indigoprime/Flickr
Pumpkin carving stencils – I’ve collected more than 100 free Halloween pumpkin stencils on WalletPop. Ideas range from traditional Halloween designs to wacky carvings totally unrelated to Halloween.
The Knot coupon - Get 20% off with no minimum order using this coupon for The Knot. Expires Oct. 31, 2010.
Borders coupon - Get 20% off all books purchased online with this Borders coupon, coming later today.
Free food at TGI Friday’s – Get free appetizers and kids meals when you come in costume using this TGI Friday’s Halloween coupon. Valid Friday to Sunday, Oct. 29-31, 2010.
Check out all the coupons and deals on my WalletPop blog. Sign up for the BargainBabe.com email list to receive more strategies, coupons, and inspiration to save money everyday.
Still looking for a Halloween costume? I’ve got five costume ideas that cost less than $10, plus you’ll see me in costume at the end. Trick or treat!
Fergie from the Black Eyed Peas band. I'm going to be an ACTUAL black eyed pea for Halloween. Credit: chang_sen/Flickr
The votes are in…I’m going to be a black eyed pea for Halloween. The vending machine costume was a very close second. Almost 200 readers voted for their favorite of five costumes selected from dozens of Halloween costumes suggested by readers.
If you’re still looking for a costume, pumpkin recipes or idea to carve your pumpkin, here is a round up of Halloween posts on BargainBabe.com.
Halloween pumpkin carving ideas
More Halloween pumpkin carving ideas (more…)
This Halloween Costume article was brought to you by Completely Bonkers, get your Halloween Costume idea today!
Don’t forget to vote for which Halloween costume you want Bargain Babe to wear on Oct. 31, 2010. Five choices are below – all suggested by readers. You can vote once a day until the contest ends on Sunday at 11:59 p.m. EST.
elana's pantry / Flickr
This post is brought to you by Best Kept Secrets, online supplier of candles – ideal for pumpkins!
This is a post by BargainBabe.com writer Yazmin Cruz.
Halloween is only a couple days away. If you�re still looking for cheap Halloween custom ideas there�s no time to waste and if it�s pumpkin carving ideas you�re in search of we�ve got them. But what will you be doing with all the leftover pumpkins you�ll have after Halloween has come and gone?
Here are some ideas to make your dollars stretch. (more…)
An extremely resourceful homemade bat costume. Credit: L Marie/Flickr
Vote on which Halloween costume Bargain Babe should dress up as on Oct. 31, 2010. I narrowed the dozens of amazing reader Halloween costume suggestions down to five of my favorite ideas. (It was very hard to choose!) Whichever costume gets the most vote is what I dress up as. I’ll even post pictures of myself in costume!
Voting below. The five costume contenders are…
1. A vending machine, as suggested by Lindsay. Using double sided tape, she stuck candy, Advil, and chips to her top. She dressed in all black and attacked to her upper arm a small canister with a coin slot. Through the night, people bought things from her. A costume you can profit from!
2. The economy, as suggested by Chrystal. “I’m going to dress up as the economy this year. I figure cutting a piece of Styrofoam into the shape of a headstone, painting it gray, writing (more…)
This weekend I saw more than 1,000 carved pumpkins at a local Halloween attraction. The pumpkins, carved by children, local businesses, and volunteers, dotted a quarter-mile loop in a nearby park.
I snapped almost three dozen pictures of my favorites, below. If you are looking for jack-o-lantern carving ideas, the designs below range from goofy to scary, simple to ornate, plus many that are unrelated to Halloween! If you are looking for Halloween costumes or Halloween coupons, these links are your best bet.
The headless horsemen no more! This was one of my favorites.
I like this carving idea, especially if you paired it with a pumpkin carved with the words "whooooo!"
What a menacing face!
Juushika Redgrave/Flickr
I loathe investing in Halloween gear because most of it gets used once a year, and is trampled, consumed, or lost before the holiday comes around again. Here is a list of Halloween costumes, candy, and decorations for sale at four dollar store chains. Selection varies by region.
99 Cents Only Halloween deals (So Cal, AZ, TX, and NV)
Pumpkins
Tootsie Rolls (more…)
Reader Donna shows off her bag of leaves costume.
Ideas for Halloween costumes continue to flow. Here are the latest. I’ll dress up as the best costume idea as selected by readers (voting begins next week). If you are looking for Halloween coupons, I’m listing everything on my WalletPop blog. Pumpkin carving ideas are here.
Over the weekend a new friend told me about her vending machine costume. Using double sided tape, she stuck a bunch of candy, Advil, and other items you commonly see at vending machines to her top. She dressed in all black and attacked to her upper arm a small canister with a coin slot. Through the night, people bought things from her!
Reader Donna wrote in with a clever costume idea and she shared a picture of her dressed up, above. “Last year for Halloween, I was a bag of leaves. I cut armholes out of a paper recycling leaf bag and attached fake autumn leaves purchased from a dollar store. I rimmed the top of the bag with (more…)
I strung together a dozen images of carved pumpkins to give you ideas for carving yours. Painting or drawing on pumpkins is a great option for kids who are too young to handle knives. Check out last year’s Halloween pumpkin carving ideas.
Randy Son of Robert/Flickr
Tech pumpkin. Credit: istolethetv/Flickr
Pumpkin witch! Credit: Joe Shlabotnik/Flickr
Credit: Family Fun Magazine
Below are more Halloween costume ideas, plus each week I’m updating this list of Halloween coupons!
Reader Wendy shared this idea for a giraffe costume, above. “Can’t post a photo on the blog comments, but just had to send this to you. Sweats, masking tape, construction paper ears taped to hood, and horns made from foil and covered with electrical tape for the giraffe. So frugal! I liked Bubble Bath, too (see below). Both from the Family Fun magazine website at familyfun.go.com.”
My blogger friend Collin at Hip2Save shared her idea for a John Deere tractor costume, plus her readers left comments with costume ideas to be a ballerina, Jedi, Mickey Mouse, and a chicken.
Many of the frugal costumes CouponSherpa shared a year ago are still (more…)
jessica.diamond / Flickr
This is a post by BargainBabe.com writer Yazmin Cruz.
While I love getting freebies year-round, I especially love to get free stuff on my birthday. Websites that aggregate birthday freebies are helpful when it’s time to celebrate another year and you want to score complimentary things. Here are three sites to consider. Where do you look for free birthday stuff? (more…)
Tetris cubes are another Halloween costume idea. Credit: philip pannenko/Flickr
Ideas poured in for Halloween costumes as part of this year’s contest. Suggest a frugal costume and the best idea (as voted by readers) is what I dress up as. With potentially embarrassing photos posted of me in costume after Halloween!
Jessica had a clever and fun costume idea. “At my sons request he wanted to be a “black eyed pea” last year. I am not too crafty so I had him [wear] a large white “P” printed on a black t-shirt ($6) and got some black face paint ($1) to go around one of his eyes. Everyone had a fit when I took him trick or treating. It was a huge hit! I wouldn’t see why it wouldn’t work for an adult as well.”
I’m a tad confused by Teena LeBeau’s suggestion. “Go as a Freudian slip. Take an old full slip and write Freudian slips on it.” Teena, do you mean write actual Freudian slips on the slip? Or just write “Freud”?
Elizabeth had a number of winning ideas. “Wrap yourself creatively in aluminum foil and go as a Leftover. (This is better (more…)
My take on Georgie's "bunch of grapes" costume.
Suggest a fabulous and frugal costume idea for me to dress up as and the winning costume – as chosen by reader votes – is what I will dress up as on Halloween. I’ll even post a picture of me in costume - no matter how wacky!
Some of last year’s best ideas…
Lisa says “Get a large trash bag, cut holes in for legs and arms, then fill out around you with assorted bottles, cans, etc. and go as a Recyclable. Then you can cash in the costume for $$ – very bargain babish!”
Lynda went “to a party one year where a woman wore a long orange dress, and tied several piece of fern to her head…said she was a carrot! A friend who was pregnant wore an old girl scouts uniform with a sign: It’s the Boy Scouts who are supposed to be prepared. Got a lot of laughs.” (more…)
Think clipping coupons is silly? Jen at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam will prove you wrong with her post on stockpiling sale items. She does admit, however, that using coupons is only worthwhile 8% of the time. Yikes!
Ever wonder if you are using coupons the correct way? Jennie at Bargain Blessings has guidelines for ethical coupon use. Her post dovetails with my earlier one on how to spot a fake coupon.
If you are looking for cheap or free date ideas, Nikki at Coupon Cookin shared eight dates, including one that involves frolf. Um, what?
Make your cheap cut of steak taste divine with this two-minute video from Kacy at Valuing Today. You wouldn’t believe how much salt she puts on her meat!
