BY CORBIN MCGUIRE, OPINIONS EDITOR
Einstein Bros Bagels is selling pumpkin-flavored drinks, it is a little more difficult to hide your heavy breathing when walking up the Horrigan stairs, and Hall-o-Treats is just around the corner. It is officially fall at Bellarmine University.
As Instagram fills with pictures in pumpkin patches and new plaid shirts, the price tag of fall can seem a little spooky. However, if you get creative this Halloween you won’t see your parents flying off their broom handles at the sight of your hollow bank account.
When off campus, it can be hard to drive down neighborhood roads without standing in awe at the length to which some will go to make their house extra creepy. But dorm or apartment living does not have to stop you from decorating this Halloween.
“I bought two gourds and I took sharpies and outlined a design and colored it in so I didn’t have to carve them. Now I have two cute little gourds that look like pumpkins. They were a dollar each. They were super cheap,” senior Gilliam Goldblatt said.
If you are concerned about your gourds or pumpkins rotting on your doorstep or outside of your dorm room, festive decorations like small décor pumpkins can be bought for as little as $3 in the bargain bins of nearby stores like Target.
Another trademark of fall is the never-ending list of fun activities that everyone is dying to go to between now and Halloween.
This year, try volunteering for the Louisville Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular and receive a free long-sleeve t-shirt and one free ticket to the event.
“The Louisville event, October 8– November 1, will be held in Iroquois Park with 5,000 carved pumpkins lining a ¼-mile walking trail, illuminated at night as an ‘art show’ daily from dusk to 11 p.m. during the week (Sunday-Thursday) and midnight on Friday & Saturday,” according to www.jackolanternlouisville.com.
A volunteer can expect to stand outside for about five hours, so it is smart to bundle up. Although breaks from the cold are available throughout the night. If you go to an event or party, it is likely you will also want a costume to wear, and that can get pricey.
This year, I will be participating in Hall-o-Treats with the Bellarmine Food Recovery Network (BFRN) where the four directors will wear food costumes and hand out candy to kids.
To save money, I will wear my peas and carrots costumes with my date to Ball on the Belle too.
The costumes get multiple uses and I only had to buy my $5 ticket for the evening.
If you’re looking to save money this year, the easiest costumes are often achieved with clothes, costumes and props you already own.
While the prospect of shelling out a lot of money for Halloween can sometimes be scarier than the haunted houses you go to, with a little creativity and repurposing you can enjoy the spookiest time of the year, even on a budget.