Halloween has become one of America’s most commercial holidays. Americans will spend well over $9 billion on Halloween costumes, decorations, candy, and other Halloween-related items. Of course, celebrating the holiday is fun for people of all ages, but the expenses involved can be pretty frightening. If you are looking for ways to ghoul it up on October 31st without breaking the bank, here are 10 money-saving tricks and treats you can use.
10 Tips For Halloween Savings
- Look for military discounts – The party supply store Shindigz, as well as the craft stores Michaels and A.C. Moore offer special military discounts and are great for stocking up on paper goods, decorations, costumes, costume-making supplies, and Halloween décor. Other stores may also offer unadvertised military discounts so be sure to carry your military ID with you when you shop and ask for available savings.
- Search secondhand stores – The perfect costume or haunted house accessory might just be lurking in a corner of your local thrift store or Goodwill or Salvation Army shop. Whether it’s a flannel shirt you can use for a scarecrow or a discarded ballet tutu that can enjoy a second life as a princess costume, you can often find a trove of inexpensive treasures in these stores.
- Swap costumes – Get a group of friends together and have a “Costume Swap Day” where you can trade your child’s older or outgrown costumes in exchange for someone else’s costume. This could also be a school, church, or entire community events.
- Save on sweets – There are several simple strategies you can use to save on your Halloween candy. Don’t buy your candy in September. Buy it as close to Halloween as you can. Prices often go down right before the holiday and you will be less likely to eat your bag of candy before the trick or treaters arrive. Also, consider buying in bulk. Family and friends can pool their money together to purchase a giant bag of candy from a bulk retailer. Don’t forget about using coupons, shopping at the commissary, and last but not least, limit the amount of candy you give per child. It might be tempting to give every child a handful of goodies, but your supply will run out fast and you might have to run out and buy more. It’s okay to hand out just one or two pieces of candy per child. If there are certain neighborhood kids you are close to who you would like to treat, put a little bag aside for when they arrive.
- Throw a potluck – Halloween parties can be a blast, but purchasing food for them can be expensive. Ask your guests to each bring a dish – an appetizer, snack, main dish, side dish, or dessert.
- Go DIY for costumes – Store-bought costumes can cost a lot of money and more often than not, are made of cheap, low-quality, uncomfortable materials. With a little creativity, you can put together some amazing costumes using what you already have at home or materials and accessories you can easily find at a craft or secondhand store. Take a look at these 22 Last-Minute DIY Halloween Costumes for kids.
- Invest in higher-quality decorations – Cheap quality decorations that break easily are a waste of money if you plan to reuse them year after year. If you love decorating your home for Halloween, it is best to invest in decorations that are going to last. To save the most money on the better-quality decorations, purchase them the day after Halloween. And be sure to store all your decorations carefully in labeled boxes.
- Make your own decorations – While investing in well-made store-bought decorations is a good idea, there is great satisfaction in creating your own Halloween decorations– and it’s lots of fun too! Parents and kids can work together to make eye-catching wreaths, luminaries, and more. Check out these 60 DIY Halloween decorations you can make for a few dollars or less.
- Email party invitations – If you are having a Halloween party, save on postage and printed invitations by using email to invite your guests. Regular email, Facebook, and services like Evite make it easy to invite people and keep track of responses.
- Get free pumpkin stencils – Don’t spend a lot of money on pumpkin carving tools and accessories. With stencils and just a few tools you probably already have, you can create very unique pumpkins. For ideas and inspiration, browse through the many free pumpkin stencils and pattern resources online. Here are three to get you started: Zombiepumpkins.com and PumpkinPile.com.
- Happy Halloween!
The information provided in this blog post is for informational purposes only.