paint to dry before you wear it.
