Spooked by Halloween Spending? Cutting Back on Costume Purchases
Published on November 1, 2024
•3 min read
Are you someone who starts planning for Halloween early? Or maybe you throw your costume together at the last second? Either way, it is exciting to see the idea come to life, but it’s not a treat when you see how much it costs.
The National Retail Federation estimates Americans spent $11.6 billion on Halloween this year. This is down slightly from last year’s $12.2 billion in spending, but overall shows that consumers will spend an average of $103.73 for the holiday.
Of the $11.6 billion, $3.8 billion will be spent on costumes.
If you’re not thrilled about your spending on costumes or feel like the prices are getting out of hand, there are a few ways you can set yourself and your family up for future Halloween spending.
Keep a Costume Capsule
One way to save on Halloween costumes every year is to do what you do with décor: pack it up and reuse it the next year.
Now, you or your children might not want to be the same thing each year, but having a rotation of choices takes the pressure off needing a new idea for every Halloween party or event on the calendar.
You will want to keep items around that can easily pair with clothes you already own to avoid having to buy new pieces. Low-cost hats and props can be stored and will help you pull together an outfit in a second. Consider keeping around a few items, like:
- Witch or warlock hat
- Construction vest, police or fireman hat
- Angel wings or halo
- Cat ears, reindeer antlers (which can be reused for Christmas, too!)
- Cowboy hat, boots
- Tiara, wands
Look over the pieces you already have or maybe add to this list after Halloween when items are on sale and put together your Halloween capsule in a safe storage container that you can leave in the basement or in a closet. Keeping everything together helps you know where it is so you don’t lose it, and you don’t keep purchasing the same items over again.
Make It Fun with a Challenge or Contest
Whether your friends want to do a group outfit, or your kids are begging to be their favorite TV character, it can be hard to avoid going out and spending time and money to match the theme.
If you’re trying to save money on your costume by doing things the old-school way, then try adding another layer of fun to encourage participation, like a costume contest or challenge!
The rules could be that you must make the most creative costume out of the items you already own, or you need to create a costume within a certain budget. There could be a prize for Best Costume or Most Creative, for example.
Instead of focusing on what we should not or cannot do, which is spend money on new costumes every year, it is better to direct attention on what can be done and get excited about the possibilities when using creativity and imagination.
Thrifting and Borrowing
Thrift stores are an accessible, affordable, and unique way to bring a costume to life.
For group costumes or an elaborate idea that can get pricey, thrift stores are a great way to source necessary items for the theme without having to buy an expensive, brand-new piece, especially for something that will only be worn once.
Another option that might work for you is borrowing items from friends and family to create a unique costume.
Consider talking to friends and family with kids that are a similar age to yours and ask about swapping Halloween costumes every year. If you’re looking for affordable ways to build costumes, host a night in with friends and tell them to bring pieces so everyone can share and put together a great costume idea.
One major part of Halloween is creativity. Finding a way to participate without having to spend a lot of money is crafty!
If Halloween is something you enjoy, and you want to open more of your money up for spending on the holiday, consider a Membership Savings account and a budget plan to prepare yourself even better.
