By Hope McKinney
Okay, I am one of those people who decorate for Halloween pre-maturely, dress to fit fall weather even when it’s still 80 degrees outside, and encourage everyone else to do so. Whether you are happy about fall being upon us or not, it is on its way. Here are a few things I do every year to prepare for the festivities of my favorite time of year!
1. Buy decorations when they first hit the shelves. If you are on a budget, you can get so much for under 20$ at your local Dollar Tree. Their decorations aren’t only cheap; they are so cute!
2. If you have children let them pick their costume early. Waiting until the very last minute can be very stressful for your whole family due to shortage of Elsa and Ninja Turtle costumes at Party City. By the time October 31 hits all those procrastinating parents will be ready to pull their hair out digging through the left over costumes praying they find something their child won’t throw a fit about. Don’t be that parent.
3. When you order your festive holiday coffee from Starbucks, or a local shop try something new! We all know pumpkin spice is the king of all coffee at this time, but venture forth and create a new coffee trend for yourself.
4. Have a scary movie marathon. Get all of the classics together, cuddle up with your loved ones, and see who will chicken out of watching them first! A great alternative if you have children, or you don’t like scary movies would be movies like Halloweentown or Twitches. While these are not scary movies they do the trick of getting you in the spirit.
5. Create an original costume for yourself. Get on Pinterest and see what kind of concoctions you can come up with! Odds are you can find just what you are looking for right in your closet.
6. Stock up on candy. Candy is expensive and if you’re anything like me and you start buying it too early, you will also start eating it before it gets to the trick-or-treaters. I like to stock up about 3 or so days before and just see how much will power I actually have before the big day.
7. If you are trick-or-treating yourself, or with children it is ALWAYS a good idea to get a set of reflectors to stick on yourself. Especially in busy neighborhoods, cars sometimes can’t see you, or simply just don’t watch for you. Reflectors can be seen very easily at a distance and should give an alert driver more than enough time to stop before someone gets hurt.
8. A rule of thumb when taking my sister trick-or-treating for me has always been not to accept homemade treats from people we didn’t know. What is a friendly gesture for most, can be a harmful method for many others.
9. If you are attending a Halloween party, or any party for that matter, be cautious of what you are ingesting. Same with the trick-or-treaters there are so many creeps and spooky people other than on Halloween night that have no problems hurting others.
10. Be prepared for cold weather. In the great state of Tennessee the weather changes hour to hour. Always be prepared with a jacket incase mother nature decides its time for a cold front.
11. HAVE FUN!!! No matter what your plans are for Halloween and the next couple of months leading up to it make it a time to remember. Carve pumpkins and go to haunted houses. Enjoy the cooler weather with family and friends who mean the most to you.
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