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Thursday, October 7, 2021

How to Save Money on Halloween Costumes for Your Family

Every year, our family dresses in a group family costume for Halloween. So, I thought I'd talk a little about how to save on Halloween costumes without scrimping on quality. Here are 5 tips and tricks for how to get the most bang for your buck.


Make Your Halloween Costume Yourself

Costumes that you purchase from a costume store are often very expensive. Sometimes it's cheaper to make your own. (And sometimes if you've chosen something obscure, like a giant Mott's for Tots Juice Box, you have no choice but to make it yourself.)

In our case, we have a very tall person in our family. And for some reason, costume makers do not take that into account. So many times, I have had to make my husband's costumes with clothes that will actually fit him.

The year we went as an entire family of Elvis, I made his costume from black pants and a black jacket purchased from Ross Dress for Less. (Pro Tip: Buy from the cheapest places you can for pieces to make your Halloween attire.) I painted the stitching and jail numbers on with glitter puff paint and sewed the striped shirt myself. The total cost for the costume couldn't have been more than $30 - certainly less than a licensed costume from Elvis Presley Enterprises (which probably wouldn't have included all three pieces) and it fit him perfectly!


Ryan's Freddie from Scooby Doo costume was simply a white sweater purchased from Hamricks, a piece of orange chiffon fabric tied into a scarf, and a blonde wig. We owned the blue collared shirt and jeans. Total cost: $30.


That year, we also made Aidyn's costume because he wanted to be Shaggy. That was a purchase of a lime green t-shirt from AC Moore. We already owned the white undershirt and the corduroy pants. We drew on the soul patch with a makeup pencil and let him grow his hair out. Total cost: $2.50 for green t-shirt. (My agonizing over the extra weeks of unkempt hair = FREE.)



The year we went as SuperFamily - nearly the entire family's costume was DIY. We had just had a baby and pretty much needed to work with what we had. Ryan already had a Superman t-shirt and of course, we both had business attire. We popped the lenses out of a pair of old sunglasses for Clark Kent's glasses and designed and printed the Daily Planet press passes ourselves. The baby-sized Superman costume was a gift. We purchased two SuperDog bandanas for our dogs. Total cost: $10 for two dog bandanas.





A List of Tutorials for Halloween Costumes You Can DIY

Over the years, we've posted quite a few DIY tutorials for Halloween costumes. Here's a list of costumes you can make yourself. (Some require sewing skills, some are craft projects, some are crochet patterns, and some just require a trip to your closet and/or the thrift store!)


Buy Your Halloween Costume Early in the Season

If you're going to purchase your Halloween costume, make sure to purchase it early. If you wait until the last minute, you're almost guaranteed to have to choose from more expensive costumes. (The more affordable ones will usually be the first ones to sell out.) If you are planning on purchasing a Halloween costume from a Halloween store, be on the lookout for discounts and coupons. Many of these stores will offer a discount off one item purchased, so make sure to take advantage. 

And remember to compare prices online before committing to your purchase. The same costume is sure to be available at different retailers. Make sure you get the best price by doing your research before purchasing.

Reuse and Repurpose Pieces from Old Halloween Costumes

You should always try to repurpose your Halloween costume items when you can. If you can invest in pieces that you can use from year to year, then you can amortize the cost of them over more than just one costume and lower the price per use. You'll extend the life of the purchase.

Shoes will usually be your biggest investment for a costume. So, if you can get a few different costumes out of your purchase, that's where you can stretch your dollars.

Ryan has a pair of costume boots that have seen quite a bit of use. They cost about $60 when we bought them, but we've used them many times - Han Solo, Jack Sparrow, and Wolverine. (Because he is so tall that the Jack Sparrow and Wolverine costumes looked like capri pants on him, the knee boots covered that nicely.) So that averages to $20 per costume.





I have a pair of white go-go boots that I've also used a few times - Princess Leia (2006), Vegas Elvis, Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go (Go-Go Dancer), and Princess Leia (again in 2018). About $15 per use at this point.



Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go

DIY Star Wars Family Halloween Costumes


Hair Extensions and Wigs can also be repurposed if they're not too "out there." For example, the bright orange Daphne wig I purchased when we were the Scooby Doo gang has probably one use. However, when I purchased hair extensions that were the color of my own hair to go with my Wonder Woman costume, I knew that those might be repurposed some day. I have worn them twice as Wonder Woman (2009 and 2016).

I Need a Hero: SuperFamily Costumes


And, I was able to reuse those extensions again the year we went as Movie Monsters. I was a mummy and I figured I needed some extra oomph since the costume wrapped around my head and enveloped my own hair without them. 


I've also used these extensions to give myself big 1980s hair for our Harris Sisters' 1980s-themed  costumes.

Takin' It Back to the Old School: 1980s Halloween Costumes

And I've used them again to give myself voluminous hair in our Harris Sisters river siren photo shoot.

River Sirens Photoshoot

Buy Next Year's Halloween Costume This Year

Most retailers are looking to clear their shelves on Halloween day and the days following in order to roll out Christmas merchandise. If you find a deeply discounted costume that might be a contender for next year, why not snag it now? This idea is probably best served for adults since kiddos tend to want the latest and greatest costume ideas each year. But if you find a timeless costume piece for yourself, now's the time to grab it. After all, some costumes will look the same from year to year, so it won't really make a difference when you purchased the costume (Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, Marilyn Monroe, etc.)

Over the Rainbow and Through the Looking Glass to Grandmother's House We Go

Goodbye Norma Jean

Recycle Clothing Items into Halloween Costume Pieces

Of course, make sure your friends and family know to save any costume-worthy clothes, accessories, costume jewelry, and shoes for you to build your costume closet. Make sure to keep your eyes peeled for costume-worthy pieces at clothing swap parties. And set aside pieces from your own closet if they might be useful in a costume someday. 

Remember to try everything on to see if it fits! (You can wear men's clothing, children's or teenager's  clothing, etc., and as long as it fits, it'll work for a costume.) 

Hey, over the years, I've racked up these pieces for my costume closet:

Other Resources for Sourcing Thrifty Halloween Costumes


Happy Halloween and good luck planning your Halloween costumes!

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