Are you ready to save big on Halloween this year? With the Halloween season approaching, you might be struggling to figure out how to save money on the Halloween shopping spree. According to the National Retail Federation’s annual survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics, 73% of Americans will participate in Halloween which is an increase from 69% in the last year of 2022. Additionally, each person is expected to spend $108.24 on average on Halloween-related purchases. This is a lot of money considering the current economic uncertainties and high cost of living.
What if you could maximize your thrills and save money on Halloween at the same time? With a few simple tips, you can decorate your home, dress up in a spooktacular costume, and stock up on candy without breaking the bank. If you are looking for ways to save money on Halloween without giving up all the fun, here are 12 tips to achieve this goal.
Without further ado, let’s get started.
1. Make a Halloween plan
Determine what your Halloween expenses will be and create a budget for each category. This can include costumes, decorations, party supplies, and candy. Having a clear estimate of what you’re going to spend can prevent you from making unnecessary purchases.
2. Craft your own costumes
Halloween is one of those days people tend to celebrate without worrying about how much they are spending. Stores in every corner of the country also take advantage of these spending habits by selling expensive costumes. While you don’t need to stop celebrating this special day to save money, you can certainly find a cheap way to celebrate Halloween.
One of the most effective ways to save money on Halloween is to craft your own costumes. Halloween costumes usually cost hundreds of dollars which makes them expensive for most people. To save money on Halloween, buy raw materials such as fabrics and design your own costumes. With this strategy, you can easily save hundreds of dollars on costumes especially if you have a lot of people in the family.
3. Watch a Halloween movie at home
One of the many things that makes Halloween expensive, especially for large families is Halloween movies. Tickets can cost anywhere between $10 to $25 per person. This cost does not even include snacks, drinks, and popcorn. To save money on Halloween, avoid watching Halloween movies in theaters.
Streaming services usually offer these kinds of movies online which you were already paying for. If there is one movie that you want to watch that is not available online yet, wait for a few months until the movie becomes free on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, or other streaming services you use. With this saving strategy, you can keep hundreds of dollars in your pocket with 100% satisfaction.
4. Do not go to scary Halloween theme parks
One of the best ways to save money on Halloween is to avoid costly Halloween theme parks. These parks can easily cost you $50 per person for entrance all for the Halloween thrill. Do you really need to spend this much money for a few minutes or hours of scary stuff?
If you are serious about saving money on Halloween, avoid these kinds of costly Halloween parks. What some parents do is recreate a version of a scary room in their own houses using different objects and lights they have already to entertain their kids. This strategy not only helps in celebrating Halloween with your kids, but it also serves as a way to spend quality time with family which to my understanding is the most important part of this day.
5. Shop at thrift stores and Dollar Tree
If you have to buy Halloween food, costumes, and candies, do not buy from expensive stores. You can easily buy cheap Halloween products from cheap stores and save money. For example, Dollar Tree and thrift stores sell really cool costumes and decorating materials at a fraction of the cost. To maximize your Halloween savings, buy these costumes ahead of time to avoid competition.
6. Buy candies in bulk
While celebrating Halloween is essential for many families, it can also cost you a ton of money if you are not careful in your spending strategies. One of the biggest expenses that comes with Halloween is the cost of candies. Some families spend hundreds of dollars on candies alone. The good news is that there are ways you can spend less money on candies and still satisfy your Halloween-hungry guests.
The most effective way to save money on Halloween is to buy candies in bulk. That is right. Most stores give you a discount when you are purchasing a large quantity of candies at once. You can also look for special deals on candies and related snacks to boost your savings.
7. Host a bring-your-own Halloween party
If you are having a Halloween party, the money you spend can easily triple what the average family spends on Halloween. To avoid burning your savings on Halloween, change the structure of the party. Instead of having a normal party where you buy everything and people come empty-handed to consume what you have purchased, ask people to bring their own drinks, snacks, and food. This is one of the best ways to save money on Halloween as it allows you to only host the party without buying expensive foods, drinks, and snacks.
8. Attend free Halloween events
In case you have to attend a Halloween event, look for totally free events in your area. While paid Halloween events might have advanced performances with highly talented individuals, free events also come with some really cool stuff your kids might enjoy. These events are usually hosted by different organizations and social events organizers to entertain kids in many areas and sometimes the local government sponsors these events which helps improve the quality of their performances.
If you can’t find free events in your area, look for cheap Halloween events to save money on Halloween. Your kids might like them as much as any other events.
9. Reuse pumpkins from the previous Halloweens
Another way to save money on Halloween is to reuse pumpkins from previous years. While not everyone is into making decorations and carving pumpkins, there is nothing wrong with making these decorations. But, you don’t have to buy pumpkins every year to entertain your kids. You can easily achieve the same level of entertainment by reusing the previous year’s pumpkins. Maybe you can change their lighting to make them look different and creative.
10. Do not make expensive Halloween recipes
Halloween recipes cost a lot of money depending on where you shop and the kinds of recipes themselves. To save money on Halloween, buy recipes from affordable stores and select cheap recipes. You don’t need to spend the most money for just entertainment. As long as you are creative in your designs and have a combination of recipes, costumes, candies, and different entertainments, your kids will still love it.
11. Try Homemade treats
If you are very creative and are interested in baking, try crafting your own sweats. Instead of buying candy, consider making your own Halloween-themed treats. This could be a fun activity for the whole family and potentially save you money on Halloween.
12. Organize a costume swap
If you have friends or relatives with children the same age as yours, consider organizing a costume swap. This way, you can exchange costumes from previous years. It is also possible that some of your relatives have older children who no longer celebrate Halloween. In this case, you can borrow their old costumes instead of buying new ones from the market.
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