Save Money This Halloween

Halloween is just a few days away, leaving many people looking at ways to save money for all of the festivities. We all want to throw impressive parties and having costumes that will thrill; however, this usually comes at a price. Halloween tends to be a fairly expensive holiday when it’s all added up but here are some tips to save money this Halloween to ensure a successful spooky season.

Throwing Parties

One of the biggest problems is that parties can be expensive due to the cost of food, as well as decor. But the best part about Halloween is that there are a lot of ideas available this maybe on Pinterest or just a general Google search. The ideas out there are limitless with just a few changes and some creativity.

Food

This is the part that people tend to go overboard on. It doesn’t have to be elaborate and there are a lot of quick and simple food ideas. Many of which are cheap and take no time at all. I’m not going to break this down too much as this could be an entire article for this alone! Pinterest will be one of your best resources for these ideas.

Simple ideas

Snacks are a must but dont always have to take a lot of time. This can be as simple as caramel apple with either dipping in caramel or layering caramel sheets over them. It is a seasonal favorite that is super simple and guaranteed to please. For more of a dish type idea, then hot dog mummies would be a great way to go. You can do this by using hot dogs or mini hot dogs and wrapping them in crescent rolls that have been sliced into from strips. Wrap in an alternating pattern creates a layered look to spook your guests. 

If this is more for children, then you can make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches using a Halloween themed cookie cutter to make that shaped sandwiches or even pumpkin-shaped sandwiches. Another simple alternative would be to make English muffin pizzas spreading the cheese out like mummy wraps and using black olives as eyes. The ideas are endless, it just takes a little imagination. 

Decor

By cheap pumpkins from local farms

If you live near any local farms, sometimes they will have cheap pumpkins for sale especially right before Halloween. This is a great way to support local businesses as well as save money on Halloween decor. Usually, they will also have better stock options to find the perfect pumpkin for you.

or reusable pumpkins

 An alternative to buying a real pumpkin, you can buy reusable styrofoam pumpkins that can be packed away at the end of the season. This will save money in the long run, especially if you are not one that likes to carved pumpkins. You can find these cheap at any craft store as well as on Amazon. These can be decorated either with paints or with actually carving.

Cheap spider/cobwebs

Decorating with reusable cobwebs is a great way to add spookiness to your household for any party. These can be found at most Dollar Trees/dollar stores or even stores like Big Lots and TJ Maxx.  If you’re willing to spend a little bit more than you may be able to find glow-in-the-dark cobwebs to adding to the creepiness of the decor. A simple decoration that adds a lot to the theme but will allow you to save money this Halloween.

Change out your bulbs

An extremely simple way of changing the ambiance of the room is simply by changing the light bulb. You can buy several different colored bulbs or even LED with a remote to change color on a whim. These are a little bit more but typically lasts for a lot longer. Opting for a black light will make things around the room pop especially cobwebs.

Dracula teeth napkin rings

This can be a great activity for kids to help set up for a party. A lot of times you can find vampire teeth at most party supply shops or I’ve even seen them at the dollar tree. You can usually buy a multi-pack for pretty cheap. Simply hold down teeth together then slide the napkin through the center. This could also be done with trick or treating gift bags as well.

Spooky lanterns from recycled milk cartons. 

One of the cheapest and most creative DIY Halloween tips is to create spooky lanterns from milk cartons. After you finished a carton of milk, rinse it out thoroughly and decorate the outside with permanent marker. how you decorate it is up to you, but I recommend spooky faces.  You can light them up with tea light candles for a flickering effect. This can be a great way to save money this Halloween.

Playlist

Instead of showing out money for a Halloween soundtrack, create your own party playlist. This can be done for free through Spotify. From there you can either stream it to a Bluetooth device or even just play from your phone. It just wouldn’t be Halloween without the Monster Mash playing in the background. Another free alternative would be to find a playlist on YouTube to play in the background, however, these tend to happen more ads.

Trick or treating

Handing out treats

Skip the candy and give out Stickers for little ones

You can find a huge package of stickers for relatively cheap a most craft stores as well as online. Kids get a lot of candy and sweets, this is a great way to switch it up. Even finding temporary tattoos can be cheap. 

Cheap glow sticks or pencils

Handing out pencils and glow sticks are more practical but also cost a little more. Kids are at a higher risk of getting hit by a car when trick or treating, Handing out glow sticks can minimize the risk as it provides a visible light if they are not wearing reflective material. Kids will always use pencils, even if it is not their favorite treat that night. 

Buy in bulk if giving out candy

Shop deals for candy, especially through Walgreens and CVS, leading up to Halloween. This can save money this Halloween, more so if they are doing cashback deals. Amazon also runs deals around Halloween for bulk candy, plus it can be a better deal if you have Amazon Prime on top of that!

Costumes

Swapping Costumes

Easy way to save money this Halloween is to swap costumes if your kids are around the same age as friends. If you’re going to multiple Halloween parties and this will make it nice as you can swap costumes in between. Make sure to take care that nothing happens to the borrowed costume as you want to return it in good condition. This would help get extra use out of a costume as most kids will only wear the costume once, maybe twice.

Skip The Masks

For a lot of costumes, the mask is the most expensive part. If you are able to get away without using a mask then they should save you some money. It may be cheaper to use face paint rather than invest in the plastic alternative. If you need to incorporate a mask, it may be best to see if you can make it without having to buy it. An example of this is pictured below, I was able to make these masks instead of buying them for a total cost of around 12 to $13.

Get dress up rather than costumes

 when buying a child’s costume, is it difficult to Justified the cost as they can get expensive quick. Instead, try browsing through dress up rather than Halloween costumes.  by making the switch, you can save money this Halloween. and usually, with this type of savings, it’s substantial. You can be the difference between buying a $10 dress up or a $40 costume. 

Use What You Have 

Most of us have more stuff around the house than we actually need but sometimes it also comes in handy. If you’re crafty or imaginative, you may be able to use certain things around the house to create a costume. Even if it is simply putting together a color scheme for a certain character. You can make your costume as intricate or elaborate as you’d like, or as simple as you want.

Buy Second Hand

The simplest of all the tips would be to buy the costume second hand. this can be done at stores like Goodwill where the money goes partially to charity. The selection can be a little bit less as it’s limited to donations. How are sometimes you can find some really good costumes there.

Save Past Costumes

 each year save your Halloween costumes as you may be able to use parts of it the following year. This will save me from having to buy new pieces each year and may be able to repurpose certain aspects of the year prior’s costumes.  You may have to alter parts of the costume but it should save you some money in the long run. 

Day After Sale

 Everyone knows the day after Halloween is a great day to stock up on candy however it is also a great day to get potential costumes for the next year. Most places will automatically drop the cost by 50% and sometimes up to 75% within the first couple of days after Halloween. Even if you pick up parts of costumes you may be able to utilize them the following year.

 Hopefully, you find these tips helpful I will be able to use them to save money this Halloween. The amount of money saved will vary from person to person based on a lot of different factors. The biggest thing is to enjoy the holiday and be able to get your spook on.

 Are there any tips that were missed? Leave us a comment below!