Save Money – Organize a Halloween Costume Swap

The Halloween costume routine.

You buy a costume (which according to the National Retail Federation costs an average of $27.85).

Your child wears it once.

The costume goes in the closet.

You repeat the process again next year, and the year after and the year after that.

You could open a used Halloween costume shop with all those costumes!

Here’s a fun way to save money on Halloween costumes this year AND clear out your closet – host a Halloween Costume Swap Party!
 

How to Organize a Halloween Costume Swap Party

• Invite friends to your Halloween Costume Swap party and ask them to bring as many costumes as they wish. A simple phone call or free Evite.com invitation is your best bet – remember, this is a frugal affair.
• As guests arrive, have an area where you display the costumes along with extra coat hangers. You could hang them from curtain rods, on your stair rail or on a portable clothing rack. Use masking tape to write the size on each costume to make it easy for your friends to find the perfect costume.
• When all the guests have arrived, put numbers in a hat for the number of costumes “up for grabs.” If there are 38 costumes, write the numbers 1 – 38 on little scraps of paper, fold each one up and put them in a cauldron or other spooky bowl!
• The fun begins! If a guest brought 3 costumes, she’ll draw three numbers. A guest that only brought 1 costume will draw 1 number. The idea is you’ll go home with as many costumes as your brought to the party.
• The guest that chose #1 picks the first costume, and then it’s #2’s turn, and so on, and so on.
• Serve a few festive Halloween snacks – it’s a party after all!

 
There you have it.

One closet full of used Halloween costumes that are way too small have been emptied.

One less Halloween costume to buy this year.

$27.85 saved…according to the folks at the National Retail Federation.

Have you ever been to a Halloween Costume Swap Party? Please leave a comment to share your experience and suggestions.

Happy Frugal Halloween!

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image courtesy of stock images, FreeDigitalPhotos.net