How Much Did You Spend on Halloween Costume?

The most i have ever spent was 49.99 for a "Bell Of The Ball" dress for my daughter when she was in the third grade (Now 21) but it was so beautiful. it's cheaper to just get creative. J.

Since my son is only 4 I can still get away with not spending to much, but he also knows that we don't spend a lot of money on things.... so happy that he learned that early. I bought his custume this year from Old Navy and I know that I didn't spend more than $10 and no accessories were needed! Last year he wanted to be a spider and I tried my hardest to find one (from Pottery Barn Kids) on Craigslist for $10 or less but just couldn't find it... so I made it! Look just like PBKs Spider custome... but better! I received so many compliments and only paid $4 for the fleece. I would have to think that this won't last forever, but since he already understands about spending money and that certain things are just a waste of money I am hoping that it will stick for a long time.

I agree with the $20 limit, but my son's cost $24 so I thought that was ok. I would have made his, but it would have to be made out of knit, which i LOATH sewing with so it was well worth the sacrifice. He had his one year party and it was a costume party and he looked awesome!!! He was Jack Jack from the Incredibles. No baby could have made a perfect Jack Jack!!

My kids are still very little, 2 and 4, so I made theirs - they are going to be Jessie the Cowgirl and Sheriff Woody from Toy Story - we bought the $5 foam cowboy hats, with neckercheif and sheriff star from Walmart, I painted one hat red with spray paint. I bought them a white shirt and a yellow shirt form Walmart, $5 each and painted the red plaid and the yellow yoke and red stitching on them with fabric paints I already had. I bought 3 cow-print handkerchiefs $3 total, to make Woody's vest and Jessie's chaps, sewed them myself. We're using their jeans and belts they already have. So about $25 for two costumes that will look twice as cute as the $ 30 a piece crappy polyesther jumpsuit ones they were selling in the package.

No, not everyone buys a package costume from a store, BUT if that is what her mom has always done, and Dad is willing to go along too, that is what she will be expecting. I am starting my kids early so they know it is more fun, and more authentic to make your own costume, and at the very least, buy one used at a thrift store, especially if you are only going to wear it once. I always made my own, but my mom made them for me when I was little, it was what I am used to. All goes along with how they started her out, and how it has continued.

If you are tight on money,though, you and hubby should have discussed it first ( before she was even at your house) and set a budget, and then discussed it with her. You are the parents together, as well as her mom, you have to work as a team!

Jessie

This year, not a penny. My daughter is wearing her ballet recital bumble bee costume. But in the previous years, we've spent about $100 dollars. The good thing is that she plays dress up with her costumes all year long. I don't think she cares about how expensive the costume is. She wanted to put a sheet over her head and be a ghost! Maybe next year we will make our own so that she learns that we don't always have to spend money to have fun!

First of all, I'm sorry you have to waste your time reading comments like Christy's. I'm never this upfront about other posts, but come on! Clearly you stated you don't have a lot of money so why are wasting our time reading all about her kid's cute and pricey costume? This isn't Facebook ( where she can brag all she wants in a status update) but this site could use a dislike button. I saw no solutions on your behalf in that response, but anyway... I think the budget idea is a good one and maybe throughout the year give her some chores to do around the house which she can earn a dollar here and there. Also borrowing from friends and putting the costume together yourself is always an option, as well. Much luck!

Our 2.5 year old is going to be Strawberry Shortcake for $12. Bought it at TJ Maxx and the best part is the main part of the costume is pink srtiped cotton pants and a matching turtleneck. These will be great pjs or real clothes when Halloween is over. The rest is a fleece strawberry and beret that go over the leggings/shirt. Our 5 year old will be a mermaid for $20 (Costco). She will wear this as dress-up until it is in tatters (after Halloween) so I feel like we'll get our money's worth.

yup, you do!! So this year my younger son is wearing a hand-me-down from his brother last year. My older son got a costume that was too big last year so he is wearing it this year.
We are spending nothing and I like it that way! I lost my job in September and was also feeling pretty down about not being able to afford all the "cool" costumes until I sat back and thought...They wear it once and the whole point of halloween is to get candy, right? Well, they will still get to go out and trick or treat and get tons of candy...just in old costumes. Neither one of my boys was upset. (they are 8 and 5)

we got our daughter one for 17, normally 20 but on sale. We also spent 20 on boots, but they're going to be her winter boots so we felt the price was justified there. I've made her costumes in the past, but this year he just had to be Jessie from Toy Story, and when we found the costume on sale, we went with it.

Yep...that is about right for buying one at the stores. It depends on how many accessories you end up getting. That can obviously drive the cost up. I buy my kids costumes and maybe one accessory, and we just use the trick or treat bags instead of a bucket, so we save $ there, and they haven't been anything yet that requires a wig...

usually about $15 to $20 each....depending on what they want. I order my costumes super early (like august/september) from online costume stores. Last year my youngest wanted to be minnie mouse- not the pink dress but the red one. This was a bit harder and more expensive but my son wanted to be a zombie so his was less than $10 including really cool face makeup and latex wounds and gore- so it evened out.
I have spent $35 to $40 for costumes I knew would go through more than one child. Like when my oldest daughter wanted to be a carebear- knew her little sister could wear it the next year so that was ok.
I always put my foot down for the wig- kids wont wear it anyway.... this year my oldest daughter is being the little mermaid (i didn't by the "disney" costume and I actually think this one is cuter anyway) -she wanted the wig but I know darn well that thing will be off her head before we are half way down the first street. Anyway- I told her we would spray her hair red instead- my kids love coloring their hair so she was fine with that.
Also my kids plan halloweens in advance- I think my youngest is up to the next five years now- (we all love halloween alot) so I will buy on clearance after halloween too. Oh and use the costumes as decorations at the house too. That way when it is a $50 costume- yep I have had them on occasion....my son really wanted to be preditor this year but it was $100 and too big for him so I said no way- I get more use out of it. Kids costumes make great pet costumes too for larger dogs like my rotties. They have been pretty much everything my kids have been- including snow white, a dragon, pumpkin, jedi, unicorn- I think one of the dogs will be hannah montanta this year since my daughter changed her mind about being zombie hannah after she was hannah last year.
Just take a deep breath- let her enjoy halloween and get creative about what to do with that $50 costume... you could always sell it on ebay or craigslist next year.

My dd is only 21 months, so I refuse to spend too much on it. A few people had given me some baby clothes and I found that a ballerina outfit was in it. I also had bought a tinkerbell leotard at a thrift store last year. Just in case either don't fit, I bought a princess skirt from the dollar tree and was going to come up with something with that. My dd is notorious for wearing something once and being fine, and then ruining it on the second try. I want it to be new for trick or treat. She loves people and that is why I am actually going to take her and let her go. She will get a little of the candy, but she doesn't have much of a sweet tooth, thank goodness :-)

$20.00 is the absolute max i'll spend on 1 & making 1...We already have shoes & accesories so no biggie on what they choose to be this year...
Police costume $12.00 Target
Barbie Ballerina $20.00 from the toy dept. way better quality than the Halloween coustume
Angel 89 cents from last year @ Dillons for baby....
This year i'll be doing the after sales & stock up on dress up items for my girls my son loves to play to so Spider Man & Bat Man i'll be looking out for those items

There is NO WAY on God's green earth I would ever spend that kind of money for a costume for ONE NIGHT!! Insanity!! I got mine this year for around $9 ~ shipped!! (eBay) Last year I gave $10, the year before was a hand-me-down, so zero OOP. See a pattern here? Call me cheap, thrifty, frugal, or parsimonious; I don't mind. I prefer to think of it as being smart with my money. If I ever go to a "store" for a costume, it will likely be a thrift store. There is a really nice one close by.

I make our costumes. I never have the money to buy and it is so much more fun to make them. One year I dressed my toddler up as He-Man (he loves the cartoons) and the baby as Orko (I bought a white long-sleeve bodysuit, tights, flesh-tone dye, and some scraps of material to make the "clothes" right on the tights and body suit); last year the boys went as knights--I cut armor out of shiny metalic sticky-backed sheets from the Recycle Shop where I work, put it right on white long-sleeve t-shirts, let them wear gray sweats for bottoms, made cloaks, and made shields. They carried their play swords. This year my youngest is going as He-Man since the costume fits, and my older one wants to be a dragon. I will probably be able to make it for a bit of loose change plus a new green hoodie.

When we were kids we had a lot of dress-up clothes to sort through, but we were creative and my mom always helped us make our costumes. It is half the fun as far as I'm concerned. My favorite was going as Medusa in middle school--we dyed my hair green and braided rubber snakes into it all over and I wore a bedsheet toga. =)

This year, I had made all the necessary plans to spend $ZERO -- borrowing a costume from another Mom and using something we already had. That was until my hubby took the kids (without me!) to the Halloween store. Now we have 2 brand-new costumes (grrrrrr!) Fortunately, my kids are still young enough that they will wear them tons at home for dress-up and pretend.

I had absolutely crappy costumes when I was a child. The worst. Seeing that I still remember this, I am a little more sensitive about wanting to give my kids "cool" costumes. But we shouldn't have to spend so much money to do so. I suggested to my Moms group that we swap, if anyone was interested, and I got a lot of offers. It would be great to help each other out during tough times!

WOW, $70 Holy cow! I want to know what that one was. But i'm a cheap skate so even $50 seems like a lot to me.

It does't sound like you can do it with her because of the power play dynamics going on, but you could easily by a clearance costume for next year, or buy parts of it and subsitute the rest like you had wanted to do for her this year. I think you and daddy need tohave a talk about what you are comfortable spending but ulimately it's up to him.

Personally, i like having a little bit of the costume hand made, i can't sew a whole ball gown or anything put i glued pink felt paw prints to the palms of some black knit gloves to go with my daughters cat ears, and tail. total spent on that costume $6.50 and I can easily resell for a few bucks if we choose.

Not sure i would fight this battle but maybe you should talk about christmas now.

Big ticket item was 12.99 for sparkly red shoes at target (which she'll wear elsewhere, they're not costume shoes). I got fabric/zipper/buttons for Dorothy dress for $7. Pattern, $4.99. The point for me was spending time with my 5 year old while working on it. She's been helping me with pins, watching me sew, controlling the radio, keeping the boys out, staying up late with me for "girl time". I got cheap white sheets for my little ghost for $6. I got a witch hat for the baby for $1.00. We're busting out the candy from last year for trick or treaters or turning off the lights-not sure yet!
I didn't want what other kids had. My parents didn't raise us that way. I would have been the one with the home made cabbage doll-and loved it! Don't feel bad about lack of funds. Help that step daughter learn some creativity.

A good childhood is not about having a fifty dollar costume. I think homemade costumes end up being so much cuter.

For my one year old daughter I bought a bee outfit. Way too expensive; I probably spent $40.00. I ended up convincing myself for many reasons that this was a good idea; only girl, only baby left, etc.....

For my oldest, I convinced him to be a bee keeper for the school's parade. They allow siblings so my thought was that he could hold his sister. We will make this costume and the netting that I bought at JoAnns cost a dollar and the hat from Michaels cost four dollars. But I negotiated this with him and he gets to be what he wants to be at night (some kind of Stars Wars thing) at $30.00.

My middle son could not make up his mind when we went to the costume store (secretly relieved). We did a lot of talking and he will be a spider web. I have purchased a web and a toy spider and will attached this to him. Total cost= $10.00. He will probably be the cutest if I start working on it this weekend and make sure everything can be attached to him.

Yes, you want your child to have the right stuff but often between the cost and your values(I hate the gore the boys' costumes seem to all have especially at age 10 plus) it is a hard road to travel.

We have it worse cuz we have FIVE kids to buy for. Yes we buy the costumes from the store (and I completely agree they are cheap-looking materials). Unfortunately I am not talented enough to make costumes and I certainly dont' have time to make FIVE costumes even though I stay home with the kids. We try to make up for the pricetag by throwing a huge "after Halloween" party. That way all the kids can wear their costumes again and even trade with other kids if they want. My kids have worn previously worn costumes once or twice. I also let them dress up (if it's not scary) a few times during the year just for fun.

I know it's expensive but personally I remember every single Halloween I've ever participated in, and I have a bad memory. I feel the fun memories my kids will hopefully enjoy the rest of their lives is worth the $$ (in this case, anyway) :D

I think it depends on your child's age and involvement in imaginary play. Our 4 yo loves princess dress-up clothes; whatever costume is bought for Halloween is used through-out the year, not only at home but also for dress-up theme days at school and princess birthday parties, etc. I've bought the $20 Snow White dress (which riped after 1 wearing to school and which she complained as being itchy) and the $50 Snow White dress (which has survived with no tears/rips at least 4 falls and 3 school themed dress-up days). I no longer buy the cheap princess dresses, since they don't last and she says they're too itchy.

I think you can easily spend $40-50 on costume clothes and accessories from thrift stores; and the cost if fabric and sewing supplies would probably cost you the same. Ultimately, how much we spend depends on whether the costume will be worn once or many times throughout the year.

I found I can make better looking costumes than what you can buy in the store. Last year, my son was Spongebob- I made it myself with some yellow spray paint, and old bed egg crate foam topper, and a paper bag. It was the hit of the neighborhood. This year, he wanted to be Mickey Mouse. I spent $5. We had everything (black turtle neck, pants, mouse ears, and red shorts). I just had to buy yellow spray paint to paint some old tennis shoes, and a pair of $1 white gloves. He was very popular at daycare, and all the kids wanted to hug him. lol!

Take her shopping after Halloween and buy next years costume for HALF OFF OR MORE!!! That's what we usually do!

This year I choked on spending the $30 I spent on my middle child's costume. But, she does love to play dress-up still. She is six, but, still my "little" girl, so, I'm sure she will play in it a lot. It is a very pretty butterfly outfit, and, pretty unique. Plus, it came with all of the accessories, so, not too bad I suppose.
Usually I draw the line at $20, even if they can play with them afterwards. Just because we do already have sooooo much dress-up stuff. But, I guess to dish it out once a year is not too bad if you think about it? We dish out so much for other things, and, at least this night is fun and full of memories! :)

Those packaged costumes are such a rip off. When the kids were little, we made costumes. My MIL made them M&M ones. When they were really small and it covered their arms and legs. A few years later they wore it again, with tights and turtlenecks .

I also used to use sweatsuits so I could reuse them - a bumble bee, a ladybug, a dalmation

I think the most I've ever spent is $20. However, they know Dad's a softy and will pay those ridiculous prices for the accessories, so they go shopping with him and won't show me the receipt.

my son carries a stuffed winnie the pooh, so he went as tigger. $18 at target. Halloween is my favorite holiday, but I wouldn't spend more than $25 on a coustume. I did notice a lot of home made coustumes this year, and some were just adorable. my son is 14mnths and I was afraid he would tear apart anything I made, otherwise I would have given is a shot

My son is 4 1/2, so he is still pretty easy to please, but so far, I have made all his costumes, and I LOVE doing it. And to date, even though I really am pretty much a novice at sewing, etc., they have turned out really nice, and everyone has commented on how nice his costumes are... So I am with you on wanting to do the whole hand-made costume thing. They really are so much nicer than the bagged ones, even though those have come quite a long way since I was a kid... This year, my son is Jack and the Beanstalk, and with his burlap costume, his hiking boots, his beanstalk, and other accessories, his costume cost me about $25 to make.

Anecdotally, last year, my son's cousin, who would have been almost 8 at the time, just HAD to have some costume he saw online, that cost like $60. And his mom, who is such a materialistic fool, bought it for him, thinking that this expensive, 'professional-looking' costume would impress everyone. Neither of them would even entertain the thought that a hand made costume could or, dare I say, would be nicer than his. Well, I made my son's Popeye costume, and it was SOOO much nicer than the online bought Star Wars something or other that his cousin just had to have. Now, not that I wanted her or him to feel badly, but I did see the lightbulb come on for his mom about the whole handmade vs. store bought costume thing... AND, to top it off, when he went to school, so many of his friends had hand-made costumes, that he no longer wanted his expensive costume, and ended up dressing for trick-or-treating as a professional wrestler, with stuff he already had, and he LOVED it.

I do think it is hard for some kids to imagine how something hand-made can be so nice, especially when they have particularly un-creative parents. And I know there are parents who just aren't crafty enough to make their own costumes... but my mom (or I) always made my costumes, and I intend to do it for my son for as long as he'll let me, and since we've had such a good time with it so far, I'm hoping that will be for a long time!!

Your question is as much about how to avoid (further) spoiling a child as much as it is about the price of costumes.

It is further complicated by the fact that she is a stepchild.

The answer lies in how you handle everything else, especially if you have fewer resources than Mom: be more charming at the same time as you demonstrate the merits of frugality. It's a rocky road but surely you are giving her a valuable life lesson. Good luck!

Next year around the end of Sept. or beginning of Oct. put the costume for sale on Craig's list. You could probably get $15- $20 for it. Then she can use that towards the next costume.

This year we lucked out and my son wanted to be a ninja and we saw a costume in Target for $7.99. I grabbed it and ran to the check out counter. I never paid more than $20 but for me it was always worth it as my son wears them to the dentist or playing with friends so he gets additional use. But $50?? Yikes that's tough to swallow.

I have 5 kids and haven't spent anything on their costumes this year! I just don't have the money for it. I made a bat costume for my 4 yr old out of an old black cape from previous halloweens, another one is Mario- I made the hat last year out of felt- he has overalls and a red shirt and I will paint on a black mustache. My dd wants to be a princess- so we took one of her fancy dresses and made it fancier by sewing on little ribbon flowers, my oldest has to be an astronaut(as part of a school project) we are making his out of white trash bags and duct tape- and then my baby will be wearing her jammies with a headband decorated with bunny ears.
I have always tried to make their costumes with things we already had at home- I can't spend $50 on a costume for each of them- that's $250!
Last year I think I spent about $10 on accessories from the dollar store. Otherwise, if we don't have it or can't make it- they have to be something else!
~C.

NO way- I got my kids costumes on e-bay this year and it worked out great!

When the kids were younger, I didn't mind spending upwards of $30 - $50 on a Halloween costume because I knew it would go into the "dress-up" box and would be worn over and over again. And all those princess dresses have, indeed, been reduced to shreds over the years. $$ well spent, IMO! Now that the kids are a bit older and don't play "dress up" anymore, I know that the costumes will just be used once (maybe twice or three times for other parties and the school Halloween parade), so I really have a hard time paying those big bucks. I still do it, though. The kids research for MONTHS to see what's out there and put a lot of thought into what they want to be...it's their favorite holiday and get SOOOO excited. This will only last a few more years, so for now, I'll buy those flimsy, expensive costumes. *sigh*

I went to U.S. Toys/Constructive Playthings in Skokie and found a load of costumes, masks, hats, etc. at very reasonable prices. I've gone there for party stuff because you can buy, for instance, twelve hats for $6.00. You can get all kinds of stuff there to dress your kid up for Halloween or whatever. I've also gone to Walgreens and found costumes there that don't cost a lot. $50.00 for a costume that will be worn once or twice at most?! That's a lot of money!

$50 for everything sounds about right for a big kid costume. Shocking but true. I made my son's costumes for a few years and as far as actual costs go, it's not that much cheaper. Then if you consider the time spent (for me, about 10-12 hours on a project) -well, $50 doesn't seem so bad.

I am being a little bit facetious, $50 is a lot of money! Consider selling old costumes at a consignment shop to absorb some of the cost or trading with other families for next year.

I just bought Obi Wan at Target on sale for $18. Sometimes you can find better deals at Amazon than in stores. I'm lucky, my daughter chose easy costumes for the last few years (witch, cat and vampire). I only bought a cape and a hat (for the witch), head band for the cat (I knitted a fun fur tail), she dresses in black for all the costumes. You don't really need accessories too much. I bought a witch's broom, we didn't use it except in pictures. You don't really want to carry accessories and a Halloween bag. You can always buy costumes after Halloween for next year. Happy Halloween!

I went to a halloween costume store in town and spent 5 bucks on a red baby dragon costume for my 7 month old, 10 for a Dragonoid costume (any one else with a Baukugon fanatic?), and 10 for a 3D Cars costume. So, 25 bucks in all.

That said, my mom was so creative and we never had store costumes. One year we took a box and wrapped it in foil and attached white and clear ballons--I was a washing machine. I have also been a Christmas present, a Jack in the Box, a Crayon (one or two sheets of colored cardboard, CRAYOLA written in black, and a colored peice of felt to match), and Pippi Longstockings (with wire through my braids to stick them out).

I was in the (gasp! How long ago was this? NOT TELLING!) fifth grade the year I was a Christmas present. We were in a DOD school over in England and we got to do a walk around parade throughout all the classrooms so everyone could see the costumes. I remember being horrified because my old third grade teacher had dressed up as a Christmas tree and they thought it would be cute to make me parade around holding her hand! Total mortification! I had to walk with the third graders....but...the costume was awesome just the same!!!

Alot of kids these days have their hearts set on the costume from the Party City store or wherever that is expensive. It helps to go in with a budget, and draw the line at the expensive and unnecessary accessories. (ESPECIALLY if they have one that is almost the same thing at home!) I love Halloween and so does my son, but we had very different ideas about what a cool costume is. So it is a great opportunity to teach them the value of the dollar. For instance, if they want this and that, they get to contribute part of their allowance toward the costume.

Not all moms are crafty when it comes to making costumes. I CANNOT make a costume, but I am still an awesome mom! :) For 4 years I have ordered beautiful, high-quality, incredibly adorable costumes from reputable, popular online stores. Yes, they are expensive but they are soooooo incredibly cute and well made and so worth it. My oldest has been a little monkey, a kitty, Abby Cadabby from Sesame Street and now this year I ordered her the most beautiful "Ladybug Girl" costume I could ever imagine. She looks like a ladybug princess! Well worth the $40 dollars. My youngest was a little baby pumpkin last year, and this year I found the most AMAZING costume for her ONLINE - she's gonna be the world's cutest peacock! a beautiful, bold, vibrant blue, purple, green, one-piece, super warm, velvet, incredibly cute but expensive little peacock. There's no way in you-know-where I could ever make something like that. It's fun, and everyone does things there own way when it comes to Halloween. Nothing wrong with ordering from a catalog or a website. You get good costumes, and where we spend more on costumes, we probably spend less on some things that others spend a lot on. To each is own!

Our daughter was fortunate to have grandmothers who like to Garage sale. They found tons of costumes all year long. Our daughter was crazy about dress up and costumes so she played with them till they were practically in shreds.. All year long.

MIL is an amazing seamstress so many times, we could find a pattern and she would make them up for very little money.

I also would go after Halloween and try to purchase some accessories on sale for her to use in her costume box. So at Halloween, she always had choices..

$70, but not sure I would spend that again on one costume.

Long term thinking is helpful in motherhood (thinking through what character traits you want to see in them as adults) Making emotionally tough decisions now may reap some great long term benefits later on. We keep our eyes peeled at garage sales throughout the year for costumes. For the past 2 years, we've used what we had at home without having to go out and buy. This year, our 8 year old wanted to be a ghost so we used an old sheet. Our youngest wanted to be a ballerina, and she used a leotard that she plays dress up with. I started doing this when they were younger, so they really don't know any different. It's really hard, though, to say no to what our kids want from the store, but buying what they always want can have a negative affect on them longterm.
An allowance is a great idea by the way! Or you might want to consider a chore system with pay. (Not for their day to day responsibilities, but rather for special cleaning jobs around the house.) This has been great for my girls to learn the value of a dollar. It's been fun to hear them say things like , "5 dollars for that? Man, that's too expensive!"

I have spent 15 dollars so far for two kids. I plan on spending another 20. That's it.

Hi!
Love your question! When I was a child, all I wanted was a "store bought" costume in a box! But, my mom always made my costumes! Now, I think the home made costumes are so much better!! I would give anything if my mom was still able to sew so she could make costumes for my children!
My boys wanted to be "Spartans". We we bought the head pieces and shields with a sword. Then I bought some material and made the dress thingy and capes. I bought some beautiful ribbon with gold for the trim, and the costumes looked great! I think we probably spent a fortune on them, but didn't intend to!! But, I wouldn't have done it any differently because it was a project my husband and I worked on together and they were the hit of the night!
BTW my older son has very expensive taste as well! That goes for eating out, his clothes, and his gift wish list! We are really trying to teach him that the best things in life aren't "things"!

I'm fortunate in that I can sew. My daughter is going to be Amber the Orange Fairy this year. I sewed an orange leotard, skirt and boot covers. The only thing we bought were tights, the cost is just under $20. I got the fabric at a specific store that sells dancewear fabrics at a discount. She's been a bunny, Cat, Pebbles (Flinstones) a CareBear, Ruby the Red Fairy and a pink poodle. The easiest was the pink poodle, the idea came from Family Fun and she was able to wear the pink shirt and pink pants for school clothes and I actually purchased those from Target and Walmart and the ears and tail were made from pink socks and nylon netting. She has it lucky because she can be pretty much anything and usually it's less expensive better quality than store bought. (I was a little nervous when she mentioned a giraffe one year :-)

My son wanted to be a "catwing" from the Catwings books. We already had black pants and a black fleece, cat ears and a cat tail. I just had to buy some black wings. They were $14. Usually we put together our own costumes each year with what we have and we end up making or buying something small...but not the whole costume. We keep a box of halloween supplies and raid it each year! If you just go to thrift stores right before and after Halloween you can find a TON of cool costume paraphenalia for cheap! It sounds like you usually do the same kind of thing...

I have a 1 and 2 yr old and I took the double cereal boxes from sams and glued white computer paper on and then used a perm marker to make circles and then stapled some fabric. And tada I had a pair of dice. They wore black sweats underneath and everyone loved their costumes. Plus I didn't spend a dime and it only took 20 min to make.

My son is only 18 months, so this is only our second halloween, but old navy has great costumes for under $20. Last year he was a lion and this year his is going as superman. You could also check the store after Halloween and stock up on a costume for next year. Happy Halloween!

I didn't read the other responses so I am sorry if anything I say is a repeat. I spent 20 dollars, and then 15 for shoes (which she will wear for the 2 holidays coming up) and $0.97 on a purple pumpkin bucket from wal-mart. My baby is only 20 months old, so there isn't a bunch to buy yet.
Halloween is my favorite holiday, and I am the go all out type, but as long as the costume looks good, I could care less if its handmade, hand-me-down, or bought from a store (including thrift stores). Same with my decorations, I think all together I spent $10.00 or less.
Since you said she likes expensive taste the first thought that popped in my mind was that a lot of very wealthy people have clothes especially made or tailored to them, or even designed after them. They don't just run out and get the same thing everyone else is, they want to be different and have something no one else does. Maybe tell her hand made clothes aren't as bad after all, although....they might just be feeding the money monster inside her. =) Good Luck!

The most we have ever paid was $30.00. Depending on the number of children you have, it can get out of control to purchase a prepackaged store costume each year.

I prefer the thrill of the hunt! This year I went to several resale shops and a theatre department costume sale and found several items. The trick is getting the kid to look past the store costumes and believe that a "cool" costume is possible from various hand-me-downs or found treasures from resale shops. We made it an adventure. My advise to you is to start early! Keep your eyes open year round. If you find something, hide it until the Halloween discussions start.

Well, this year we were going to let the kids get the packaged costumes and then we found similar outfits at the Salvation Army for a fraction of the cost. K wanted the country and western dress but the plan was for her to be a rocker. The dress was a sheath with the big plastic discs that are about 1/2" and the dress came in dark pink, gold, silver, and purple. It was $12.00. She has the Hannah Montana Elec Guitar and shoes and other stuff to go with the dress so I didn't see any real issue with the cost.

But I just don't normally spend real money on the costumes at the store. I will buy them after the fact for dress up play though. I have over 10 years in child care and that is a VERY important part of play. We have large plastic tubs full of old Halloween costumes, old high heels, fake jewelry, hats, boots, gloves, anything that can be fun for little kids to dress up in. And yes, the girls put the 3 yr. old in dresses, bikini's ans worse...it's usually so funny I can't stop laughing.

So, if you can splurge the one time a year then I say let the kids have fun and enjoy the experience of having the whole kit and caboodle. They are only little for a while.
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I can honestly say that every year our Wal-Mart sells out of costumes by the week before Halloween so I know there are people who do just like your hubby. There is literally nothing of value left by the night of Halloween.

I have NEVER spent $50 on a costume!They are only going to wear it one time!Costumes are outrageous!And I try to get really good made ones so I can turn them into play clothes or pass them down to a younger sibling!I know what you mean about wanting them to have the things they want,but I also know that my kids are just as happy on Halloween as all of the other kids.And the quickly forget that Mom made them shop the sale and clearance racks!

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I have NEVER spent $50 on a costume!They are only going to wear it one time!Costumes are outrageous!And I try to get really good made ones so I can turn them into play clothes or pass them down to a younger sibling!I know what you mean about wanting them to have the things they want,but I also know that my kids are just as happy on Halloween as all of the other kids.And the quickly forget that Mom made them shop the sale and clearance racks!

My toddler got a costume that would be warm and was on sale for $20 from Old Navy, my daughter who is 10 wanted to be a Beautiful butterfly...I splurged and bought pretty expensive wings ( $15) but I found a gorgeous dress for $5 at a thrift shop, we recycled a wreath with flowers and ribbons for her head that was from a wedding/flower girl and she had a butterfly wand in her dress up stuff from when she was little. She wore tennis shoes so she wouldn't trip while we were trick or treating because safety comes before costume! we did have back up leggings and long sleeve shirt for under the costume in case it got cold, but we are all about being frugal and using what we have on hand, I let my kids give me a general idea then we build on that, we usually start up to a month prior so we can shop and budget...thrift shops are awesome for helping to get a costume together if you are not much good at sewing = )
I say $20 is about what I budget for each costume...

This year I lucked out because he wanted to be a zombie. So I spent $5.99 on make up and he ripped up an old undershirt and that's about it. We have spent $30+ on costumes before and he wore them for years for dress up. I just threw out the Woody one, the pants were only to his knees, lol. I think it is fairly common for a 9 year old girl to want a cool costume if that's what her friends are wearing, I'm not saying it's right, but I see it all the time. At least the last few years her mother has had to cough up the $ so I guess you lucked out there. Maybe start planning a costume to make with her early in the summer and let her help you. Then she will realize she has the most beautiful and original one and will appreciate all the more.

wow I wish I was crafty and could make my own, that would be such a special thing to do and yes way better than the ones you can buy as most are so bad looking. This year I spent $25, my almost two year old wanted to be a kangroo. I then let her put it in her dress up bin so it gets worn a bit more than once too so that is nice. today I went to target and got two more at half off that I will see if she will wear next year as we usually go to parties so she can decide if she likes them for a party. if she wants to be something other than what I got on sale this year then that is fine they will go in the dress up bin.