Spend Money this Halloween

Believe it or not, Americans spend over 3.5 billion dollars a year on Halloween. That's a lot of bite-size Snickers bars, huh? In truth, the National Retail Federation estimates this number based not just on candy sales, but costumes and, of course, parties. It's not just for kids: College students spend more than 50 bucks each on Halloween. We're talking elaborate costumes, party supplies, and, well, candy. I figure candy has to be in there somewhere.

Now, last year I spent maybe 25 bucks on Halloween. One of my kids made her own costume out of stuff we bought at Home Depot, and the other kid wore an amalgamate of hand-me-down Halloween costumes. If, like me, you find yourself dangerously behind the Halloween spending curve, there are plenty of ways to spend money on this holiday like an average American. In other words, why save money on Halloween? You're only young (or in my case, young-ish) once. Plan your posh costumes, pack them gently in your luggage, and go have fun:

• Red Envelope, the upscale online gift store, has a velcro Spooky Treat bag that can be rearranged to look like a bat, spider, or crow. At 25 dollars, buying one of these treat bags would already catch me up to last year's Halloween spending.
• My local drug store, a CVS, is selling bite sized candy for under two bucks a bag. This obviously will not do; what am I, saving up for my children's college education or something? Instead, I suggest the profligate spender order some Body Parts Chocolate. They look creepy and gross, and, at almost 30 dollars for a 5 pound bag, the price is also appropriately gross.
• Star Wars characters have been popular as Halloween costumes for decades. Sure, you can generate some quality family time by working together to craft a light saber out of old cardboard tubes, but instead why not generate some taxes for our government to put to good use? Someone has to pay for all those oil spill cleanups, after all. The Star Wars Chewbacca Collector's Edition is an upscale costume and, at 450 dollars, sure to stimulate the economy more than that homemade Halloween costume ever could.
• Finally, the artist Christopher Radko makes some classy, high end glass Halloween ornaments. These are handmade with blown glass, and unique. The host of a Halloween party would surely appreciate one of these as a gift. Since they start at 40 bucks, they qualify as a luxury gift item. Bring one of these to a Halloween party, and you know you'll get more respect than that other guest, probably me, who came with a 2 dollar bag of bite-sized candy from CVS.

All joking aside, if you and your children are planning to travel during Halloween, please remember to be careful in new cities, and to inspect their bag of candy for signs of tampering. Local malls are safe destinations for trick and treating no matter where your luxury travels take you, or just keep to your resort village area. Have a safe and happy Halloween!

Related, on Suite 101:

A Fun Halloween Gift Idea

European Alternatives to Halloween

Ghoulish Halloween Drinks

Copyright Jennifer Miner and Suite101. All rights reserved.

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