Keep costumes traditional
The majority of the budget is often spent on Halloween costumes. The selection of costumes varies every year, with the current trend in movies and TV often influencing what is popular. In fact, you may see more Spiderman and Hannah Montana costumes on Halloween night than your traditional Dracula and fairy princess.
If you want to stretch your Halloween costume dollars, consider returning to the more traditional costumes and putting your own spin on them. You can often buy Halloween costume accessories, like clown noses, princess tiaras, and vampire teeth, inexpensively. You can then combine these other accessories such as capes, wands, and swords for an inexpensive, yet fun and creative costume.
Buy treats in bulk
Another big expense on Halloween night is in the purchasing of treats to hand out to the trick or treaters that will come ringing your bell. If you live in a neighborhood that sees a lot traffic on Halloween night, you can end up spending a small fortune in Halloween treats.
One of the easiest ways to avoid this is to buy in bulk. Warehouse stores can offer you candy for much less than the grocery store – and in big bags. If you are looking for a healthier alternative to the fun size candy bar, you can also look for bulk packaging of popular snack foods that are individually wrapped into single servings.
Another alternative is to skip the food altogether and choose a treat alternative. Dollar stores, party supply stores, toy stores, and even teacher supply stores can be a great source of Halloween-themed items like toys, stickers, pencils, and novelties. These can be an inexpensive and fun alternative to the candy bar.
Keep decorations simple
A third expense for Halloween night is the decorations. Traditional jack-o-lanterns are cheap enough to create. However, if you want to create a spookier atmosphere, consider making decorations yourself. Cardboard tombstones, bed sheet ghosts, batting cobwebs, and other handmade decorations can be as spooky to young children as the electronic gizmos that are sold by retailers. Even a few well placed spot lights and candles can give your own home a creepy atmosphere.
Of course, if you really want some of the fancier, high tech Halloween decorations, consider shopping the clearance sales in November. You can get this year's hottest decorations at a much lower cost and save them for future Halloweens.
Saving money on Halloween is all about shopping smarter and planning ahead. With a little forethought and creativity, you can come up with other Halloween money savers that will allow your budget to go a lot further this year.
