It’s October again. AGAIN! Halloween candy started showing up in early September, costumes began going on sale around that same time in early September. I’m lucky. My kids have no real preference to what costumes they each will wear.
At this point, my son doesn’t really talk and my daughter was ecstatic when I bought her a headband with a witch hat on top from Old Navy. She thought that was the whole costume. Simple when they’re so young and oblivious to marketing ploys on TV. And the only candy my daughter understands is M&M’s for going on the potty and both love Dark Chocolate Hershey Kisses when they go to Nana’s.
HOWEVER, not everyone is as lucky as I am and must find some way to save money during this “holiday.” Though my kids don’t eat candy, we still have to supply it for the kids who come and Trick or Treat on this holiest of holidays. To cut down on this expense, we “group buy” candy on sale. We wait for the coupons to start rolling in, there’s always some kind of sale at our local WalMart, CVS or Target for Halloween Candy. We buy the huge bags of candy, split the cost with my sister and some of our neighbors. Simple. Everyone depends on my husband to find the best deals. Sometimes it’s not BJ’s, or Costco that has bulk for the best price. There are a lot of sales and tons of coupons available in September and October. Obviously the day after the stuff is SUPER CHEAP, but you’d be surprised at some of the stuff on sale right before the big Halloween Day. Right now, as I write this, there is a grocery store shutting its doors, still accepting coupons……..you do the math!
Costumes. UGH, right? I’ve got two costumes from previous years that my son inherited from my daughter. Bumblebee and a Lion. Now I must get rid of them before they end up taking up room in my home. In our neighborhood we do a costume swap party. We get neighbors, family members and friends to come to one home with all the costumes they no longer want, need or have room for. Hang them all up, people just swap. If you bring 1 costume, you get to take 1 costume home. Bring 2 costumes, you get to take 2 home. Hopefully you get the idea. If costumes aren’t taken, we either donate them or the owner takes them home and tries again the next year. There’s always different people showing up, kids being born and tastes changing from year to year.
These are just simple ways to save a little bit on what is becoming a bit of an expensive holiday.
Repurposing for Frugal Halloween Costumes
Halloween Candy Buy Back for Soldiers
Money Saving Monday: Halloween
Hi,
Love the idea of neighborhood swaps! But also may I suggest that you take a look at the National Costume Swap Day site. This is the first year we’ve done this and people are so excited to find swaps near them. Even if you are hosting a private swap you are welcome to sign up so you can be part of this international (we have a swap listed in Canada) initiative to save money for families and also save costumes from landfills.
Thanks for all your great ideas.
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