Frightful Halloween Costs

Saying that sometimes Americans go overboard on consumption is an understatement. Our grocery stores are three times the size of most grocery stores in Europe. Our closet and the clothes they contain would outfit most families in other countries for years. Not to mention the number of households (mine included) that have more TV's than family members (if I could only count our dogs in that number). Halloween is definitely one of the American overboard examples. Between costumes for yourself; the kids; dogs (yep, I've done that as well); decorations; food for a party; or the actual candy given out to the trick or treaters, this holiday can cost a fortune. Take this 10 second Survey Monkey poll on how much you have spend on Halloween. I'll post the findings in November.

For full disclosure, I was one of those Americans spending way too much on Halloween. I absolutely loved this holiday when our children were young, carefully picking costumes months in advance, joyously decorating the house and yard with decorations, making cookies for the school Halloween parade and relishing in the fun of trick/treating. Looking back, I realize that some of that hard earned money was not well spent.  Here are some ideas on spending less money while still enjoying all the fun of dressing up and relentless pursuit of candy:

• Look for costumes at thrift stores, consignment shops or yard sales. The store bought ones for children, especially young girls, often cause you to have that awkward conversation in the store aisle about what's appropriate anyway. 
• Consider not putting your child into a costume until they can walk to the door to ask for candy on their own. Put the money you would have spent into a college fund.   
• Try making a costume that shows some creativity like these in a Huffington Post article.
• Decorations are another thing to get at thrift stores and yard sales.
• Don't get your dog a costume. I've done it. Thought it was cute at the time until they ripped it to shreds. It wasn't so cute that $20 disappeared so fast. Maybe a cheap bandana.  
• Put money into the type of candy you give out. You're less likely to have your house egged once those kids become teenagers if you give good candy (no apples or dental floss).
• If you're going to host a party, suggest a Halloween appetizer cook off with a prize to the winner. You can work on supplying some basic food, drinks and paper goods while your friends have fun creating delicious dishes.

Of course, please remember to consider your child's safety during Halloween.  Here are tips from Safe Kids Worldwide.