10 Ways to Save Money on Halloween Costumes

Buying Halloween Costumes for your kids can become expensive especially if you have more than one child, who needs a Halloween costume? Most often kids wear their costumes a couple times each year for Halloween and maybe a costume party or parade and then we never see the costume again unless they use it for play-dates or dress up fun time.

At the beginning of October each year, neighbors alike start getting really excited for Halloween decorations. As their favorite holiday approaches, decorations start to multiply in their yard almost daily. Spiders, gravestones, skeletons, bats, and ghosts until Halloween night finally arrives. That’s when the real show begins!

Here are 10 tips to help you save money this year on Halloween costumes for both adults and kids

1. Know Where to Look

Check Craigslist and search for “Halloween costumes” in your local area. The nice thing about Craigslist is that many people will give you a little summary of the type of item that is listed. This is particularly helpful if you’re on the hunt for something you have in mind. You can even check Penny Saver USA.

2. Be Flexible

The more flexibility you have with the Halloween costume you wear, the easier it will be to find one that fits your budget for either your kid or young adult

3. Go to a Consignment Shop

You can find some awesome deals at consignment shops on costumes that probably were only used once, or may have never been worn at all. Finding a used costume for an adult can also be challenging. Many consignment stores and thrift stores have an array of Halloween costumes available, but you may only find one or two outfits in your size.

4. Buy Secondhand Costumes from Garage sales or Facebook yard sales

If you are not already part of a Facebook yards sale group, you will want to do a quick search or ask your friends to be added to a local sales group. Some people will try, and sell their Halloween costumes throughout the year, especially in September. Garage sales are a little different, some people will try to hold them when the weather is nice or when they have a lot of stuff to get rid of

5. Borrow from a friend or family member

I would like to try, and get rid of stuff when I no longer need it. But I do have some Halloween costumes from previous years in a trunk or something. Ask around to see if any of your friends or family members would like to do a costume swap for Halloween. This can also work for adult costumes, but especially good for kids since the kids are the one’s growing like weeds

6. Re-purpose a Costume

You can always re-purpose a costume from a previous year to make something totally different. If you have kids and a dress up trunk, you can mix and match stuff that you have collected over the years. Nice part about Halloween, you don’t have to have a theme just look scary or adorable.

7. Make a Costume

This does not necessarily mean head over to your local fabric store and spend tons of money, it means just take advantage of stuff you have in your home. With places like Pinterest! You too can find just about any DIY Halloween costumes for boys, girls and adults.

8. Ask for a Gift or Buy from the Dollar Store

The Dollar Tree store has tons of accessories.

9. Shop Late

On the other hand, you can also save money when you shop early, and by early. If you already know what costume you want for the following year, buy it on Halloween, or the day after Halloween, when all costumes are deeply discounted.

10. Be Creative

If you don’t have anything that goes together to dress up as something specific, grab the craziest thing you can find and make a garment out of the item. Try buying or making one great item that you can wear with the clothes you already own.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I recommend going through your home first to look for uniforms you already own, and to find fun items that you can use as part of a costume. Halloween costumes are meant to be fun and scary depending on your age. Make your wallet happy too, by carefully utilizing what you have and by shopping smart.