# Party on a very tight budget



## RedSonja (Sep 18, 2004)

Things are very tight financially around my house this year. I'm only working part-time now and trying to focus on getting a photography business going. I'm debating on whether I should even have a party this year, considering that I hardly have any cash to spare!

Any of you guys done a great party (and a great costume for that matter) on a really tight budget??? I'm talking about less than $200......


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## DarkLore (Jan 31, 2009)

I just bought materials for a bride of Frankenstein prop recently. A costume for a person wouldn't be much different. Cheap muslin-type fabric with a square hole sewed and hemmed in the middle (or use stich-witch fabric tape) for the dress. Cheescloth (comes by the yard) wrapped up the arms, red lipstick, drawn on neck stitching, and a black/white wig.


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## Rikki (Aug 14, 2006)

Absolutely you can! That is, if you have a few things already in place. 

Do you already have decorations? Your guests won't mind that they're recycled from previous years if you have some "new" focal point. Last year I couldn't afford a big new prop so I found a bunch of items for a Cabinet of Curiosities and introduced a new game that everyone loved (the balloon popping version of Tempt Your Fate). 

Ask your friends to help you with party food. There are always a few people at least that are willing to bring a dish or two. I put "finger foods will be available on a first-come-first served basis" in the invites and have always had enough to satisfy everyone. I also do BYOB aside from an alcoholic punch. No one has ever complained and it allows me to keep costs waaaaaay down.

As for costumes, if you have a varied closet (or costume box!) you probably have a lot of pieces that can be recycled/upcycled to work for SOMETHING. Check out my post from last year - http://www.halloweenforum.com/hallo...24-awesome-last-minute-costumes-my-party.html


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## RedSonja (Sep 18, 2004)

That costume post was too funny, Rikki! I loved it! 

For a costume, I think I might go w/ a vampire type thing...something simple and traditional.

It's hard for me to get too excited about H-ween this year when I'm so broke!! 

I guess it just means I'll have to be a little more creative and inventive. I definitely have decorations I can re-use, I do that every year, but I usually have a "theme" so not everything fits within that. I'll come up w/ something, I'm sure.

I like the idea of asking people to bring an appetizer. I never liked doing that before, but this year I'll have to. And you're right, most people don't mind. Maybe I can give them some ideas, so they don't really have to think about it too much.

And as far as alcohol, some people bring their own anyway, since some have a preference.

Ok, so I'm starting to feel a little better about this!.....


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## JahRah (Oct 23, 2009)

I think you can definitely do an awesome party on 200, especially if you do BYOB and have a few people bring food. 

What types of props and decorations do you have to work with?? Maybe we can help you think of a cool theme that will tie all of those things in, and give you ideas for some cheap things to add to the effect. 

Also, I think you do this already, but go to a lot more yard sales. There are some great finds out there, for both props/decorations and costumes. I actually just got a really great witch/vampire cloak for $1.50.


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## kprimm (Apr 3, 2009)

Should be very easy to do a great party on 200. I would absolutely just ask everyone to commit to bringing food to help out. You can simple food items for the party that make alot and doesn't cost too much. Sloppy joes, cupcakes, punch to drink, doritos and chips and such. The point is the fun of having the party and i think most everyone would be glad to help out. I had this exact problem just last year, and i had a ton of help with the annual party and we all had a great time.


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## NOWHINING (Jul 25, 2009)

Invite the people to bring a dish or their posions to share. re-use your props again and just have fun. My sister and I re-use our props and we do them up different every year. We also ask to bring a dish or two to make it less costly for our self and less stressful as well. Do you do games? Dollar tree works wonders unless you are into making halloween craft or soemthing.


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## RedSonja (Sep 18, 2004)

You're right, Dollar Tree does have some good finds that can be used w/ props and decor.

As far as the decorations I have...I've got lots of stuff...skellies, webs, spiders, crows, tombstones, lots of "creepy" cloth, black drapes, candles, pumpkins, bats, rats, snakes, old skool cut-outs, you name it! 

For the food & drinks, I suppose I've always been a control freak and want to do everything myself. But this year, if we want to do this, things will have to be different!


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## Rikki (Aug 14, 2006)

RS, I have the same issue! I do all themed foods and it irks me when people bring things that aren't. But I'm always pulling my hair out come party day so anything that I didn't have to add to my already heavy workload is appreciated. I just take a deep breath and try not to look at the food table too often!


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## RedSonja (Sep 18, 2004)

Rikki said:


> RS, I have the same issue! I do all themed foods and it irks me when people bring things that aren't. But I'm always pulling my hair out come party day so anything that I didn't have to add to my already heavy workload is appreciated. I just take a deep breath and try not to look at the food table too often!


Too funny, Rikki!! I'm totally the same way. I feel my heart start to palpitate when someone would come in w/ food in a bright yellow tupperware container and place it right in the middle of my Halloween spread....oh, The Horror!!!!


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## NOWHINING (Jul 25, 2009)

Guys! you need to learn to let other people help you and be grateful. It is also less stressful too. RELAXXXX!!!!! Let them bring food and help out. This will make them feel special and they will keep coming back! My sister and I dont really set up a theme becuz we are more concern about having room for all that food, even though there will be a decoration or two or so right with the food. We kinda mainly let the food be the theme, not THEME the food. Each tell it own story. Does that make sense?


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## Spookilicious mama (Feb 27, 2008)

*10 bucks when I was Queen of Halloween, tiara and sceptor and crazy hair and makeup. people couldnt believe I spent only 10 bucks*









*another find at a thrift store. Old wedding dress I found that I dyed gunmetal grey. I used this dress when I was a Glamour Ghoul. Again no one could believe I cheap i got my costume.*
*Halloween on a budget can be done you just have to keep your eys open for that great deal*


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## Rikki (Aug 14, 2006)

RedSonja said:


> Too funny, Rikki!! I'm totally the same way. I feel my heart start to palpitate when someone would come in w/ food in a bright yellow tupperware container and place it right in the middle of my Halloween spread....oh, The Horror!!!!


I solved that problem....I keep extra Halloween trays, bowls, and other serving dishes to transfer their stuff onto. It may not be themed but at least it's on Halloween dishes!  

And I am grateful for the help. I just wish they'd take my OCD into consideration! 


SpookyMama, your costumes are gorgeous.  Amazing what you can do with a little cash and a lot of creativity!


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## JahRah (Oct 23, 2009)

Wow, great finds and ideas for costumes!! 

Theme
I find a theme can make a really simple party pop with excitement and buzz. By integrating the invites, people see the magic more. I think it is the easiest way to throw a great party with little money. 

You sound like you have a ton of amazing props/decorations. You can always do the classic halloween theme. "masks and Mayhem" or "Monsters and Mischief". 
Or perhaps you go a little further and send out invitations for "All Hollow's Eve", with a spooky origin story (short fake one) about the night. That also ties in the invitation. That way the mixing and matching of all the stuff would work. I like maybe a witch themed story, or a story about Jack O Lantern. 

For Jack O Lantern story, I've posted a link below. Adapt it and shorten it to please you. Maybe just focus on the end of the story. Or maybe say he was punished by the devil to roam the streets on All Hallow's Eve collecting souls to repay the devil. And that he preys on those alone or those not in costume, and therefore you are hosting a gathering to keep all safe on All Hallow's Eve or something like that. See the link below for the full story. (P.S. I literally just did a quick google search and brainstormed this, so if it's a crappy idea...I apologize. Hope it helps the brainstorming for you though) 

http://www.essortment.com/all/jackolantern_reuu.htm

Food Table
For food, I think having some halloween trays on hand for guest dishes are a great idea! You can also create a center piece prop for the table. Allowing the food itself not to be themed, but the table to be themed. Maybe create a Witches Cauldron. Probably get a black plastic one for a couple bucks and then use some styrofoam balls painted green and throw them inside. Use that as a center piece. Then you could title the table Witches ingredients or something like that. 

Food Items  
I usually don't have all that much food at my parties. Usually only have about 30-40 people, and we focus a bit more on the drinking. Food is just there as a side item for the theme and to make sure people aren't drinking on empty stomachs. That being said, I've done three food items that have been relatively cheap but have gotten great feedback. 
1. Rice Crispy Treats with green or pink food coloring in the shape of brains
2. Bread sticks in the shape of bones (pillsbury) (Pretty cool looking)
3. Loaves of French bread 

Secret Reaper
Whenever you decide what you are going to do, maybe you can mention your "likes" when the secret reaper comes along. It seems like people are always try to figure out what to do for their... reap-ee(?). So, this could help give them some direction and help you get some crucial pieces for your costume, or decorations. 


Again, Hope this at least helps with the brainstorming.


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## rockplayson (Jun 7, 2008)

My sister had a really tight budget last year and her party turned out great.
A few tips to help.....

*1. Pot Luck*. These are always fun for everyone. You could even make a contest out of it. Have people bring a snack that is halloween themed. You could all vote on the best tasting one or the most realated to halloween. For the prize you could get a halloween gag gift like severed fingers or an arm. (under five bucks)

Backup: Have a candy bowl.

*2. Beer/other adult drinks.* If you send out invites, just put that drinking is welcome but if they want beer they should bring there own. (people are pickey anyway when it comes to the stuff they drink. It's not rude to ask. you should not have to supply all the beer.

Backup: Get a 24 pack of something.

*3. Costume: *Visit thrift stores or the fabric department at walmart. 

*4: Decor: *Use what you have. Just put it in a diffrent place then it was last year.
Backup: get a strobe light, fog machine and turn the lights out.


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

Shoot. I never spend more than $200 on our parties. The food is always shared (will be even more so this year) and the decorations and tables, tents, etc. are things that we have on hand already. Costumes can be done very cheap depending on what you want to do.


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## Haunty (May 31, 2006)

We do an annual Halloween party & Haunted Maze.
Every year the food is pot luck & stated so on the party invites. This is a multi-family hosted party & we provide sandwiches, pop, & a few items to get it started. But, we always have list of suggested foods.... when they contact us ahead of time & don't know what to bring. This helps discouraging everyone from bringing a bag of chips & having only chips. lol


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## Drayvan (Sep 22, 2009)

1) Starting to ask now is the best thing you can do. Hit up yard sales and thrift stores, goodwill, salvation army anything not retail. Plenty of good finds ae out there if you have the eye to see things differently then those "normal" people do. 
2) Definately make it a BYOB. 
3) I always allow people to bring a dish it lets them be creative and keeps money in my pocket.
4) relax the people showing up are friends and they understand.
I think most people are in the same situation myself included. I will be reusing many of my props with only creating 2 new ares this year if funds are there to do so. Anyways never give up and remember its all about having fun on our special day.


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## RedSonja (Sep 18, 2004)

Thanks guys for your support, understanding and great feedback! 

I think I can pull this off on a budget this year. Just won't be able to buy too many new decorations/props and can't get wild w/ my costume. Usually I hand make my costumes and use a lot of detail. This year, I'll need to do the thrift store version!

I think it'll be fun to see how much I can make the dollars stretch!!


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## Haunted Dogs (Jun 15, 2007)

RedSonja said:


> I think it'll be fun to see how much I can make the dollars stretch!!


that's the spirit! You might discover that pinching those pennies opened up a whole new way of celebrating. The goal of the party is to have fun, so always keep that in mind. 

We've been doing annual Halloween parties since 2002. We host it, but have tons of help from our neighbors. We always have a lot of food, but we've gotten a lot less sophisticated in the food choices. We discovered that we don't have enough time on the day or two before the party to get too crazy, and it all works out great. We try to make sure we have the basics covered ...and over the years more and more people are bringing food too...even though we've never asked. A lot of people like to feel they've contributed...take advantage of that!

Some good, inexpensive dishes to make:
turkey sloppy joes (we get frozen ground turkey in 5lb chubs for cheap)
pasta salad (not finger food, but cheap and filling)
cream cheese pinwheels (Costco has cream cheese pretty inexpensive)
chili
a couple of basic chips & dips


If you have just a few of those and ask people to bring whatever they want, you can't go wrong. It's amazing what great dishes people will bring! You can't be controlling though, just let go and run with it. 

Oh, and if you want to have a "themed" food area....try setting up a section as your theme and have another section for other people's additions...that way you can let your creative juices flow without stressing about people messing it up. Just a thought.

As for decorations, we re-use the same decorations every year. We do add some theme specific decorations, but it doesn't have to be much. We decorate our front yard, side yard, back yard, familyroom, diningroom & kitchen, livingroom, 2 bathrooms, master bedroom and hallway. We incorporate all of those into the basic theme.

So far our themes have been:
basic old style Halloween
Pirates
Haunted Medieval
Haunted Mardi Gras
Halloween through the Ages 
Clue
That's Hollyweird
Welcome to our nightmare

For 2010 we're doing Dread Rot Cafe, with each room covering something to do with music/entertainment. 

Good luck with choosing your theme, and with your plans. Just remember that you can't control everything and RELAX and have fun!


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## pdcollins6092 (Aug 8, 2009)

I can help you out with invites if you want.


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## mysterymaiden (Aug 11, 2008)

RedSonja said:


> It's hard for me to get too excited about H-ween this year when I'm so broke!!


Red, I have been there, trust me. When I was first starting my business, there were some TIGHT months! That first year I had some friends over to help me hand out candy, and we all got dressed up. When they inevitably asked what they could bring (as any GOOD guest does, expecting you to say "Just Yourself") I jumped in with "How about some vodka?"

I made some hanging ghosts from a crappy old sheet and hung them from my front porch, then reused some of my tried-and-true decorations to give the place some kick. We had the entire party on the front porch and despite the chill in the air (this is Canada, but we layer under our costumes anyhow) we didn't even notice the cold! I replaced my porch light with an orange one I got from the dollar store up the street, and then bought a bunch of candy.

I brought my laptop out and streamed creepy music off the internet. The scene was fantastic and I hardly spent any money

Sure enough, as the kiddies went to bed, the porch became the talk of the neighbourhood and people who have lived around me for years that I've never spoken to returned with a beer from their own fridge to hang out, chat and have a good time.

Some of the ex-Scouters in the group even pulled out some ghost stories from the old days, which were hilarious and surprisingly very well told!

That was probably one of the most special parties I have ever had. The entire thing cost me under $100 and everyone still talks about how "nice" it was just to chill out and talk one year - they still refer to it as "that year we handed out candy on your porch when you were a broke entrepreneur"!

So get excited girl, there are lots of great reasons to be excited, and don't let money hold you back from having a great time this Halloween, because spending a ton of money is not what it's all about. If you can pull off a party in this lean time, think of the spectacle you could create in the years to come when your biz has taken off!


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## Si-cotik (Aug 12, 2009)

This thread is really cool seeing as how I won't be able to spend much at all this year. The closest I have come to haunting is one pumpkin, a small glowing ghost, and a wreath of black roses. This year I was hoping to be able to do a lot more. And kids? only a handful...if it's not raining. Neighborhood doesn't really get into Halloween at all, and I only get along with one of my sisters...can honestly say that I don't have any friends (well aside from my fellow HF who don't live anywhere near me to share their haunts)...sigh
Oh how i envy those of you who have lots of TOTs, friends, neighbors, etc. that really get in the party spirit.

But anyways, I had thought that maybe using your old props and have a contest where your guests come up with the stories, and whoever makes up the best story will get some kind of prize. Gag gift to make it really memorable. That way you don't have to come up with a theme, they make it up for you.

And of course, each guest bring at least one dish and you just might be set for food. BYOB is always a good idea.


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## mysterymaiden (Aug 11, 2008)

Si-cotik, I, too, don't have any friends! LOL! I just moved cities 2 months ago and aside from my neighbours, I haven't even had time to get out there and make any new friends. Fortunately, we have an awesome fire pit in our back yard, which is the envy of the neighbourhood. I'm thinking this year I'll have a halloween marshmallow roast and haunt and see if I can't find a few new friends this Halloween in my neighbourhood. I guess there aren't too many kids that come around here either, but I'm going to give it a try anyhow. If nothing else, it's an excuse to do a haunt. Could you do something like that?


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## NOWHINING (Jul 25, 2009)

everyone really have some great thoughts and ideas. I too will be pretty much re-using my Halloween stuff even though I will be checking store out just to see what they have out. The same goes for my sister. Right now between her and I we spent $100.00 dollars on prizes and small prop for our Twilight theme party.... Now that I think about that. I might need to re-add that up again... I think I am forgetting something. LOL anyway, as we try to learn... we really DO NOT need to blow money when simple will really get things rocking.


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## HellsKitchenette (Oct 13, 2007)

Brambly tree branches are a really nice touch--and free!! (There is a pic in my photo album of some I hauled into the house.)


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## GhostMagnet (Jul 14, 2009)

Yes! Tree branches are awesome- They look cool framing the food table. Cheap party for us this year, too. I love all the ideas.


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## Kymmm (Oct 1, 2009)

I too am a control freak when it comes to my party. I want everything to look just so but, one way you could still keep it themed is to state in the invitiation that a prize will be given for the most unique halloween themed dish.. then you could give a little tombstone decoration as a trophy.. It would be cheap and might give people a little incentive to bring a dish to help feed everyone.


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## Ween12amEternal (Apr 15, 2006)

We just did a 4th of July party on the cheap with some relatives - everyone pitching in necessities & food helped a lot!

Thrift store, Dollar General/Tree, curb diving & local FreeCycle are all good sources of inexpensive props/decor. Also, sometimes party stores & regular big box merchants (K-Mart, Target, Walmart) will sometimes have before season clearance to get rid of prior years' merchandise that didn't sell. Keep an eye out. 

Try to relax & have fun - it'll be a great evening no matter what!


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