30 Days of Tips - Halloween Decorations

Tip #25: Try these ghostly cheap Halloween decorations.

Make small ghosts from a white washrag (or square of fabric) wrapped around a few cottonballs. Tie tightly just under the cottonballs to form a little ghost head & body. Draw or glue on eyes, mouth & other details. Put an ornament hook through the top of the fabric for hanging.

Make a large ghost by hanging a white sheet over a tomato cage. Stuff with a small pillow on top & tie if desired to form a head & body. Cut out eyes & put a lamp (no candles, please!) under the ghost to make him glow or draw on eyes with black or glow-in-the-dark paint. Consider a blacklight lamp under your ghost for a strange effect.

30 Days of Tips - Halloween Candy

Tip #24: Don't groan until I finish this tip for all the parents of trick-or-treaters out there. When you purchase Halloween candy, purchase candy you like because if there is any left over, you'll be able to enjoy it. If you run out of candy, hand out the candy that your child has already received that your family doesn't care for.

I know it's tempting to think it's "too tacky," but let me ask you: is it better to buy more candy than you actually need, thereby stressing your wallet and increasing the demand for unhealthy foods, and then ending up with a bunch of candy you'll never eat that you have to either throw away or constantly fight over with your children? I would prefer to redistribute the candy we'll never consume.

When you dump the contents of the little plastic pumpkin into your hand-out bowl, just do it inside, not on the front porch, OK?