Easy Halloween Party Decorations

Having a Halloween party but lacking decorations? Don’t worry, there are some very easy Halloween decorations you can put together in an afternoon and with a very small budget.

Have any bottles lying around? Create different labels using a computer and printer (or just a magic marker). Stock these bottles of poison, eye of newt, and other concoctions near the punch bowl.

Buy black candles to use in your centerpiece and in other locations. They’re not extra scary or anything, but they can add a bit to the overall atmosphere. Likewise, a bouquet of black roses or fake dead roses on the mantle is a nice addition.

Drape your chairs and other furniture in white sheets. It helps turn your normal living room into a ghostly world. Plus, it looks neat under a black light if you happen to have one.

Cheap cobwebs and plastic spiders from the store won’t cost a lot, but they can do a lot for your décor.

Scoop out little pumpkins and turn them into tea light holders. Draw faces on them or add pipe cleaners or construction paper wings to make spiders and bats.

Look on the internet for old photographs or creepy looking photos, such as posed family photos from the turn of the century. Print and mount them on black cardstock. Display them as your “family” photos. Remember, the more off-putting the person in the photo is, the better!

Peel a few apples, carve them into faces, and submerge them in a jar of white vinegar: instant collection of shrunken heads!

If you want something a bit cuter and less creepy, turn white paper cupcake cups upside down. Add two eyes by either using something like paper-brad eyes or a marker. Then string them using thread or dental floss and hang.

A honeydew melon can quickly be carved up to look like a brain. Submerge the whole thing in red gelatin and let chill. Pull it out, carve the melon out, and carefully scrape away some of the gelatin, leaving enough that it looks like blood.

Decorating for Fall

It’s almost October, and that means fall is now in full swing! If you haven’t done any fall decorating yet, now is the time to put away those summer decorations and bring out the autumn colors. Here are a few ways of decorating your home for this cooler season.

Change up your throw pillows, blankets, and sheets. Many people like to use light fabrics in the spring and summer, but you can do with darker tones for fall and winter. Browns and reds are especially popular. Many summer throw blankets are lightweight and just for decorative purposes, but ones for the fall are usually heavier and may actually be used.

Put out candles with fall scents to them, such as pumpkin and apple.

Put a wreath on your door that makes use of fall flowers (orange, yellow, and red ones).

Create a great table centerpiece using fall fruits and vegetables (pumpkins, squash, etc.), leaves, branches, dried corn, pine cones, and fall flowers.

Don’t forget to do a little fall decorating outdoors, too. One easy change besides the fall wreath on your front door is a fall welcome mat.

Back Up your Apology with Actions

You’ve done something wrong, but you understand you’ve hurt someone and you’re ready to apologize. Great! However, sometimes a simple “I’m sorry” just isn’t enough. While you might be completely sincere and truly want to make amends, words don’t always do it. If you feel like this is one of those times, back up your apology with actions. This will help stress your contriteness and convince the hurt party that you truly do feel sorry.

What type of actions should you take? There are several. The first action is obviously showing up in person to give your apology. While this might not always be possible (a long-distance phone fight with a sibling, for example, may have to be settled over the phone), the best way of saying your sorry is to do it in person. Don’t send email, a text, or call unless it’s the only way you can get the person to listen to you. Otherwise, it may seem insincere. This is especially true with email and texting since it’s very hard to convey emotion through these media.

Showing up with a gift or two is another good way of backing up your apology. Chocolates, flowers, a stuffed animal or two…all of these are good, smart ways of saying you’re sorry. If it was a serious fight between spouses or long-term partners, jewelry may even be appropriate. The more personal the gift, the better. Just don’t buy something cheap looking.

Finally, you can say you’re sorry with dinner. A fancy restaurant is a good plan, but you can also cook dinner as an apology. Tickets to an event you both enjoy might also be a good option for an apology date. Again, make it personal and make it sincere. Otherwise, you might find yourself in more trouble than you started in!

The Perfect Gift for All Occasions

Need a great gift for any occasion? Well, there are a few. If you don’t mind looking impersonal, you can go with a gift card. But what does a small piece of plastic really say about you? Not a lot. However, there is a great all-occasion gift that speaks volumes: flowers!

Why are flowers such a great gift? They’re very personal, for one thing. You can select the colors that the recipient loves, send them their favorite flowers, and pick out a vase that fits their personality. While there are many pre-designed arrangements that are absolutely stunning, you can work with a florist to customize these, or even have them create an arrangement from scratch. How much more personal can you get?

One concern why buying gifts is worrying if the person already has it. That’s not an issue with flowers. Even if the recipient gets two or three bouquets as birthday gifts, chances are they will be different. Even if they use the same flowers, it still doesn’t matter too much. You just can’t have too many flowers!

Flowers are great for any age. Girls like flowers just as much as grandmothers. There’s no birthday that can’t be celebrated with a bouquet of flowers. In fact, some girls and teens really love getting flowers as a gift.

Flowers can be a good gift for men and women. While it’s true that flowers aren’t the first thing that comes to mind for a man’s gift, some are quite appropriate. Flowering green plants, for example, are good gifts for men with offices that could use a little bit of color.

Next time you’re having difficulty picking out the perfect gift for a birthday, a holiday, or any occasion, go with flowers. They’re simply perfect for any and all events.

Grandparents Always Love You

We’ve all been down on our luck, made mistakes, or done something that we later realized was just really, really dumb. During thick and thin, however, our families have always been there. While it’s our parent’s job to something chastise us and lecture us on where we’ve done the wrong thing, our grandparents are almost always there to give us unconditional support and help. Yes, parents do this, too, but grandparents seem to always be there to spoil us a bit.

Why do grandparents always love us so much? Perhaps because they know they can spoil us and give us all the unconditional love we want, and then they send us home! That’s not the only reason, though. Our grandparents grew up in a different time, a time that was, in many ways, much harder than ours. They understand what it’s like to be in trouble, to really need help, and now that they’ve made it through their tough times, they’re in a position to help. Maybe they had someone (their own grandparents, perhaps) help them out when they needed it, and now they want to pass it on. Maybe they just hate to see us struggling so. Whatever the reason, they’re always there with a hug, a kind word, and more if it’s needed.

This Sunday (Sept. 11) is National Grandparents Day. Don’t miss this opportunity to tell your grandparents how thankful you are for all they’ve done for you. For those who have lost their grandparents, take the time to remember them or take flowers to the cemetery. Let them know just how much you love them.

Labor Day Cookout Ideas

Many people like to celebrate Labor Day by having a cookout. But if you’ve done this year after year, you might be looking for some new cookout ideas. Here are a few different ideas, both traditional and a bit different.

Traditional:
hot dogs, hamburgers, steak

BBQ:
Ribs, chicken wings

For the non-beef eaters:
Grilled chicken breast, grilled fish

Sides:
Grilled corn, Sesame parmesan zucchini, baked beans, grilled squash

Non-grilled sides:
Fresh salad, breadsticks, potato salad, coleslaw

Dessert:
Ice cream, ice cream pie, fresh watermelon, lemon bars, Rice Krispy treats

Off the grill and into the crockpot:
Sweet crockpot ribs, beans, crockpot potatoes, cheese dip


What kinds of food do you usually make for Labor Day? Leave us some ideas in the comments below!

Wrapping Up the Summer

With the end of August coming in just a few days, it looks like summer is wrapping up. September usually (and, in some cases, hopefully) brings with it cooler weather, and people start reaching for jackets. It’s time to put away the swimsuits, shorts, and other summer items. As we wrap up summer, it’s time to start thinking ahead to the fall.

As temperatures start to cool up, one of the first things you’ll want to do to wrap up the summer is put away your summer clothes. Some people move them to the back of the closet or fold them and put them in storage boxes. Either way, you’ll want to make room for your fall and winter clothes. You may need to wash or iron them, especially if they’ve been folded. You might also need to take a few things to the cleaners.

Some people change their décor each season. If you’re one of them, wrapping up the summer means putting away the summer decorations. This might mean changing the quilt on your bed to one that incorporates more brown, orange, red, and yellow (traditional fall colors) or putting a different welcome mat out. Other things you might change include decorative pillows, throws, wreaths, decorative candles, and decorative towels.

Another way of wrapping up the summer is to give the exterior of your home a change. Some chores that you need to do aren’t fun and don’t do much to change your home’s look, such as cleaning out the gutters. However, you can take the time to paint and patch up a few things, too.

The end of summer doesn’t have to mean the end of doing things outdoors, though. You can still get in a few picnics, continue walking or jogging outdoors, and take the kids to the park. In fact, the early fall is often the preferred time to do some outdoor events since it is cooler. If you haven’t been to the zoo this summer, for example, now may be the perfect time.

Spend the next few weeks wrapping up the summer and preparing for the fall. That way, when the cooler temperatures get here, you’ll be ready.