Go all out for Halloween, on a student budget

So, the big night’s coming; the one where everyone (literally, everyone) is doing something – not New Year’s Eve, no, I’m talking about Halloween.

Now you’ve probably seen the memes ‘two kinds of people on Halloween’, those who use it as an excuse to dress up cute, and those who go all-out scary. Honestly, I’m one of the latter variety, and I LOVE to get dressed up on Halloween.

Pound stores

I do buy all my expensive bleaches etc. at discount pound stores, but this is also the perfect place for cheap make-up and SFX gear, especially if you’re someone who has no idea what they are doing and this is the first (and only) time that you’ll be attempting this in the space of a year!

Usually, I pick up some liquid latex, some paint (depending on what I’m thinking of doing), and some fake blood – both of the squirty variety and squeezy variety (they have different consistencies and can be used for different things). There are loads of pound shops nearby in the Marlands in the city centre, so you can shop around.

Charity shops

If you want to move away from the mass-made costumes and be slightly more original, I can often find an old-looking, kind of scary dress in one of the Portswood charity shops. I’ve found an old black dress that I burnt and made look generally disgusting for £5 and a white lacy thing that I made into a creepy zombie bride for £3.

Halloween-themed playlist

I love everything from Tim Burton to The Purge on Halloween, so  I’ve started on a Halloween YouTube Playlist with the basics you’ll need to throw an awesome Halloween party. Feel free to add to it and take away as you wish!

Use YouTube

YouTube tutorials are really revolutionising the way that we go about our daily lives. Just last week I used one to help me fix a blocked drain, and the next thing you know I’m watching a tutorial on how to do a full hip-replacement (spoiler alert: it’s hard).

This is one of my favourite Halloween tutorials by Glam and Gore, which is a very realistic Regan from The Exorcist, and  another by PinkStylist which is from the movie Smiley - his tutorials are always awesome! Here’s one that I made last year showing how to do a quick infected Zombie bite, and one for a quick ripped mouth.

I hope these tips are helpful, and that you have a super scary (but affordable) Halloween!

Georgia

Student travel: deciding where to go

As Alexandra pointed out in her recent blog post, exams are very nearly over. True, I’ve been sat here twiddling my thumbs for almost a week already, but now more and more students are crossing over into the realms of freedom, and a whole lot of you are probably wondering what to do next.

I mentioned a while back that a favourite among students when it comes to the monumentally huge summer break is to spend some time travelling.

This isn’t even exclusive to third-year graduates either; the summer is big enough to cover lots of new ground, even if you’re planning on heading back down here to Southampton in September.

If you’re like me, and libraries and textbooks have very much taken over your life as of late, a change of scenery is usually a pretty exciting idea. The only question that remains from here is ‘Where?’

It seems almost a silly question, but believe it or not, the world is pretty darn enormous, and thanks to this little thing called globalisation more recently, travelling to some of the more far-out destinations isn’t quite as difficult as you might think. Almost anything is on the cards; this is one of the only times in your life that you’re likely to have the freedom to completely up-sticks and wander the globe, so why not use it?

If the world is quite literally your oyster, how do you narrow it down enough to actually pull together a manageable trip? Sure, we’d all love to go everywhere, but time and money don’t usually prevail in the way we’d like them to.

Here are some things to consider when planning your trip:

With any luck, I’ll hopefully be finding myself back here in sunny Vancouver come the summer!

Desire

Like I’ve already said, this is likely to be one of the only times in your life you will have the ability to spread your wings and go where you want to go. Ask yourself: where is the one place on Earth that I’ve always wanted to travel to?

It might be Japan, it might be Peru, it might be Africa; everyone is different. Try not to fall into the same old student cycle of simply just going to the most popular destinations. True, a lot of students do go to Australia and Thailand, but that doesn’t mean that you have to if you’re interested in going somewhere else. Be creative and surprise yourself!

Contacts

This doesn’t just mean the people you’re travelling with (although it’s always a good idea to at least have a partner along for the ride!). Think about people you may know in other countries, and if you might be able to stay with them. It’ll cut the budget in half and the chances are you’ll form a great new/reignited friendship out of it too.

When I sat down to plan something for the summer, I started plotting the family I’m in touch with in the US and Canada and found a way to connect between four different cities. It might just be couch-surfing, but it’ll certainly give me a more authentic and a significantly cheaper travelling experience overall!

Budget

Sadly this ends up being the be-all and end-all of most trips. New Zealand might sound like a blast but the flights will likely set you back an entire year’s worth of rent, and the same goes for quite a few places. Have an idea in your head of how much money you’re able to spend/fundraise, and try to craft your trip realistically around that.

Some countries will be cheaper than others in terms of living costs (food etc.), but remember to factor in the money you might lose in exchange fees on currency or on tourist VISA applications.

Depending on what happens in next month’s referendum, Europe is a (potentially) cheap and beautiful alternative to world travel - Amsterdam is definitely worth a visit!

Still, with a decent amount of planning, you could find yourself living it up in an entirely different part of the world in a few months - certainly an exciting prospect if you’re still chained to a desk with deadlines looming.

Adventure calls!

Ben

Mother's Day ideas on a student budget

This year’s Mother’s Day is on Sunday 6th March, so if you haven’t made plans as of yet it is time to get your skates on!

The importance of Mother’s Day can never be underestimated. It is the time of year to show the one person who carried you for nine months how much they mean to you – of course, you should be doing that daily but since there is a day devoted to it on the calendar you are, sort of, expected to go all out.

Yes, there will soon be plenty of adverts either on social media or on TV reminding you to buy flowers or chocolates - but what if you want something a little more sentimental? How can you do exactly that on a student budget? Here are some of my ideas that may suit both your mother and your bank account.

That personal touch: Bake a Mother’s Day cake

I don’t know about yours but mums usually LOVE a good cake. You also get extra points if you make the cake yourself. There are several bonuses for taking the cake route; you can make it to however your mum likes it: vanilla, caramel, chocolate or coffee. What’s good about this is that not only is it cheaper than other things, but the effort you have made into making it yourself speaks volumes. There are plenty of easy recipes that you can find online to help you out. If you’re extremely short for time why not buy a cake mix so you only have to add eggs, water and milk to it? This isn’t laziness… it’s efficiency. Besides, it’s the thought that counts, right?

No one can resist the power of the chocolate cake!

A DIY spa treatment

Who needs to shell out half of their weekly student budget on a day at the spa when you can recreate it at home? There are plenty of things you can do in the house; run your mum a hot bubble bath, light some candles, grab her favourite glass of wine whilst playing her favourite album. My mum loves Michael Bublé and the Mamma Mia soundtrack…

Clean the house

Give your mum some more time to herself by doing the cleaning for her. If you have siblings, why not divide the tasks between you based on the rooms of the house? It’s free and it’ll be more than appreciated.

Flowers

This is great if you can’t get home because you can always get them delivered. I would shop around because prices inflate around Mothering Sunday. If you call the florist early enough the prices may not be expensive in advance. A good alternative is to buy a potted plant that would last longer.

Orchids are not only beautiful but have a longer lifespan. Some have survived in cultivated gardens for as long as 20 years, almost as long as the amount of time your mum has spent taking care of you!

You’re on your way to being the favourite child 

Breakfast in Bed

 
There’s nothing better than starting off your day with a tray full of breakfast goodies delivered to bed. Trust me, a pain-au-chocolat and a coffee will make her just as happy as an elaborate meal. You can even serve tea in a pretty cup which can double as a Mother’s Day gift.

You!

You may have deadlines coming up but if you can, why not surprise your mother with a visit! Turn up at the doorstep in the morning with some flowers in hand.

Me and my Mum

Here are just some of my cheap and cheerful ideas that come to mind. If you have any, why not post them in the comments below? Mum’s the word!

Rylyn