Fun ways to decorate and celebrate Spooky Season

*This post contains affiliate links.  

I have been a long time fan of the Oriental Trading Company.  I have used their products at all of my children's birthday parties (which you see on the party theme's page here)

Your house will be one of the most interesting ones on the block with this dragon skeleton. It is 4 feet long, and 3 feet high, with many 5 star reviews.  

Recently they sent me an email with some of the coolest Halloween decorations that I are definitely something I would love to have in my front yard.  

While the Dollar Tree has the mini mermaid skeletons,  Oriental Trading has this life size version.  It would definitely be the showpiece of your party. 

My personal favorite the unicorn skeleton.  You could have a lot of fun adding some colorful flair to this fun guy.  If you like both the dragon and the unicorn they can be bought separately or as a duo at a discount.  

If you like your skeletons on the smaller side, there are this scary but cute vinyl skeleton toys (12 ct) I just love how the unicorn and narwhal have a candy cane horn.  

I adore gnomes, and this Halloween gnome sign can definitely put a spell on me.  

Do you like scary movie posters?  This Creature from the Black Lagoon is just one of many that are available. 

How fun is this pirate ship cooler. Its 3 feet high, and 3 feet wide and holds up to 72 cans.  That's a lot of cans.  

Oriental Trading has Hocus Pocus Party Supplies  

and all of the Sanderson sister witch costumes.  Which Sanderson sister are you?  It's been awhile since I have seen the movie, but I think I am probably Sara

Want an ice breaker for your party guests?  Have them spin the wheel and find out their fate with this fate prize wheel.

There are currently over 10,000 Halloween items available on Oriental Trading, and for a limited time there is Free Shipping on ANY order. 

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Dare to Share #485

It is Friday night, and you know what that means.. 

It is time to Dare to Share! 

I just finished my first week back to school.  It was both wonderful and exhausting. Everyone was excited to be back with the kids and our school family again.  We did have a few first week bumps though.  Our buses have been arriving very late as ,they try to figure out the routes with a shortage of drivers.  The first day of school I stayed an entire hour later than normal just trying to help get all the kiddos safely on the buses. While I was not being paid for that extra hour, I know what it is like to be standing at the bus stop waiting for your kids to arrive home way after they are supposed to be home. Hopefully next week will be even easier as we get used to our new routines again  

I did have the chance to write a post earlier this week.  Just as you walk in the front door of the Dollar Tree, they had a display of gorgeous fall dishes that would be so pretty on your Thanksgiving table. You don't actually need a special reason to use them.  They are very affordable so you can use these dishes every day if you would like.  You can see more about them on my post Amazing Dinnerware for Thanksgiving and Your Fall Parties.

I stopped by another Dollar Tree store tonight and found a several more really exciting things.  I share the new products I find over on Instagram.  I also share videos and reels/tutorials if you would like to follow along.  

Well it is looking to be that time to get the party started.  Link up and HAVE FUN! 

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Amazing Dinnerware for Thanksgiving and Your Fall Parties

** This post also contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.

Have you seen the fall dinnerware patterns at the Dollar Tree?

I am really impressed, they are so beautiful this year.  If you are someone that likes to decorate for Thanksgiving, or have fall dinner parties, you will definitely want to check them out.  An added bonus, since they are from the Dollar Tree, everything is only $1.  

Their pumpkin placemats are GORGEOUS, and they are currently available online in units of only 4! You can get a whole table full of placemats for the price of only a couple at a regular store. 

These 16 oz pumpkin tumblers are so pretty, and are a nice addition to your fall table settings.  They are currently available online in units of only 6.  

If tumblers are not your thing, they also have stemless wine glasses in a case of 12. 

The pumpkin bowls  are a really nice size and available in units of 6. 

My store did not have any of the dinner plates in stock, but WOW it is definitely eye catching.  They are available online in a case of 12 plates. 

The 7.5 in side plates have a coordinating design, and also available in a case of 12. 

If you prefer fall leaves to pumpkins, there is also an entire line of the leaf pattern.  There was a bit of a glare when I took this picture. You can see the leaf tumblers here.

The fall leaves bowl has a similar look to the pumpkin bowl and comes in a case of 12. 

In addition to the dinnerware and placemats, you can find several types of dish towels, napkins, drying mats and more. 

If you had to choose which pattern you like best, which one do you choose?  If I was hosting Thanksgiving this year, for me it would be the pumpkin line.  

When you order from  Dollar Tree online, remember that most   items you one the website can  shipped free to your store.  I have done this several times, and have always had a great experience.   Another bonus tip... The Christmas items are starting to appear in stores, so check be sure to check the Christmas items online NOW.. 

I have added the video that I took of the dinnerware while I was in the store.  This way you can see the items more than just in pictures.  

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Dare to Share #484

It is Friday night, and you know what that means..

It is time to Dare to Share! 

Happy Labor Day Weekend! 

And poof, just like that summer is over! It go back to school in a couple of days, and stores are already selling all things fall.  I am a fan of fall. It means football, cider, Halloween, and a lot of fun.  I'm not though a fan of what comes after it, snow, ice and cold.  Brrr!   Which is your favorite season of the year?  

This week I have been working on my online store, a project that I am reviewing and a blog post.   

 If you have not had a chance to see it yet, it is How to Celebrate Dios de los Muertos.  Do you remember last year when I was asked to fill in as the Spanish teacher for a few weeks until my school was able to hire one? Thankfully, they hired an amazing one (especially since I know very little Spanish).  She is originally from Mexico so she was definitely the right person to teach the kids how to speak Spanish and all about their customs.  I assisted her on the days she was teaching about this important Mexican holiday. 

Well it is looking to be about that time to get this party started.  Link up and HAVE FUN! 

 

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How to Celebrate Dios de los Muertos

This week while visiting my local Dollar Tree, I saw many, many items for Dios de Los Muertos, aka Day of the Dead. I have to admit I did not know much about that holiday until I saw the movie Coco (which was awesome), and when I was the temporary Spanish teacher at my school.  I am a full time building sub at an intermediate school.  When school started back last year the school found themselves without a Spanish teacher.  Our school was in person four days a week with Covid protocol, and the past teacher who had health issues decided to retire right before school started.  My principal asked me if I could fill in as the Spanish teacher until they could hire someone.  I said yes, but there was one problem.  I knew muy poca espanol. I had not taken Spanish since high school over 30 years ago, and remembered very little of it.  I went through past worksheets, and started looking up ideas on Google.  I taught some basic words, colors and numbers. Thankfully, they found the perfect person to be the full time Spanish teacher before the third week of school.  She is from Mexico, speaks fluent Spanish and knows all about the culture.   I assisted her for a few days when she first started, and also helped her with this altar at the end of October for Dios de los Muertos.  

** This post also contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links

Most of the supplies she bought were from the Dollar Tree.  She covered boxes with black plastic tablecloths.  The skulls and banners can be found in store and online on their Day of the Dead page. She also added colorful prayer candles that come both with skulls and without, and several votives.  We had the kids color small skeleton printables there were used as the photographs of loved ones who had passed.   We helped the kids make tissue paper marigolds from different shades of yellow and orange tissue paper, and green pipe cleaners.  When everything was pulled together, there was definitely a WOW factor, and the kids learned a lot about the holiday.  

There were so many items that I found during my recent visit to the Dollar Tree that there are just too many to post one photo at a time.  Thank goodness for Canva! 

Which item is  your favorite? 

There are even several more items at the store that are not pictured. Seriously, there are so many great items available you could definitely celebrate with on a teeny tiny budget! 

Did you know that you that DollarTree.com  has a many party, holiday, and craft ideas on their site?  If you want to see in more Day of the Dead ideas you can see how to decorate your own sugar skulls using a basic $1 skull here.

If you would like to keep up with my Dollar Tree finds, crafts and reels, be sure to follow me on Instagram.

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Dare to Share #483

It is Friday night, and you know what that means.. 

It is time to Dare to Share! 

Happy Friday! This summer flew by don't you think. Kids are going back to school and thinking about autumn.  Tonight my boyfriend and I did something completely spontaneous.  We were driving by a county fair that we did not know was happening, and decided to go have fair food for dinner. Doing something that you were not planning on doing, is definitely a lot of fun. 

I was so distracted by all the lights and people, I didn't notice that the trash cans were in such a prominent part of the picture. Oops!

For dinner I decided to try a pizza burger.  Back in high school way back when our cafeteria used to serve pizza burgers that were really good. I have not been able to find anything like it ever since.  This burger tasted very close to what I remember.  Yum! 

While at the fair we tried some free samples at the kettle corn tent. I loved the candy coated popcorn so much we got a big bag to take home.  

This past week was a pretty busy one. I babysat and tutored one of my tutor students all week.  In just one more week, it will be back to school time for us as well.  Are you back to school yet or do you go back to school in September like me? 

Well it looks like it is time to get this party started! Link up and HAVE FUN! 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

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Dare to Share #482

It is Friday night, and you know what that means..

It is time to Dare to Share! 

My computer is running on the slow side tonight. I'm not sure what is up with that.   I did want to share this beautiful door mat my good friend and neighbor surprised me with this week. She found out that I Iove farm trucks, and when she was at CVS she saw this and thought of me.  It is so nice, I dont really want to set it outside because I want to keep it looking nice. :) 

This week I have been starting to prepare to go back to school soon.  I have also been doing Dollar Tree hauls because their fall and Halloween items have begun to come in.  

** This post also contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.

Earlier this week I posted two short videos of my Farmhouse Fall and Halloween Craft hauls, which you can see here.

I am excited to start crafting again soon.  I did come up with a new pumpkin idea to add to the Pumpkin Gang this year.  I'm not going to say what yet, because I need to find one of the white foam pumpkins from Dollar Tree to make it.  I am so excited to find out that they are come in three colors this year, orange, white and black!  Another huge bonus is you can order them in small quantities of only 4, and have the shipped shipped FREE to your store.  So if you are not seeing them in your stores, be sure to order them online for the same cost.  (I think I will be ordering some in all three colors this weekend) 

Well it is getting late, so I better get this party started. Link up and HAVE FUN! 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

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Dollar Tree Truck and Fall Haul

** This post also contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.

I am going to try something a little different today. Over the weekend, I had a really good haul from the Dollar Tree. If you love trucks, crafts, or fall/Halloween decor you will want to check your local store or on DollarTree.com

There is so much cute farmhouse truck decor available right now.  They have signs, calendars, ornaments and more..  My friend did not realize I was taping, you can you can hear her in the background.  LOL 

I was also very excited with the fall wood crafts and decor 

I took some a video with my phone. Hopefully you can see what I found.  A lot of these items are going fast, and if you don't find them in stores, be sure to check online as well.  

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Dare to Share #481

It is Friday night, and you know what that means.. 

It is time to Dare to Share!  

So this past week, I was a bit busy.  When I posted the party last weekend, I was just about to leave on a whirlwind mini vacation to go visit my family who I have not seen in a long time.  We also planned to  see some tourist sites in Missouri.  We visited Joplin, Kansas City, and St. Louis.  My boyfriend is a train geek and was very excited to see the Big Boy (the largest steam engine in the world) as it was touring in parts of the midwest.  

This was taken early morning on the first day of our trip, before we got tired of riding in the car.  LOL 

I truly had no idea how big of following the Big Boy has around the country. A huge crowd was there to see the train as it made a quick stop in Edwardsville, Kansas.  Normally Edwardsville is a town of about 4,000.  On that day it was probably about 10,000. 

The Big Boy was on display at Union Station the next day.  We were able to take pictures, and my boyfriend was interviewed by Union Pacific for it's promotional videos. 

The inside of Union Station is actually quite big and beautiful. There were several fun things to see and do. 

One of my favorite finds on this trip was this Itty Bitty Patrick Mahomes. If you have followed by blog for awhile, you will know I LOVE football.  Mahomes is one of my three favorite quarterbacks. I really wish I would have bought it while we were there now.  Kansas City is the headquarters of Hallmark stores, and were visiting a really big one in Crown Center downtown. I believe my local store is no longer open. :( 

On the last day of the trip we did a few fun things around St. Louis. We wanted to go up in the arch, but did not have time on this trip.  Maybe next time! 

Did you do anything new or exciting this week? 

Well it looks like it is time to get this party started.  Link up and HAVE FUN! 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

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Dare to Share #480

It is Friday night, and you know what that means.. 

It is time to Dare to Share! 

I have good news to share! We saw the oncologist on Monday afternoon.  My boyfriend's tests are clear, there is no cancer.  As a precaution, he will be tested again one more time in six months, but the Dr. said at this time there is nothing to worry about.  

I am also doing something fun this upcoming week, that I will share with you this weekend. 

Now that the Dollar Tree is already selling their fall and Halloween items in the stores and online,  I re-shared all of the pumpkins of my Pumpkin Gang.  They were made from the Dollar Tree foam craft pumpkins and you can see all of the on this post Dollar Tree Pumpkin Ideas.

I have to get up early in the morning, so I better get this week's party started.  Link up and HAVE FUN!! 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

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Dollar Tree Pumpkin Ideas

I know it may feel early to be sharing ideas on to decorate  and craft pumpkins for Halloween.  The Dollar Tree and other craft stores are already stocking their shelves with fall crafting supplies.  Instagram is already full of fall crafting ideas.  I have shared these pumpkins on my Instagram feed, and to make it easier on any new followers that are looking for directions on how to make them I am posting a landing post where you can find them all in one place.  Click on their names to go to the individual posts.

 

** This post also contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links

My scarecrow and crow are some of my very favorite pumpkins that I made. 

Olaf in another personal favorite of mine.  I stacked three pumpkins and attached them with hot glue to make this adorable  guy.  

When I made my monster pumpkin, they did not have the eyeballs at the Dollar Tree. I did spend less than on a dollar on them though when I found them at Michaels. 

Frankenpumpkin  was one of my first pumpkins to join the pumpkin gang.  You can't see it in the picture but he has push pin bolts on his neck.  

All of the supplies for Mummy Pumpkin were from the Dollar Tree.  I found the gauze in the health and beauty aisle. 

If you are more into decorating for fall than Halloween, you might want to make this sweet Owl Pumpkin

I designed my Bat and Spider Pumpkins as a guest post for a blogger who is no longer blogging.  They are pretty cute and easy to make.  

The witch pumpkin was a little more involved with the boa hair, clay nose and felt witch hat. 

Vampire Pumpkin  was the original founding father of the pumpkin gang. He was made from a white pumpkin from another store so I didn't have to paint him.  Did you know they are adding white foam pumpkins this year at Dollar Tree.  If you can not find them in the store both the white and orange are available online and in smaller quantities of only 4 or more. 

 I have two bonus pumpkins on this post that were not in my Instagram post.  One as this sweet black cat pumpkin

The last one I made for Thanksgiving with one of my extra Halloween pumpkins. Tom the Turkey Pumpkin made a nice centerpiece on our Thanksgiving table. 

I may have to get my supplies out and make a few new members of the gang this year. I have a few things in mind.... but it is a secret until I make them.  

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