The most bewitching night of year is near…the time to scare up new and imaginative Halloween costumes for the whole family. But the high cost of outfitting the gang and preparing for this enchanting evening can be frightening! Fear not-these tips will help you create wickedly cool costumes…and you won’t be tricked out of your cash.

• Shop early. Wattle U Bee at McGraths Hill and The Party Shop at Richmond are two Halloween haunts where you’ll find devilish deals on new and used costumes and accessories, or inspiring items to create your own. Be sure to shop early to get the best deals at the best prices, before other would-be ghosts and goblins have ransacked the racks.
• Plan a costume swap. Bring old costumes back to life by planning an exchange with friends or colleagues. This is an easy and inexpensive way to get thrilling new costumes for kids, teens and parents.
• Sew your own costumes. Whether you’re a master seamstress or can barely thread a needle, some of the local seamstresses have lots of creative costume ideas from easy to expert, and a huge variety of fabrics, trims and accessories.
• Fun costumes for little ones. Younger goblins have lots of exciting choices-Avatar, Iron Man or their favourite Nickelodeon character. Just remember that simpler is better-be sure the kids can move easily, there are no tripping hazards and they can see through masks.
• Cool costumes for older kids. With the popularity of Twilight, vampires will be taking a big bite out of Halloween this year. Other trendy choices include Avatar, Lady Gaga, Jersey Shore or a Rock Star. These costumes can be as simple or elaborate as you want-what’s most important is to have a fun!
• Think safety. When creating the costumes for little “trick or treaters” remember that to be seen is to be safe. Choose brighter colours for costumes or add reflective tape to darker disguises that will help them to be seen by drivers.
• Dress up your home. Bring the spirit of Halloween to your home with ghostly decorations-from cobwebs in the trees to tombstones in the garden.
• Pick up tasty treats. Check out Riverview Shopping Centre and Richmond Marketplace for bewitching bargains on all the ghoulish goodies little goblins will love. Sam’s Warehouse, $2 Shop, The Reject Shop have all your basics covered.
• Stock up for next year. Once the spookiest night of the year is past, your favourite stores offer spine-tingling sales on spooky costumes and devilish decorations for next Halloween-see the online before you shop.
• Store your décor. Get organised and store your Halloween treats for next year. Big W Richmond and Target Windsor offers a wide range of storage bins in all sizes.
• Windsor Peninsula Trick or Treating – If you live in Windsor on the Peninsula and want to participate put an orange balloon on your front fence and be delighted by a visit from the local children dressed up in theme.  They will start trick or treating at 5 – 6:30pm.  Join in as they come to your home, make sure you are stocked up “treat” is their favourite choice.

And furthermore we are only 8 weeks away from Christmas…am I scaring you yet 🙂

Happy Halloween,

Rachael 🙂