Whether you're the type to deck out your entire house in skeletons (or inflatables) or would rather keep the lights off and pretend you’re not home, one thing's for sure: Halloween can be an expensive holiday. Between the decorations, the candy and the expectation for your kids to have the coolest costume at school, the costs can really creep up on you.

It's not just about the money. Halloween costumes require a significant investment of time and energy, especially when you factor in the inevitable last-minute scramble to find that missing accessory or fix a ripped seam.

So this year, we decided to take a closer look at the true cost of Halloween costumes. We interviewed three parents (who are also ATB team members) who each took a different approach to their kids' costumes in previous years: store-bought, thrifted and DIY. They'll break down how much they spent—in both dollars and hours—to give you a realistic picture of what each option involves.

Store bought Halloween costumes with Jenn

Tell me about your Halloween costume(s). 

The kids always decide on their own Halloween costumes. Usually, we take a trip to Halloween Alley or Spirit of Halloween and they find something they like in the store. This particular year, my daughter found a unicorn onesie and my son found an inflatable t-rex costume that they both loved. I didn't hesitate to buy both costumes on the spot—they both left plenty of room for snowsuits if the weather was cold and neither costume required me to purchase special shoes or props to really sell it. I used a little bit of face paint (that we already had at home) to draw a rainbow on my daughter's cheek. Every Halloween I wear a big, cozy dragon onesie that I bought myself about a decade ago. 

How much did your costumes cost?

The unicorn costume was $40 and the t-rex was $80, plus the cost of four AA batteries to inflate it, so let's say $6. To be realistic, my kids CAN'T go into a Halloween store without also insisting we buy overpriced Halloween decor. They love inflatables and plastic body parts—the gorier the better. This decor is majorly overpriced at specialty stores and you can find great stuff (not inflatables) at the Dollar Store if you go in September before it's picked over. So while the kids' costumes cost ~$126, I can guarantee I didn't leave the store without spending at least $200. For my dragon onesie, I honestly can't remember how much I paid but if I estimate $50, over 10 years that's only $5 a year!

How much time did you spend on your costumes?

Life is so busy. Between full-time work, school and all of our other commitments, I find it very hard to plan costumes over time. I'm a one-and-done kinda girl. So we spend very little time planning. Sometimes the kids go into the store with some idea of what they'd like to find, but more often than not that changes once they peruse the costumes and find something they like. So I'm going to say that planning and shopping took around two hours total.

Was it worth it for you? What would you do next year?

This approach is worth it for me every year. I'm not hugely invested in Halloween. I like seeing the kids dress up and have fun, but I'm not the type of mom that spends weeks planning and decorating. If my kids are happy, I'm happy. That's all there is to it. 

Thrifted Halloween costumes with Alison

Tell me about your Halloween costume.

My son wanted to be Drift from Fortnite. I thrifted a pink puffer jacket with a hood and cut the sleeves off, a black peacoat, a black hoodie, some gold leggings and a pink Superwoman cape. I used the leggings and cape to add the details to the peacoat and the hoodie sleeves. I also cut the fingers off of some mini gloves and added gold to them, as per the character's gloves (sewing stretchy leggings on stretchy gloves—do not recommend). I also thrifted some boots and added gold to them as well. By some wild stroke of luck, I found a new plain white mask at a thrift store too. I added the ears and design. The one thing I wish I would have done was put some wire into the collar of the peacoat so it stood up like Drift's does.

How much did your costume cost?

I'd say maybe $30. 

How much time did you spend on your costume?

It took a long time—probably a month—as I sewed everything by hand.

Was it worth it for you? What would you do next year?

It was totally worth it. He loved it, felt proud of his costume and my younger son wore it a couple years later. As far as next year goes, I think my kids may have aged out of Mom's handmade Halloween costumes.

DIY Halloween costumes with Eva

Tell me about your Halloween costume(s).

In 2021, when extracurricular activities weren't as numerous as they are now, we had a little extra time to make costumes. Our kids were two and four and were obsessed with dinosaurs, each of them having a favorite kind. It was going to be our first year trick or treating outdoors so I wanted costumes they could wear over top of their snow suits.

How much did your costumes cost?

How much time did you spend on your costume?

The planning was one night of me going through YouTube until I found the pattern for the cardboard T-Rex head. My husband spent a couple of weekend nights making the heads, I spent about four weekend nights on the sewing parts. So the project spanned over three weeks.

Was it worth it for you? What would you do next year?

It was totally worth it! It seems like a lot of money for each costume, but parts of it still get played with or used, and the materials bought for it were used for other projects. We started getting busier schedules with extracurricular activities so we haven’t done DIY costumes since that year, but they’re still our most favorite costumes ever.