Halloween Money Savers from Sophia of Trading Cradles

 I received this article from Sophia of Trading Cradles and have permission to publish this post.  It has some nice little tips to keep the cost down on Halloween.



5 Ways for Parents to Cut Halloween Costs and Double the Fun!


Halloween can get expensive! In fact, experts claim that in 2009, on average Americans spent over $55 per person on Halloween. If you have a family of four, you know that things can ad up fast! Knowing that everyone is watching their budget these days, TradingCradles.com wanted to give 5 suggestions on how to make your Halloween half as expensive and twice as much fun!


1. Sell Your Old Costumes

What better way to pay for this year’s Halloween then by selling last year’s costume? Did you know that Saturday October 9th is National Costume Swap Day? Visit our hip online marketplace for parents at www.tradingcradles.com to sell old costumes and buy gently used ones. Posting a costume won’t take more than 30 seconds and the site is completely free!



2. Make Your Own Costume

Do you have a little more time on your hands? Do you like to get crafty? What we loved about this Parents.com article is that it had 20 great DIY Halloween costume ideas with pictures of each costume to go along with the instructions. Take a look! http://awe.tc/cKpGn1



3. Give Creative Treats

There will be plenty of candy in circulation, so let’s give the dentists a break in November. Think different. Here’s a truly green way to celebrate Halloween: Give the gift of seeds that can grow into beautiful flowers. Just buy a few packs at your local nursery, separate the seeds, wrap them and give them out like little presents. It’s educational and affordable! You can surprise the trick or treaters by giving them spare change that’s been lying around the house. To make it even more fun hide a dollar bill or something special in a couple baggies and tell the kids before they pick one.



4. Make Your Own Candy Bags

As kids, we used pillowcases and the same orange pumpkin every year. The folks at ehow have some good ideas on how to create an awesome trick-or-treat bag for all your Halloween goodies. http://awe.tc/9hpmOR



5. Spooky Decorations

Get your kids to help with this one. Sometimes the preparation can be as much fun as Halloween night. And, if you make your house feel fun and spooky kids will enjoy themselves that much more. Here are some cool ideas from Country Living. One of our favorite ideas here is how they put costumes on the family pictures! http://awe.tc/9sCeLN



Remember to take photos and enter them into the Trading Cradles Halloween Costume Contest! It’s easy and you could win a $50 gift certificate that will help you save for the next holiday! To learn more about the contest visit http://awe.tc/9jfpKq



Create good memories with your kids, and when they grow up they can carry on the traditions that you have taught to them with their own families! Don’t forget to brush your teeth…

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Sophia
Trading Cradles, LLC

http://TradingCradles.com
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