Halloween on a Budget? Have a Costume Swap!

These days, everyone is pinching pennies wherever they can. Halloween is one of those times when I always end up doing homemade costumes or getting them second hand. Nothing is wrong with either of those; however I thought having a costume swap might be a fun thing for kids because it would be just like shopping for a costume.

The first thing you would need to do in order to organize a costume swap would be to find a place to have the costume swap. Usually a senior center or a community center will rent their space for a reasonable rate.

Wait...the purpose of a costume swap is to save money right? I suggest checking to see if you school will allow the costume swap to take place or even your local churches, depending on how they feel about Halloween.

If you end up having to rent a spot, a donation jar may be an acceptable way to pay for the fee. If a lot of people donate even a dollar it will pay for the rental. Not to mention a buck is certainly cheaper than paying twenty dollars for one costume. I have four kids; if you do the math you will see that Halloween can be an expensive time for me.

After you have found a space for your costume swap, it's as simple as people bringing in the old costumes which don't fit their kids anymore and picking out ones that do fit.

Kids love picking out costumes. Every Halloween we have to rush our kids through the stores to avoid the Halloween costumes. They are also very disappointed when we tell them they can't buy one. A costume swap will alleviate all of those issues.

If you cannot find a place to have your costume swap, you may even think about having one in your home. If you don't live in too much of a rural area, it may be the way to go.

As a side note, I would like to say please be careful while trick or treating and pick appropriate costumes for the dark and the weather. Halloween can be a dangerous time for our children as they freely run from house to house and don't pay any mind to traffic.

Not all the traffic is watching out for the children either...

Be safe and have a happy Halloween this year!