I’m going to be perfectly honest with you. I am not a big fan of Halloween.
I find all of the decorations, costumes and candy to be just too much. It’s excessive, expensive, and totally unnecessary.
My days of dressing up in costumes were 20 years ago. I’m just so over Halloween.
I get that the kids do love Halloween. I do like making them happy. I’ve learned how to save money on kids halloween costumes. And they look cute dressed up.
We carve pumpkins (mostly because I love to bake pumpkin and eat roasted pumpkin seeds). We visit the overpriced pumpkin patches in our area, and we have a good time.
But I just don’t really feel the spirit of Halloween, so to speak. It just seems like one more commercial holiday.
What am I missing? Tell me how you celebrate Halloween on a budget? How do youmake it feel like a fun holiday instead of just another expense?
I’m a HUGE Halloween fan. To me it’s way less commercialized than Christmas. It’s more about fun and family than gifts and stuff. I hit Hobby Lobby and Michael’s every year around November 10th, and get cool new stuff on DEEP discount. I visit the Walmart costume section at the same time and get dress up clothes for my kids. Then I pack it away in the Halloween tubs till next year, and opening it and seeing what I forgot about is always SO COOL.
We’re pretty creative costumers – we’ve never gone for those expensive all-in-one costumes you can get anywhere. We hit the thrift stores and the craft stores and make whatever we need.
We live on 4 acres and don’t get any trick or treaters so I save money on candy! LOL We drive into town for the kids to trick or treat.
I LOOOOOOOOVE Halloween.
I totally want to Bah Humbug for you (even though that is a Christmas expression). I love Halloween. We have a fun spooky porch and many decorations are homemade (hello! a great way to re-use torn sheets) and I re-use them year after year.
We buy costumes the year before when they are 75% off and then they become part of the costume box. And we try to re-purpose many items into costumes. Last year I was a Goth bridesmaid and all I purchased was this goth wig, I used a bridemaid dress that was 15 years old sitting in a closet at my mom’s house and shredded it. There was somehting therapeutic about that too.
Since we are out TOTing with the kids, we aren’t home to pass out candy but we have in the past and that is the part I find to get expensive.
I can’t wait for our Halloween functions to start next week and continue through the actual date.
For me, Halloween is a close second for favorite holiday following Christmas.
Maybe there’s a special phrase for Halloween Scrooges. :-)
Halloween is our family’s favorite time of year. We have been reusing decorations for years, so no cost there. Luckily, we have a great costume exchange in our neighborhood.
I’m with you. I love fall – just not Halloween so much. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday – a time to think of things you are thankful for, an awesome meal (an excuse to BAKE MORE!), and no stress about what to buy for who.
My son is all excited about halloween though. He asked to be spiderman and after trying numerous craigslist ads, I could not find him a spiderman costume, and broke down and bought a full price one at Target (with an employee discount….). This is the first year I have ever done that. I try to limit costs to costumes under $10 and 1-2 bags of candy purchased as close to Halloween as possible (so I don’t eat them). That’s it. I’d rather spend our money on good food or Christmas presents.
I love Halloween, and I’ve learned how to do it frugally!
#1. Homemade Costumes using mostly items from around the house. See example: http://www.TheBudgetDiet.com/easy-homemade-halloween-costumes-no-sewing-required
#2. Decorations – a trip to the thrift store will yield be results! Also, think about spray painting a candlestick you pick up for $1 black! FREE printables can be popped into an existing frame like the one in this post:
http://www.TheBudgetDiet.com/black-spray-paint-a-trip-to-the-thrift-store-halloween-decor
#3. Parties – I just posted an article full of ideas for a Halloween party on a budget! Parties are always affordable if you ask guests to bring food & decorate with items from around your house.
http://www.thebudgetdiet.com/ideas-for-having-a-halloween-party-on-a-budget
I am with the “humbuggers”. I enjoy celebrating Fall moreso than Halloween. Part of the reason, is that I did a study on Halloween when in High School & once I learned where it came from, then it made it something I really couldn’t get into “celebrating”. I also have had to take candy that things in it to the local police …and when I was younger, gave my dog an apple that I got trick or treating and had to extract a really thin needle from his jowl. Instead of daughter going trick or treating,I gave her a choice…she could trick or treat, or I would have a party. With the party, the kids brought different bags of candy, and I think they got more “goods” that way, than going trick or treating.
So, for me…I am glad when Halloween is over. I go to the stores after and focus on the decorations for Fall. Onto being thankful, baking “just because” and sharing the bounty of the harvests!
You’re not missing anything, I think. It can be fun to go to a costume party once in awhile. But last year I kept putting off candy buying, and then we just decided to turn off the lights and not hand out any. Saved us, what, $20 in candy? A good idea, I think. One we’ll probably repeat this year.
One of the joys of living in the woods is no trick-or-treaters! And I’ve been lucky in that the boys actually ASK to wear costumes they’ve worn in previous years.