Party Planning Doesn’t Need to Be a Haunt: Tips for Saving Money When Throwing a Halloween (or Seasonal) Gathering

Many of us enjoy hosting parties with friends and family for seasonal activities and Holidays but don’t want to break the bank doing so! For me and Krystal, a Fall Halloween event is one of our favorite gatherings we host each year with close loved ones. Here are some of our money-saving tips to ensure sure the fun doesn’t become overshadowed by ghastly receipts!

For starters, I don’t know about you, but we love a good after-Halloween or seasonal markdown deal! This is one of the easiest ways to save each year as retailers slash the cost of their remaining seasonal inventory between 30%-75%. Over the past few years of owning our house, continue to embrace this approach with full-price items.

For example, the cost of outdoor lighting and decorations can be pricy for something that is merely nice to have so this is one area where if it’s not bought with a store’s discount or found as a second-hand purchase (thrift stores, Facebook Marketplace, garage sales, etc.) it’s not really necessary for us. A few other deals like this we specifically look for with slashed prices are things like:

• Reusable pumpkins for decorating your grazing table, or indoor and outdoor spaces
• Baking molds and sprinkles; those cute but expensive themed party plates and napkins
• Trick or treat items such as sets of mini activity books and puzzles, vampire teeth, bone-shaped pens, etc.
• Halloween costumes or costume accessories – homemade, purchased second-hand, mix and match to create a new outfit, borrow from a friend, or peruse your local Buy Nothing groups
• Seasonal or post-seasonal craft store supplies that can be a fun activity to decorate or paint together and display for more than just a year

Another cost-saving measure we will do is to opt to have a seasonal beer, cocktail, or wine tasting for the adults at our events. This is a fun way to enjoy drinks and sample things (like seasonal beer you may want to try but not commit to buying a lot of) but also ends up stretching the party planning budget! Selecting a themed cocktail or two and making them in large batches also saves a bit of money, especially when you can buy Costco’s big bottle of vodka or tequila! Parties are often a great time for us to also bust out a variety of tasty wine bottles we’ve scored for cheaper costs when traveling abroad or discovering a discounted price from our favorite local store Ray’s Liquor.

And last but not least is the food! I don’t know about you, but we love putting together a fun and festive-themed spread! Halloween allows us to create themed food treats and some of the things Krystal likes to make that are cheap, easy, and always a party hit are things like Halloween mold rice crispy ghosts or tombstones, ‘dead man’s toes’ aka mini hotdogs in cocktail or BBQ sauce (I don’t know what it is that makes these so popular but it’s like the only times we all eat them is during a seasonal party or a Packer’s game), and chocolate covered Chow Mein spider cookies (recipe and photo shared in this week’s social media post). Meanwhile, we will also opt to prepare and put out spreads like veggie trays, meat, cheese, or charcuterie trays or shared items like dips, a taco bar, etc. that also save on cost. Lastly, take people up on their offers to help and answer when they ask you what to bring. Unsure of what to suggest? Creating a list of what we’d like to serve, purchase, or execute for the event ahead of time truly helps when people ask these questions!