Spooky season is upon us, and with it, hordes of costumed people will be roaming the street on foot, greeting us at our doors and sometimes at our workplace. How to join in though? You don’t necessarily need a costume to join the festivities, but it definitely doesn’t hurt. You don’t have to go trick or treating either: There are plenty of Halloween parties to attend, costume contests to enter or just places to get noticed — and sometimes it’s nice to just pose for social media.
You don’t want to go broke though, so look out for ways to save money. There are so many options out there, but how can you narrow everything down to just one spot that will give you the choices you want without wreaking havoc on your pocketbook? Let’s look at what’s out there.
Goodwill
There are plenty of reasons to stop by your local Goodwill (or any thrift store, really): First, expect to find at least a few packaged Halloween costumes for cheap here. The selection won’t necessarily be extensive, but if you’re looking for something interesting or inexpensive, you can’t go wrong at your local secondhand store.
Second, however, there are plenty of pieces that you can mash up or stitch together to make the perfect costume — maybe an old jacket that can make you look like a character from the “Walking Dead” or a nice suit to make you look like you’re out of a classic Mafia film.
Target
Target doesn’t specialize in Halloween costumes, but that doesn’t mean their inventory is anything to scoff at. The costumes tend to be affordable, plus there’s plenty of other Halloween stuff to pick up while you’re there: candy, decorations, whatever. The superstore has plenty of ways to save you money as well: They offer a significant discount on certain Halloween costumes, and if you like to load up on candy to stave off potentially angry trick-or-treaters, there are further deals if you order Halloween candy online — because frankly, who wants to drive to the store when you can just wait for the mail carrier to drop by?
Walmart
What applies to Target applies to Walmart as well; if you’re really trying to minimize the number of stops you make, pick up some food for any festivities here as well. Walmart has affordable prices, and they have plenty of budget Halloween decor for any makeshift haunted house you might want to host. Grab a pumpkin here too just in case you want to make a Jack-O-Lantern. If you love to combine procrastinating with staying inside your dorm or apartment, there’s free 2-day shipping if you spend over $35. And isn’t keeping up the Halloween spirit worth at least $35?
Spirit
As summer winds down every year, over 1400 stores nationwide invade empty storefronts, only to disappear a few months later. This is Spirit Halloween, a one-stop shop for all of your Halloween needs. Perhaps thrift stores might be better for the more DIY-oriented, but for those with neither the skill nor the time, there are plenty of costumes available at the Halloween superstore. Again, you can shop online from the comfort of your own home, and thankfully, they have some deals for you as well: Take 20% off of one item (including “Fortnite” stuff) with a promo code.
For those that go all-out with the Halloween spirit, the aisles are stuffed with decorations, from fake tombstones to scary animatronic dogs to some spooky scary fake ghosts. Get some decorations too, with a buy one, get half off deal. It’s a nice way to outdo the neighbors without necessarily going broke.
Party City
You might think that Party City isn’t as extensive as Spirit, but there’s still always something to find there. It’s definitely not a bad alternative if you don’t have a store that specializes in Halloween costumes nearby. Peruse their nice selection that includes Woody from “Toy Story,” some of the “Stranger Things” gang or even go on a nostalgia trip and deck yourself out in one of the outfits from “Clueless.” So stop in and pick up a nice costume, or just order online and pick it up at the store.
Etsy
Occupying the middle ground between a superstore and getting someone to custom-make your outfit, Etsy can offer up some pretty nice Halloween costumes as well. Perfect for when you can’t think of anything creative but still want to be a little extra, the site will let you find plenty of weird or unique costumes from people around the world. A quick Etsy search reveals everything from Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker, a nice tattoo set of Post Malone face tats and a custom State Farm Insurance polo shirt.
