Every year, Americans spend a ton preparing to celebrate Halloween and the costs associated with the spooky holiday continue to go up. According to the National Retail Federation’s 2014 Halloween Consumer Spending Survey, the average person will spend $77.52 this Halloween, up from $75.03 last year.
The good news, however, is that there are a number of ways to join in on the October 31 festivities without breaking the bank. Here are seven easy hacks that can help you celebrate Halloween for less.
Go for free DIY candy collection containers. Many retailers sell special bags and buckets designed just for collecting candy during Halloween trick-or-treating. However, some of the elaborate designs (think plush buckets) can run you upwards of $10, and even the cheaper, less durable plastic bag styles require that you shell out cash, even if just 99 cents.
So, instead of buying these pre-made Halloween buckets and bags, save your money by repurposing old pillow cases or bags you have around the house into candy collection containers. You could even give your child an old brown grocery bag (as long as it has handles) and encourage him or her to make it festive with the help of some crayons, markers and other art supplies you have around the house.
Print out free decorations. According to the National Retail Federation, Americans are planning to spend $2 billion on Halloween decorations this year, with money going toward décor ranging from life-size ghosts to pumpkins. But before you shell out money on such items, check out all the free printables available online. It’s easy to find free Halloween banners, posters, signs and more, and all you’ll have to pay for is the paper to print them on. Just search the Internet with terms like “free Halloween decorations printables” and a wealth of options come up.
Be a smart pumpkin shopper. If you want to invest in a pumpkin or two, visiting the local pumpkin patch can be a ton of fun and a great way to spend a weekend afternoon (especially considering that many patches offer free admission), but think twice before you buy your pumpkins there.
As I learned the hard way last Halloween season, pumpkins are often much more expensive at pumpkin patches than they are at local grocery stores. Case in point: Last year, my husband and I bought an $18 pumpkin at a patch only to later see a similar-sized $7 pumpkin at our local Safeway.
And here’s another pumpkin shopping tip: Instead of buying a pumpkin each year, you could save even more money by making a one-time purchase of an inexpensive fake pumpkin, or other similar decoration, that you could bring out year after year.
Get a head start on the holiday season. Another way to cut the cost of Halloween decorations is to opt for décor that can work for both Halloween and the coming holiday season this year, and in years to come. For instance, white and orange Christmas lights and fall-themed wreaths with orange or gold balls could do double duty for both holidays.
Know how to dress up for less. Here at The Frugal Shopper blog, we’ve covered a number of tricks lately for saving on Halloween costumes, including costume exchanges with friends, online comparison shopping, reusing last year’s looks, repurposing baby pajamas into easy DIY costumes, hitting thrift stores and thinking ahead now to next year. So, make sure to read our recent posts on dressing up for less.
Give out candy you don’t like. I love this tip, which I came across at About.com. The gist is that by buying candy that you don’t like, you’ll be less likely to eat the candy before it’s time to give it out to trick-or-treaters, ultimately saving yourself from having to buy more Halloween candy at the last minute to pass out. And along the same lines, since it shouldn’t matter if you like the candy you’ll be passing or not, make sure to opt for whatever sweets are on sale for the cheapest price when you’re making your candy purchases.
Hand out your candy. Finally, don’t buy enough to candy to account for trick-or-treaters grabbing handfuls of your treats. Instead, plan to give out one piece to each trick-or-treater, so you don’t need to invest in as big of a candy stash.
What money-saving Halloween hacks did I miss? Share your best tips below for cutting the costs associated with celebrating Halloween.
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7 Money-Saving Halloween Hacks originally appeared on usnews.com
