Halloween Tips For Using Old Things In New Ways

Oct. 29, 2010— -- Want to pump up your Halloween celebration but need to scale down your budget?

Sarah Humphreys, executive editor of Real Simple, appeared on Good Morning America to share new uses for old things that happen to be lying around the house. These holiday tips for recycling your belongings save both cash and the environment and make so much sense it's almost scary.

Here are some of GMA's favorite New Uses for Old Things that are designed to help you get ready for Halloween and the holidays beyond:

Plastic Milk Jug as One Gallon Ghost:

Turn those empty one-gallon plastic milk jugs into ghastly ghosts!

Drape a white garbage bag (old pillowcases and sheets work too!) around an empty one-gallon milk jug and secure it with ribbon, cloth, or string.

Create eyes and a mouth out of construction paper and glue them onto the garbage bag or use colored marker to draw a ghoulish face right on the bag.

Turn the jug upside down and place the open end on a stick or broom handle that is inserted firmly into a grassy patch of lawn, old flowerpot, or pumpkin to make the perfect spooky decoration.

Pantry Items As Horror Flick Fake Blood:

A good old-fashioned recipe taken from old-school Hollywood thrasher movies. It's super-simple and looks completely authentic!

1 tablespoon chocolate syrup

5 tablespoons corn starch

2 drops red food coloring

A few drops of water to desired consistency

Mix 1 part chocolate syrup to 5 parts corn starch. Every 5 parts corn starch gets 2 drops red food coloring.

Go Green This Halloween With Ideas That Save Cash and Environment

Vitamin Case As Travel Makeup Pallete:

Need to touch up your clown face after the Halloween party before you head out to Trick or Treat?

Load your face paint, lipstick shades, and white foundation into the compartments of a multi-day pill case. It's an easy way to keep your Halloween accessories and makeup organized.

Raisin As Champagne Restorer:

Make use of the loot your kids collected on Halloween night but don't want, like those little boxes of raisins. Stash them away and you can pull them out again on New Year's Eve to refresh your glass of bubbly if it's getting a little flat before the midnight toast!

Drop a raisin into the open bottle/pitcher/glass a few minutes before pouring and any last gasps of carbon dioxide that are left will stick to the raisin's ridged surface, then release again as tiny bubbles.

Hollowed Pumpkins As Serving Bowls:

A festive way to serve your favorite party treats!

Cut the top of the pumpkin as if carving a jack-o'-lantern.

Remove the top and scoop out the pulp and seeds from inside the pumpkin. Save the seeds for toasting later.

Carve or decorate the pumpkin as you like.

Cut a shallow slice off the bottom of the pumpkin to create a level surface (without creating a hole in the bottom).

Line the pumpkin with cellophane. Cover cellophane with festive cocktail napkins.

Fill with chips, homemade pumpkin seed mix or candy!

Halloween Candy Reborn as Sophisticated Chocolate Fondue

Trick-or-Treat Chocolate Fondue:

Put those unwanted candy bars from the Halloween haul to good use and make a beautiful dessert to impress your guests!

Toss leftover chocolate bars into a warm fondue pot.

Stir until chocolate is melted.

Chop up your favorite fruits, cakes, cookies, candies, and pretzels and dip away!

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