Halloween costume shopping can quickly get expensive if you don't have a plan and stick to a budget. There are many ways to save money on making homemade costumes. This is a guide about saving money on Halloween costume shopping.
We needed to get several costumes worth of clothing and extras but didn't have the budget to get store bought costumes or buy them new. So we found a Goodwill sorting and donation center near us. We hadn't been there before and we weren't sure how we would fare.
The sorting center sells clothes and other items by weight. They wheel long bins full of random clothing in to the warehouse you get to pick through them for the best deals. It's totally disorganized and a little chaotic but it was perfect for looking for costume parts.
We spent about an hour sorting through the bins and had a full cart with many items that were costume ready. Our cart came in under 25lbs. The pricing per pound drops from $1.39 per pound to $.89 per pound once you are above 25 lbs. So it was actually cheaper for us to go back and shop some more. We picked up some cool sheer fabric pieces that could be used for bellydancing or other costume parts. We also let the kids pick out a few toys.
When we got back in line, we weighed in at 25.5 lbs., which only came to $22.70. Check out the haul that we got for that! That's less than a dollar an item.
Six of the listed items below already had Goodwill price tags. Those six items outside the sorting center would have totaled $38.95. So basically, we saved $16 and got a bunch of other stuff for free!
All of these clothes were in very good condition. The striped blouse had a slight tear in it but that was no issue because it was for a pirate costume.
This shopping trip saved us a ton of money and we will have a very full costume trunk for the kids to play with after this Halloween!
By Jess from Hillsboro, OR
I do volunteer work in a local thrift shop. Do check in your local shop for Halloween costumes. As they are a one time a year item, there is no sense in paying a lot for the children's outfit. You will find really nice costumes for $1.00 and up.
By Eileen from Yorktown, VA
The best solution we found was to shop the week *after* Halloween for the following year. For instance, my daughter wanted us all to be characters from the Wizard of Oz. We could not afford the costumes in time for Halloween 2010, but they were 75% off the first week of November! We just bought hers a size too big. She is very excited to wear it in 2011. So shop in Nov. for 2012.
When you hit the November sales, be sure to think outside the box and consider picking up some dress-up clothes, too. We bought some lovely fairy outfits (75% off) that made fantastic Christmas and birthday gifts for my daughter and her friends. A pirate costume cost us $2.00. What a terrific year-round gift for a little boy.
The big costume shops will have sales like this, and the big box retailers will, too. If you can plan a year ahead, it's certainly worth the wait.
By Natasha from Boston, MA
When my daughter was young, we'd go to the local Salvation Army Store and get her a prom dress or some old outfit that she could tear and make look all ragged. Paying a couple of dollars was the best way to go for something she'd only wear once.
By Lynn T. from Conway, AR
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