31 Frugal Ways to Celebrate Halloween

By Emily Co

Updated on 10/21/2016 at 7:30 PM

POPSUGAR Photography | Macy Williams
POPSUGAR Photography | Macy Williams

If Halloween is one of your favorite holidays, you know that it can cost just as much money as the others. In fact, a National Retail Federation survey estimates that in 2014, Americans spent about $7.4 billion on the spooky festivities. Seeing that the average spent around $78, let's slash those costs by celebrating All Hallows' Eve in these thrifty ways:

  1. Watch a scary movie at home with friends. (Check out these 11 ways to watch movies for free).
  2. Carve a pumpkin with friends.
  3. Roast pumpkin seeds after carving.
  4. Make pumpkin dishes with leftover guts from carving.
  5. Experiment with no-carve pumpkins.
  6. Make your own Halloween candy.
  7. Reuse an old costume, make your own, or borrow one from your friend. Check out our list of costumes you can make for free.
  8. Bring out a Ouija board for a spooky night.
  9. Go camping, make s'mores, and tell ghost stories around a fire.
  10. Make these Halloween decorations for a few dollars.
  11. Borrow a horror book from the library. Here are some other ways to get free books.
  12. Visit a pumpkin patch.
  13. Check to see what free Halloween events are going on in your city.
  14. Create your own haunted house at home with things you already have. Invite friends over.
  15. Bob for apples.
  16. Go trick-or-treating.
  17. Experiment with face paint. Here's how to make your own.
  18. Make a Halloween costume for your pet.
  19. Try out some Halloween-themed nail art.
  20. Watch documentaries on real-life ghost stories.
  21. Visit a real-life haunted location near you. Check out some of the most haunted sites in the US.
  22. Wear a costume to work on Halloween if you are allowed to.
  23. Scare yourself by reading original horror stories submitted by users on Reddit's nosleep subreddit. Warning: there's a reason why the subreddit is called "nosleep."
  24. Go and get lost in a corn maze.
  25. Plan to pull a scary prank on someone you know. Before you do that, make sure they enjoy being scared!
  26. Making hot cider.
  27. Drive or walk around and admire neighbors' decorations and pumpkins.
  28. Hold a costume contest with friends.
  29. Brainstorm and dress up in a group costume with friends. Here are some ideas.
  30. Bring flashlights and go on a spooky night hike with friends
  31. Try every pumpkin-flavored snack from famous brands.