Trick or Treat! Halloween is a few days away and we know most people are in a panic to create a last-minute costume. No matter your level of creativity, we’ve made a list of a few easy costume ideas for all ages and even a few suggestions for pets. Read below for some creative (and easy) Halloween costume suggestions!

Costume: Gumball Machine

What you’ll need:

Multicolor pom poms

A black/white top

Red skirt/pants (the gumball machine)

Black felt (the 25-cent coin slot)

Glue gun and sticks

Steps: Hot glue the pom poms to the shirt to create the “gumball” portion. Use the felt to cut out and create the 25-cent slot. Glue the “money slot” on the red skirt/pants to create the “machine/stand” portion.

Costume: Harry Potter

What you’ll need:

Red and gold striped scarf

Black, round, glasses

Red face paint

Black robe

Steps: Draw a lightening bolt shaped scar on forehead. Throw on the robes, scarf, and glasses, and poof! You’re a Hogwarts legend.

Costume: Holy Guacamole

What you’ll need:

Green t-shirt

Printed photos of avocados

Angel wings

Halo

Steps: Glue printed photos of avocados to a green shirt. Add angel attire and now you’re the puniest person at the party.

Costume: Bunch of Grapes

What you’ll need:

Black t-shirt

Black pants

A pack of purple balloons

Tape or hot glue

Steps: Tape or glue inflated purple balloons to your neutral under clothes. For an added detail, wear a green beanie to create a grape stem.

The anti-costume: Error 404

Steps: Find a local t-shirt screen printer or draw on a t-shirt “Error 404 Costume Not Found.” This is a snarky and minimal effort costume for even the most last minute of decisions.

Owner/Pet costume: Vendor and Hotdog

What you’ll need:

Red apron

White shirt

Chef hat

Doggie hotdog costume

Owner/Pet costume: Little Red Riding Hood and The Big Bad Wolf

What you’ll need:

Red fabric/hood

A basket of goodies

If your pup’s ears aren’t ferocious enough, add large black fluffy ears to mimic a wolf.

We hope our suggestions sparked your imagination and that you can pull together an easy and creative Halloween costume. Have a safe and spooky Halloween!

The post Creative Halloween Costumes for All Ages appeared first on Northlake Farms Blog.

Organization is vital.

When it comes to apartment spaces, sometimes even the most spacious set up can feel cramped when there’s clutter. Naturally, kids are messy folk so it takes a super family to keep it all on lock.

Pro Tip: Get furniture that doubles as storage and invest in plenty of shelves. The more you can tuck away the better.

Photo courtesy: (L) xoyos.com (R) pixabay.com

Being on time is hard. This just in: that’s totally normal.

Keeping up with different schedules is harder than it looks. Once you’re in a regular routine and find your niche, it’ll feel like clockwork. But until then (fingers crossed that day comes) remind yourself that practice makes perfect.

Pro Tip: Buy an actual alarm clock and don’t just rely on your smartphone. By simply setting a few alarms throughout your morning, you’ll have extra motivation to get up, find the clock, and remind yourself to get going on a task. It’s not a bad idea to set reminders on your phone as a backup…. after all, this isn’t the dark ages.

Purge what you don’t need.

This is no time to hoard those socks with holes in them or that toy your kids haven’t touched in months. Sometimes you have to accept that no amount of strategic storage will cut it when you just have too.much.stuff.

Pro Tip: Find your local donation service and go through all your things at least once every two months. Give away anything which your family doesn’t have a blatant sentimental or practical use.

Plan plan plan.

Keeping a visible planner can really help kids conceptualize time management and what they have going on that week. This should be displayed in a family space, such as the kitchen, and as detailed as your family is comfortable with keeping consistent.

Pro Tip: DIY a dinner schedule so older kids can know what to expect and you can plan your grocery trips or budget how much you can spend on a dinner out on the town. When you know a few days in advance what your family’s meals will be that week, you can pre-pack or pre-cook meals with far less stress.

Work space vs. living space

The key to productivity is having a set work space that is comfortable and organized. This is important for little ones too…plus, establishing an area for them to do homework helps you out with clean up time.

Pro Tip: Set up a work space for your kids like you would for yourself and it will make them feel like they’re being a grownup. Whether this is for homework or for play, it will ensure your space looks like it has a purpose and isn’t another play area with cluttered toys lying around.

Whether you’ve been doing this like a champ for years, or might consider trying one of our tips for the first time, know that we understand the importance of family and always hope you are happy and healthy in your apartment home.

The post Tips for Apartment Home Living with Kids appeared first on Northlake Farms Blog.

If you want your own Christmas tree…the beautiful thing about living in a smaller space is that less is more, so you don’t need to break the bank on a 12 ft. monster-size tree. Instead, find a tree that fits your space. It’s easier to set up and tear down so you have more time to decorate with your own flare.

Looking for a classy but subtle look? Add white and gold accents around your home. A new set of accent towels for the kitchen and bathrooms, soap dishes, or picture frames are good places to start. You could also buy large apothecary jars or another kind of clear container and fill with whatever goes best with your home’s look. Need inspiration? Think tinsel, ornaments, garland, string lights, gold accents, pinecones, or faux snow.

You may not have the opportunity to go full blown Griswald Family Christmas on decorations for the outside of your apartment home, but that just gives you more opportunity to bring the outside, in. Hang string lights on your walls and at night you’ll have extra ambiance for the season. You could also hang holiday wreaths on the inside of your doors so you can enjoy the greenery and liven up your every day décor.

Want to hang stockings but don’t have a fireplace? No problem. You could hang the stockings from a wall coat rack, a curtain rod, a stair railing, or even just on an open wall!

We hope this helped spark some new ideas for decorating your holiday apartment home and during this holiday season, we hope you and your loved ones are safe, happy, and healthy.

 We wish you a very Happy Holidays!

The post Celebrating the Winter Holidays in your Apartment Home appeared first on Northlake Farms Blog.

Get creative and make use of ever square foot of your home’s counter and floor space. Depending on how many people you plan to host, strategically planning ahead of time and re-arranging your home will allow you to live out the “more the merrier” lifestyle.

1. Hang string lights and decorations rather than focusing on an elaborate center piece. By freeing up your table and counter top space, you can serve more food and drinks while keeping festive. Hint: Hang a festive Autumn wreath inside your home as a simple way to set the tone for the season.
2. Instead of worrying about ironing a table cloth that will inevitably get dirty, buy craft or butchers paper and decorate however you choose. Great for kids and adult doodlers, plus you can use this to label any food that’s sensitive for dietary restrictions.
3. Seems simple, but try to prepare as many meals ahead of time as possible. It also doesn’t hurt to require guests to bring their own side dishes while you’re in charge of the main course. Once guests arrive, you won’t want to be running around still cooking pies!
4. Clear your floor space and designate an area for guest’s personal items. If furniture can be moved to your bedroom, clear it out so you can have optimal space for entertaining.

The post Thanksgiving in an Apartment Home appeared first on Northlake Farms Blog.