Countdown to Halloween: Our huge annual Halloween Party revealed! TONS of Halloween Party ideas - all of them fun, cheap, or free (naturally!)

To commemorate the fact that Halloween is TOMORROW, I thought I'd end our countdown with the grand finale, the mother of all mother Halloween posts! 

Let me preface this by saying...

I need a nap.

We had our big, huge, looking-forward-to-this-all-year, 3rd annual Halloween party on Saturday.

It was wild.

It was crazy.

And it was really, really fun to throw...

So fun, in fact, I got sick from it.
So, sorry this is delayed! I've been sick as a dog all week.

Lovely. I hate colds.

I'm calling it my "Halloween Party Hangover" (even though there wasn't a drop of alcohol involved).

I got tired of sitting in bed, sick, all day, so I thought I'd take a break and reveal what we did this year! Enjoy :)

3rd Annual Page Halloween Party Breakdown:

First off, I made the invite through evite.com. It's free, they have tons of cute designs, it's easy for people to RSVP (which is a MUST!!!!), easy for you to see the guest list, and easy for you to message your guests.

I made a sign for the front door to let people know they could just walk on in. Of course, I always have to add a little flair to it :) I will teach you how to make these paper pinwheels sometime this week, they look so cool in person!

The sign on the bottom right of the collage was put on the door leading to our basement so people knew where to go.

These cute guys greeted our guests as they came in. Made by my amazing neighbor, Rebecca! Can you believe that?

I made a haunted staircase for people to walk down to get to the party.

•  I had one large black light on the floor at the top of the stairs (left pic), and put black light bulbs in the other overhead light fixtures. You can buy the bulbs anywhere, I got mine at Kmart. They aren't cheap, they were $3-$4 each. I recommend buying them after Halloween on clearance and stocking up for next year!
• I made ghosts using cheap white tulle, and white balloons with permanent marker faces on the balloons. I recommend drawing on the BALLOON and not the TULLE, so you can use the tulle for other things! I held the balloon inside the tulle with a simple rubber band.
• The inflated skull at the bottom of the stairs we bought for $4 on clearance years ago. 
• The caution tape we've also had for years, I can't remember where I got it! But it's a sturdy vinyl/plastic-y material so we reuse the same tape year after year, even if it's been cut. 
• I used packing tape to hold everything to my wall.
• The battery-powered candle votives lining the stairs were 2 for $1 at the Dollar Store.
• At the bottom of the stairs I hung two cheap black garbage sacks that I shredded into strips so to keep the stairwell dark. People had to walk through the strips to get to the party, completing the creepy "cave" feel.

At the bottom of the stairs, once you walked through the garbage bags, I had a photo booth set up. 

•  To make the photo booth I bought a Halloween vinyl table cloth from the dollar store and taped it to my wall. *Note: In the future I will do TWO table cloths side-by-side because I hate that my wall showed on the sides of the pictures! You'll see what I mean soon.
• The bride of frankenstein was borrowed from my amazing neighbor Rebecca...who MADE HER! She's so talented.
• The Halloween disco ball was on clearance after Halloween from years ago.

The photo booth was a fun way to capture the creative costumes of our guests, and I always make an online photo album for people to come and grab the photos of themselves. It's a fun "take-home" gift for people. 

Thor, Katniss Everdeen, Forest Gump/Jenny/and their Shrimp

Bob Ross the painter from PBS/a witch, "Ice loves coco", and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang characters

"Trots and Turds" dog walker/pregnant woman with baby coming out of her stomach (she's actually pregnant), pregnant cheerleader (also actually pregnant), and my way-too-good-looking neighbors (THE Rebecca who made all those cute figures!)

This year we were supposed to be an 80's rock band. But...my son (the guitarist) and my daughter (the drummer) went to bed before the party, and we never ended up dressing my dog up in his outfit (yes, even the dog participates!) so we were really a disbanded 80's band by the end of the night :)

• My husband's black mullet wig we got from Walmart for $5
• My pink shirt I had from college
• My sparkly shirt and zebra skirt I got from Charlotte Russe on clearance for $2.99 each.
• The leggings I got on clearance at DSW shoes months ago for less than $1.
• My husband's red pants are red pants he actually wears (they are so hot! I love them!) that he got from Uptown Cheapskate in Satl Lake.
• Everything else we had lying around in our closets and costume box.

I decorated our "Party Lair" with simple decorations.

•  I bought the streamers from the dollar store, because they are 2 for $1 which is better than most places. I only ended up using one package of two streamers, I had a ton leftover that I will save for next year. And yes, I roll up and save my streamers for other parties and crafts!
• The little lanterns were from the dollar store and the bigger ones were from Target ($2.50, showcased HERE). We hung them from the ceiling with fishing line and packing tape.
• the black fringe was made from cheap black garbage bags.

 Unlike our Party Lair, in our kitchen I went ALL OUT.

I made a candy bar for guests to make a bag to take home, or fill a cup to enjoy during the party.

• The vinyl table cloth was from the dollar store.
• The tree was made from a 1/2 a roll of packing paper from Staples ($5ish for the roll). I ripped off a section of paper, rolled and scrunched it up, and taped it to the wall with packing tape. I had grand plans to hang bats from the limbs, but I tend to get burned out toward the end of decorating...so that element was nixed from the list :) 
• The candy bar sign I made in word, printed on simple orange paper, and put in a black frame I had lying in my garage.
• The witch legs hanging out from under the table was made by my neighbor Rebecca. She fount the tutorial on Pinterest and said it was really easy! She said you just stuff leggings with batting, tape shoes on with black electrical tape, and stick rebar or sticks in the legs to keep them straight.
• The "It's all bout the candy" sign was a freebie from THIS outing.
• The candy in the candy bar I bought from the bulk section at Winco. It was SO MUCH CHEAPER THERE!!!! The candy selection included:
• Red hots
• Carmel and peanut butter-filled monster eye balls
• Cinnamon bears
• Red cinnamon dot things
• Black and orange gumdrops
• Black and red licorice
• Gummy worms
• Candy corns
• Reeces Pieces
• Orange slices ("pumpkin" slices)
• And anything else black/red/Halloween-ish.
• I also had a jar of glow sticks that the kids went CRAZY over. I got tubes of 15 glow bracelets for $1 each at the dollar store.
• I put the candy in apothecary and mason jars that I had lying around my house, many of them from Tai Pan Trading.
• I just put normal spoons in the candy dishes for people to scoop the candy out with.
• I bought little treat bags from the dollar store and little plastic dixie bathroom-sized cups for people to hold their candy in. (picture of the treat bags are below)

For the food table...

• Table cloth from the dollar store.
• The banner I made with scrapbook paper and dollar store ribbon, tutorial to come soon!
• The small candles were from the dollar store, the large ones in the big votive containers were from around my house. Better pictures below.
• The food was mostly brought by my guests! I asked them in the evite to bring either a creative caramel apple topping, or a spooky treat to share. We had SO MUCH FOOD!
• Most of the food trays were from the dollar store, same style as HERE, and that's how I made the cupcake stand.

And, of course, we had a caramel apple bar.

(caramel recipe HERE)

•  The orange vinyl table cloth and the black fabric runner were from the dollar store.
• I bought tiny apples from Walmart for people to dip, to have individual, mini caramel apples! They were so cute, the picture doesn't do them justice!
• The caramel was homemade. It's SO EASY to make and SO MUCH CHEAPER than buying bags or bricks of caramel. Recipe HERE
• I kept the caramel warm in an electric fondue pot kept on the lowest setting.
• I used normal kabob skewers for the apples, and just had them laid out so people could skewer their own so the apples didn't turn brown.
• I laid out bowls from our kitchen for the toppings. My guests brought many of the toppings. The toppings included:
• Cinnamon/sugar
• Nerds candy
• Mini M&M's
• Mini marshmallows
• Crushed Oreos
• Sprinkles
• I had a cutting board on the counter at the end of the table (out of kids' reach) so people could slice their apple if they wanted to.
• I had mini plastic cups on the table for those who preferred to fill a cup with caramel and daintily dip their apples. Not many people went that route :)

And, of course, somehow I managed to not even take a SINGLE picture of the drink table! But it was a small table with a vinyl table cloth on it and two huge glass drink dispensers (one was mine from Costco, one I borrowed from a neighbor). I made my party punch in one, and had ice water in the other. And of course...there was lots of dry ice involved in both :)

*Note: I learned the hard way that when you add dry ice to plain water, it makes it carbonated, like Perrier water. YUCK! So either just keep the dry ice in the already carbonated punch, or have it in a container the floats on top of the water so it doesn't carbonate it.

I tried to have extra touches throughout the party. Here's a breakdown of them...

• The small candles and candle sticks/votives were from the dollar store. I made the "bloody candle" by lighting a red dollar store candle, and dripping it down the white one. Super easy, cool effect! The large candles and votives were from around my house.
• Now you can see the treat bags in the bottom right photo. Perfect size for a candy bar, and it was only $1 for the pack from the dollar store!
• The spider web in the small bottom picture was $3 from Kmart.
• The witch hat was $2.50 in the dollar bins at Target.
• The black candle stick and pumpkin were from around my house. The candle stick was bought years ago at Down East Home, the pumpkin was after-season clearance at Tai Pain Trading.
• The BOO words were made HERE.

To make it darker in my kitchen, I made a garbage bag spider to cover the light.

• I used cheap garbage bags and filled them with balloons ($1 per pack from Walmart). 
• I used packing tape to get it to stick to my ceiling.
• I used streamers for the legs, $1 for 2 rolls at the dollar store.

And, of course, you have to have activities at your party!

• Since we had so many people, I figured it would be hard to organize games. So we just set up Rock Band in the theater room and let people come and go. It turned out to be a huge hit! 
• In the guest room I brought down a ton of toys from our play room and made a Little Monsters Play Area for the kids. It was GREAT because it gave them somewhere to play. Unfortunately I only took this picture after most of the toys had been cleaned up, but we had our lego table, cars, balls, and other toys down there.
• We also had foosball set up for people to play. 
• The signs were made in word, printed to white paper, and taped to paper place mats that I got on clearance the other day from Joann Fabrics. It was $5 or so for a booklet of them (like oversized  scrapbook paper packs).

It was a wild, fun night, with TONS of people!

It was a ton of fun...but my poor dog was glad to see everyone go. It's a bit overwhelming for a big pup sometimes!

 WHEEW!
So now we all need a nap. What did you do for YOUR Halloween party??

Countdown to Halloween: "Mummy Bake" (delicious Broccoli Chicken Braid)

Ok. I can hardly breathe.

For one, only 5 more days until one of my favorite holidays! EEEEEEEK!

For two, our HUGE annual Halloween party is tomorrow night...

...and I'm running around like a chicken with my head cut off! I can't wait to post about all the cool things we're doing this year.

In the meantime, I made a fun Halloween dinner last night that I thought I'd share!

This recipe was surprisingly easy and delish. I had some broccoli in my fridge I needed to use up (I price-matched some a few weeks ago and went overboard. Needless to say, we're soooo over broccoli right now...) and I needed a meal that I could "sneak" it in since we're sick of eating it plain.

This dish LOOKS impressive, TASTES good, and I have decided it's perfect for Halloween!

P.S...I promise this is WAY EASIER than it looks! 

(I don't like to cook, remember?? So I wouldn't even attempt it if it wasn't easy.)

Mummy Bake (Broccoli Chicken Braid)

Adapted from THIS recipe

Ingredients:
1 to 2C broccoli, chopped small
2T Olive oil
1/2 small onion
1 clove garlic
2C diced chicken meat (I used 2 chicken breasts and diced them small)
1 to 2C shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 to 1C mayo
2 teaspoons dried dill weed
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 Tablespoons slivered or chopped almonds
2 (8oz) packages refrigerated crescent rolls
1 egg white, beaten

Directions:
1. Wash and chop broccoli. Put in a glass bowl with a few tablespoons of water, cover, and microwave on high for 3 to 4 minutes, or until it's the consistency you like. I did 3 minutes and thought it was a little too "crunchy" for my taste, so just keep an eye on it and cook it how you like.

2. Meanwhile, saute onion in hot oil for about 2 minutes, until they start to get soft. Add garlic and cook for about 1 minute.

3. Add diced chicken and saute until chicken is completely cooked through. I added lots of seasonings here, some suggestions: poultry seasoning, rosemary garlic, onion powder, a little italian seasoning, whatever you like. You can also add other veggies: celery, carrots, bell pepper, etc.

4. In a large bowl, combine chicken/veggie mixture, cheddar cheese (we like LOTS of cheese in ours, but just add to taste), mayonnaise (I added more than 1/2C mayo because I had a lot of broccoli and chicken to use up, so I ended up adding between 1/2 and 1 C), dill weed, salt, and almonds (the recipe calls for 2T but I added at least 3x that. It gives it a good crunch. I only had sliced almonds so I chopped those up and they worked fine) until mixed well.

5. Unroll crescent dough and mush together into one big ball. Roll flat on a baking sheet into the shape of a rectangle (may want to lightly grease the sheet). Use a knife to cut 1in wide strips toward the center of the dough, starting on the long sides of the rectangle. There should be a solid strip of about 3in of dough down the center of the triangle that isn't cut, and it will look like "fringe" coming down the sides. Spread the chicken mixture along the center strip.

6. Fold the side "fringe" strips over the chicken mixture. Stretch them out gently first if they aren't long enough, you want them to reach all the way to the other side. Alternate strips from each side, they will start to form a braid going along the center. Pinch or twist the dough to seal it closed.

7. Brush braided dough with the egg white. The recipe calls to bake at 375 degrees for 25-28 minutes, but I would probably lower the temp to 350 degrees so it cooks a little more in the center. It's done when it's golden brown.

Enjoy!


Here are some photos to illustrate the process, since taking photos was a second-thought for me (sorry folks).

Here's what the "fringe" and strip down the center will look like.

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Here's the braiding process

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And here's the finished product!

(source)

So fun for Halloween. Enjoy!

FCF Q&A: An exclusive tour of my closet! Answering your Q's: Where do you get all your cute clothes? How are you able to have so many clothes and not spend a lot? How much do you spend on clothes?

Lately I've been getting a lot of questions about my clothes...

Where do you get all your cute clothes? 

How are you able to have so many clothes and not spend a lot? 

How much do you spend on clothes?

Help! I need a new wardrobe but don't have the budget!

...so I thought it was time to unveil the closet!

Duhn duhn duuuuuuuuuhn

I put together a (lengthy...sorry!) video that gives you an extensive and exclusive tour of my closet to hopefully answer all your questions.

Click HERE to watch the video online, or click below to watch it right here:

A recent question about my clothes originally came after appearing on Studio 5 wearing this outfit, so I will dissect it for you!

Shirt:
Plain black shirt I've had forever, bought from Gadzooks in the mall for $3. Unfortunately there is no website for Gadzooks. It's a store that was bought by Forever 21 so they are considered the same brand now, though Gadzooks labels tend to carry a slightly different name. I don't see them many places but you can find good deals there!

Coral sweater: 
Actually shown in the video, got from TJ Max for around $6.99 recently.

Crazy leopard-print pants: 
Target clearance, $10. Remember me mentioning them HERE? They were looked IDENTICAL to the $200+ pairs I saw all over an upscale resort town.

(P.S...these blues shoes are the $4.99 shoes I mentioned in the video, and mentioned HERE)

Necklace: 
Gift for Christmas years ago, but from Charlotte Russe (so probably between $6-$12). They are actually having a 2 for $10 sale on their jewelry right now, check it out HERE. I also REALLY love getting jewelry from Forever 21 because it's so cheap, and pretty sturdy! Just be aware that Forever 21 doesn't allow returns on any of their items, so buy carefully.

Shoes:
Got these from Plato's Closet for $8. You can't see them very well in the picture, but they are a tan color with lacing up the front. They aren't the most comfortable shoes ever, but they are adorable for short-term wear!

So there you go! If you add up my outfit:

$3 (black shirt)

$7     (sweater) 

$10       (pants)

$8        (shoes)

$0   (necklace)

_____________________

$28 head to toe! Not bad. 

And all of those pieces can be mixed and matched to make a ton of different outfits, so that $28 will stretch FAR.

I pay less than...

As a general rule, here's how much I usually pay for my clothes:

Shirts: $10 or less

Skirts: $10 or less

Colored skinny jeans: $20 or less

Jeans: Less than $100, but I believe in quality jeans. I buy from Buckle and usually pay between $50 and $75, but they last me forever.

Dresses: $15 or less (yes, even for fancy ones!)

Sweaters: $10 or less

Coats: Nice coats, $40 or less

Shoes: $15 or less

Children's clothes: $6 per piece or less

Belts, hats, jewelry, and accessories: $10 or less, but jewelry is usually $5 or less

Some of my favorite places to shop for clothes:

Forever 21

H&M

Ross

TJ Maxx

Charlotte Russe

Plato's Closet

Macy's (their clearance racks)

Outlet stores (Old navy, Gap, Banana & J-Crew [once in a while], Columbia Sportswear)

Victoria's Secret (for bras only, though!)

Buckle (only for jeans)

Otherwise I'll buy clothes from anywhere! My closet is a huge smorgasbord of brands; I couldn't care less about labels or brands. I just always start at the back of the store. If it's not on sale, I don't even THINK about buying it.

Additional clothing/shopping tips:

See HERE for my scoop on shopping for good deals.

See HERE for a dissecting of a different outfit of mine, includes the Ivanka Trump shoes I mentioned in the video.

See HERE for my list of the top 7 store sales that you should never miss.

See HERE for how I work clothing shopping into my tight monthly budget.

See HERE for how I shop yard sales, and HERE for thrift store shopping tips.

Click HERE for how I do my laundry to keep my clothes - even the super cheap ones - lasting for years.

Tip: Other than maternity pants, I don't believe in maternity clothes! Flowy shirts, maxi dresses, skirts and pants with roll-down waists all work great for maternity. Maternity clothes are expensive and, for me anyway, the regular clothes work just fine.

Tip: For children's clothes I like The Children's Place, Carters, H&M sometimes, and anywhere else that has good sales. 

So there you go! Hope that helps...
Happy shopping :)

Countdown to Halloween: Exciting announcement...Introducing the new FCF Product line! First up... Easy Envelope Budget Monthly Printable

Happy Tuesday to you all!

Ok, is everyone sitting down?
I am beyond stoked (yes, I just said stoked, that's how excited I am...) to bring you 

not one...

but TWO exciting announcements for today.

First:

ONLY 8 MORE DAYS UNTIL HALLOWEEN!
GHEEEEEE!!

I'm tingly. All over. Can hardly handle the anticipation. 

Second, and most exciting...

We are excited to announce our new...

I have had overwhelming requests for budget, shopping, meal-planning, tracking, goal-setting, and planning aides...
I thought it was bout time to deliver, my friends :)

I will introduce all the products over time, but today I want to introduce you to the most-requested product...our new
Envelope Tracking Printables 

*Note: Once you order you will be emailed the printable within 48 hours of your purchase.

You can read all about how to use these HERE. Essentially, you print out the adorable printable (in black and white OR color) onto a standard envelope in your computer printer.
You track your spending for the month and voila! Your life will be changed!

Give them a try, let me know what you think, and enjoy all the cash-flow your family will experience from having these new Essentials in your life.

I can't wait to see how it goes for you!

Have a fabulous, Fun Cheap or Free day-

FREE Pasta at Buca Di Beppo!

There's something I need to get off my chest...

My name is Jordan, and I'm a pasta-holic.

I could eat pasta for 3 square meals a day, every day, for the rest of my life,

and die a happy woman.

You think I'm kidding...

So I am THRILLED to bring you this fun freebie!

Click HERE for details, click HERE for your coupon. 

Enjoy!

Pardon our dust...COMPLETE SITE OVERHAUL!

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In case you haven't noticed...things are looking a bit spiffier around here!

My site is - right now...at this very moment...as we speak...

getting a COMPLETE...

overhaul

facelift

renovation

rejuvenation

update

slap-in-the-face-love-it-or-leave-it 

MAKEOVER!

I couldn't be more thrilled!

sheesh, it's about time...this site has been ugly for faaar too long.

Thanks to Chrissy from Simply Created for bringing this to life.

More about her later, I promise.

But for now, please bear with us as we work out all the kinks!

you'll be glad that you did.

THANKS!

Countdown To Halloween: FREE Carseat Cover! Exclusive coupon code for FCF readers

To celebrate the fact that we only have TWELVE 

yes, 12,

days until Halloween...we're bringing you another screamin' deal!

You guys liked the FREE baby sling deal so much, we decided to bring you...

a FREE carseat canopy! 

How cute are these?!

Simply go HERE,

pick out the cover you want,

apply the code FCF1012 to your cart,

and it will bring your price to FREE*. 

You simply pay for S&H 

(*you end up paying about $12...down from $49.95. Booya!). 

Now that winter is approaching, these things are a must-have for new moms...so talk about a great baby gift! 

Enjoy your steal, and have a great weekend :)

Countdown to Halloween: Fun, cheap, free, and CREATIVE Halloween costume ideas!

AHHH! 

LESS THAN 2 WEEKS until one of my most favorite holidays!

So much to do, so little time...

For those of you...unlike myself...who wait until the last minute to plan out your costumes, I thought it was time to refresh and invigorate your minds with a bajillion ideas for fun, cheap, and (not even lying...) FREE Halloween costume ideas.

One thing to note...

Halloween

(though amazing, super fun, and reeeeally exciting...)

is only one day out of 365. 

So, please, for Heaven's sake, 

do NOT spend more than a few dollars on a costume.

It's just plain dumb if you do.

Here are some clever costumes from our annual Halloween Parties from a few years ago...

We were bank robbers and a "million dollar baby". I bought the bunting costume online (because I don't sew, otherwise it would be pretty simple to make) for under $20 (just search Billion Dollar Baby costume and you'll find it). We just wore black clothes we had lying around, and I cut some pretty crappy eye holes in black fabric that we tied around the backs of our heads to form a mask.

Even our dog represented Halloween spirit by acting as our sherrif, sporting an old Speedo with a badge pinned to it. Poor guy.

Friends of ours went as:

Princess, knight, dragon. Props bought from the kid isle at a store, clothes they had on-hand, dragon costume from Costco for less than $20.

Peter Pan, Wendy, Tinker Bell, mostly thrift store finds.

Flo (the Progressive girl!), an old baseball player, and a tourist. Flo got her outfit printables online and made the apron herself with iron-ons.

Black-eyed P's, a classic.

Farmers and their chicken, using things they had around the house and a store-bought chick costume.

Captain Jack Sparrow. Arrrg!

So, you see? If you open your closet or your Good Will giveaway box, you might just find everything you need for a creative, cheap or free costume!

Click HERE for my HUMUNGO list of creative costumes, 

and a list of tips and tricks for finding a costume for cheap. It will get your creative juices flowing for sure.

What are YOU going as this year?

Happy Haunting!