With only a couple more weeks until Halloween, it’s time to gather the candy and costumes and prepare for the craziness of the holiday! It’s easy to find fabulous costumes and impressive decorations, but if you aren’t careful, your Halloween could become frighteningly expensive. With a little planning and creativity, you can stay within a reasonable budget – one that won’t horrify you and your bank account!
Costumes
Costumes are one way you can easily break the bank at Halloween. During a recent visit to a costume store in the mall, I was shocked to find costumes for $150 – for a Halloween costume! This year, my girls have a budget of $10 each. That seems a little more in line with our frugal way of life than $150 each. Here are some ideas and resources for playing dress-up on a budget.
Search your own closet: Your own closet may have all that you need for a fabulous costume, like that sequin dress you know you will never wear again!
Head to Goodwill and thrift stores: a frilly shirt and full skirt make a great Gypsy costume. They may even have some store bought costumes marked way below retail.
Craigslist.org: I just searched for costumes on Craigslist.org for the Raleigh area and there were tons of choices in the $7 - $20 range.
Click HERE for Craigslist. Swap with friends: It’s a great way to recycle those cute costumes you and your friends purchased last year.
Buy next year’s costumes in the middle of November when they are 75% off. You can even include them in a holiday dress up kit gift so they serve two holidays!
Here are some fun frugal and creative costume ideas:
Super Frugal Mummy: Wrap up in TP for a really cheap mummy (because I know you bought the TP using a sale and coupons!)
Wrapped Gift: Get a big box and cut arm and leg holes, wrap it in any kind of wrapping paper. Put a big bow on your head and you are a wrapped gift!
Spa Princess: Wear a robe and slippers, put hair up in a towel, carry a hand held mirror and wear face cream.
Baby: This one is popular with tweens and teens. Wear pajamas (footie PJ’s if you have them), wear hair in pigtails, suck on a candy pacifier, carry a stuffed bear.
Jellyfish: Here’s a really creative idea from Disneyfamily.com: a Jellyfish! Wear an all white outfit. Take an umbrella and hang iridescent ribbon, streamers or bubble wrap cut into long strips down from the edges. Wouldn’t that look awesome? I think I may be a jellyfish this year!
Click HERE to see the jellyfish costume. Crayon: I love the very simple crayon idea from FamilyCorner.com: Wear a solid color sweatsuit and make a pointed hat in the same color using construction paper. You can also use face paint in the same colot. Then use posterboard and write the word CRAYON on it and tape or pin the sign sideways on your torso. Now you are a crayon! This is one you could put together very quickly if you need a costume fast.
For some other great do-it yourself costumes see these links:
Candy
Drug store rebates with coupons and sales are a great way to make sure you have plenty of candy at a reasonable cost.
Buy less expensive lollipops instead of more expensive chocolate (of course you will need to buy at least one bag of your favorite chocolate so just make sure you get that on sale!).
Non-candy goodies: Bankrate.com has an article suggesting you give away little bags of pennies with a note explaining that they are for making wishes – my kids would not be amused. Other more well received non-candy items that could be frugal if purchased on sale: temporary tattoos, pencils, erasers, stickers, bouncy balls, spider rings, mini bubble and wand bottles.
Freeze clearance chocolate for using during the holidays. They make great stuffers in stockings! For solid chocolate, you can melt it down and dip all sorts of things in them for yummy holiday treats – pretzels, strawberries, cookies, your finger.
Decorations
Buy ahead: As is the case with costumes, buy Halloween decorations in November for the next year. Every year I add a few more pieces to our collection at 75 – 90% off the retail price!
Make a giant spider web out of white, gray or black yarn on the front porch. Make spider out of a balloon and construction paper legs or styrofoam ball and pipe cleaners for legs.
Another classic fall decoration is the scarecrow. Stuff some old jeans and a plaid shirt (or overalls and a shirt) with crumbled newspaper. Have some hay straw sticking out of the cuffs and collar of the shirt and out of the bottom of the pants. For the head, use a pumpkin with decorated or carved face and stick a straw hat on top. Place your scarecrow out on the front porch to greet your trick or treaters.
Make small hanging ghosts with facial tissues or white wrapping tissue tied over golf balls. Make larger ones with sheets tied over soccer balls.
For more homemade decorations, see the following links:
For a number of great Halloween tips from redplum.com including pumpkin carving advice and suggestions for family-friendly Halloween movies,
click HERE.With all those ideas, you should have no fears about staying within your Halloween budget. Please share your favorite Halloween tips and ideas! I hope you all have a safe, fun, frugal and candy-filled holiday!
