Did you make it to your local Halloween Costume Swap this year? It’s such a great idea to swap and trade gently used costumes, especially if you have kids that grow like weeds!

I was at work unfortunately so missed this event in my area, leaving me scrambling around with a week to go, searching through cupboards and waiting for inspiration to gently tap me on the shoulder or as the days pass by, slap me in the face.

In the UK where I come from, Halloween is not as widely celebrated as it is here in North America. I remember being shocked at the excitement that surrounded Halloween when I first came to Canada. Adults discussing dress up in early September, what was this madness?! But I very quickly learned to appreciate the fun and excitement that surrounds the biggest dress up party of the year. In fact to make up for years of missing out on this costume frenzy, most of the parties I host are now dress up parties, because as everyone knows, they’re the best.

So for those of you still searching for costumes either for yourself or your kids, here are a few last minute Halloween tricks:

Roman costume: Cut a hole in a pillow case for head, wrap waist and shoulders with gold thread, add a piece of ivy to leather cord for a crown.

• Go homemade. You will see blogger Carly’s family are big fans of the DIY Halloween costume and I too have gone that route many a time. Last year, my son was transformed into a Roman with the help of a pillow case, gold and leather string and some pieces of ivy, the year before, I wore a sports kit and put black eyeliner round my eye, a bandage on my head and won a best dressed competition as a rugby player. The year before, at a literary dress up, I drew tears on my face, used the same gold thread for my hair and was Penelope, wife of Odysseus (she cried a lot).
• Think of one of your favourite characters from TV or a book and go for it. I had a friend who wore a scarf, did a bad cockney accent and pretended he had a fat tongue – voila Jamie Oliver.
• Remember, you can always dress up as dead. Get your hands on some white face paint and fake blood and you can be dead anything. Carry a briefcase; dead accountant, wear all white carry a raquet; dead tennis player, wear a hockey jersey, etc etc.
• Let’s face it, the internet is your new best friend and it’s full of quick DIY costume ideas, this blog alone has over 30 ideas for kids! Homemade Halloween Costumes for Kids.
• Your next best friends are the thrift and the church flea markets. Last week my neighbour picked up three kids animal outfits for $2 a piece from our local church thrift store and I picked up a lion dress up outfit from the WIN (Women in Need) for $6 just yesterday.

Wrap juice boxes in electrical tape! Easy Peasy!

Food?

I recently had to research easy Halloween lunchbox items. I am by no means elaborate in the cooking department so the following were ideas that I put on my list because they were simple!

• Ketchup – on everything.
• Mummy juice boxes, nothing but electrical tape necessary.
• Cut everything into a coffin shape – sandwiches, cookies – use sauce to write RIP.
• Green jelly – it’s not jelly, it’s slime!
• Marshmallows cut like ghosts with chocolate chip eyes and mouth
• Throw a fake spider in the lunchbox and make your regular lunch, us mums are busy enough!

Hopefully, you are far more organised than me and are all ready set go for your Halloween celebration! Have fun and remember, stay safe! For information on being safe at Halloween, see the Health Canada website, they have a tonne of safety ideas for small and big kids alike.