Halloween is today, and I just got back from the store feeling a bit stunned by the prices. The candy bags and costumes both seem noticeably more expensive than last year. I'm curious how much everyone actually spent this year — did you cut back, wait for a sale, buy less candy, or make a costume at home instead of buying one? In our house we tried to keep it reasonable, but it still added up faster than I expected. What worked for you?
Candy and costume prices really did climb again this year, mostly because cocoa and sugar costs stayed high. Some easy ways people cut back: buy the big mixed bags instead of name-brand minis, put together a costume from clothes already in the closet, and grab decorations tomorrow when stores mark them down 50–70% for next year. Even handing out one piece per kid instead of a handful makes a bag last much longer.
Same here — I went in planning to keep it simple and still walked out surprised at the total. We stuck to one big mixed bag of candy instead of the name-brand minis, and the costume was mostly put together from things we already had at home, which definitely helped. Even so, it added up faster than I expected once you count the candy plus a few little extras. I like the idea of grabbing decorations on clearance tomorrow for next year — that seems like the one part where you can actually beat the prices.
Same story here — I went in for just candy and somehow the total still surprised me. We stuck to one big mixed bag instead of the name-brand minis, and that helped a lot. I also like the clearance idea for next year, it feels like the one part of Halloween where you can actually get ahead of the prices.
Quick follow-up for anyone who missed it: the post-Halloween clearance usually goes deeper as the week goes on. Stores often start at 50% off on Nov 1 and drop to 70–90% within a few days to clear shelf space for Christmas stock. Candy keeps well too, so a discounted bag can cover stocking stuffers or baking later.