1,000 Halloween Freebies - Evelyn Kanter ecoXplorer

With so many freebies available online, there’s no need to spend a lot of money on Halloween this year.

Each of these FREE sources has dozens of choices for everything from pumpkin carving stencils to DIY decorations and Halloween-themed recipes.

silly smiling carved pumpkin — Photo: Better Homes & Gardens

It adds up to more than 1,000 ideas to help you enjoy Halloween on the cheap, plus be more creative at the same time.

Better Homes & Gardens

There are more than 50 free Halloween pumpkin carving stencils including an owl, a Frankenstein monster and a deer, plus dozens of tips for etching or painting a pumpkin or a gourd.

Good Housekeeping

Check the website for 41 FREE pumpkin carving stencils, and another bunch of DIY activities to do with the kids.

halloween pumpkin carved with scallops — Photo: NOAA

NOAA Fisheries

I love these ideas from NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. They are ocean themed, including seashells and sharks.

Even better, each stencil includes an explanation of the ocean creature and its importance in the eco-system, so it’s a learning experience for the entire family.

Canon USA

The camera and printer company has dozens of easy DIY crafts projects to download and print out, including a wearable witch’s hat, masks and table decorations.

Spookmaster

This site offers hundreds of free stencils, including a pirate and sports images.

There’s also dozens of Halloween-themed recipes, including this easy one for Bloody Popcorn.

Bloody Popcorn

Ingrediants

14 cups – Popped popcorn
2 cups – Brown sugar (packed)
1 cup – Butter
½ cup – Light corn syrup
1 teaspoon – Salt
1 teaspoon – Baking soda
Red food coloring (paste food coloring from craft stores works well)

Preparation

Once you have popped the popcorn, remove any unpopped kernels. Place the popcorn in a buttered metal bowl and place in a 200-degree oven to keep warm.

Combine the brown sugar, butter, corn syrup and salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Add a little red food coloring to the butter you are melting.

Once the mixture begins to boil, stop stirring for 5 minutes, or until mixture reaches 255 degrees on candy thermometer.

Remove from heat and add baking soda. The mixture will start to foam, so stir well until blended. Pour the hot mixture over the popcorn and toss gently with well buttered forks to distribute evenly.

Spread onto 2 ungreased baking sheets and bake at 200 degrees for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.

Remove the caramel corn from the oven and allow to cool completely. Once cool, break it into clusters, and store in a tightly covered container.