How to celebrate Halloween on a budget

Halloween is creeping up on us, and across the UK, it has transformed into one of our biggest seasonal celebrations, for all ages.

But while we all love a good scare, the one thing nobody wants is a fright when they check their bank balance on November 1st.

As the spooky season has grown, so have the costs. From costumes and decorations to themed treats and parties, the pressure to spend can feel immense. It's no surprise that online searches for "Halloween on a budget" have skyrocketed by 55% in the past month alone. Thrifty trends are taking over TikTok, proving that Brits are actively looking for ways to celebrate without the scary price tag.

In response, we have put together our top tips for hosting a memorable Halloween on a budget. Here’s your ultimate guide to having a frighteningly good time without breaking the bank.

1. Costume creativity: Reuse, rewear, and get crafty

The pressure to have a new, picture-perfect costume every year is real, but it doesn't have to be expensive. This is where your creativity can shine.

Halloween costume tips:

• Host a costume swap: Before Halloween, invite friends over for a small costume swap or a DIY night. Set up a rail of old costumes, a crafting table with glue guns and glitter, and a makeup station. It’s a fun, social, and free way to find a new look. And, reusing old outfits or borrowing from friends is the cheapest and most sustainable option.
• Visit local charity shops: Charity shops are treasure troves of unique clothing and accessories that can be adapted. This is particularly true for costumes, which are often donated after being used only briefly for specific occasions.
• Accessorising: You don’t need a full outfit. A simple accessory can transform your everyday clothes. Think a pirate's eye patch with a striped t-shirt, a cape over a black dress for a vampire, or a pair of wings with any outfit to become a fallen angel.
• Think outside the box (Literally): A large cardboard box can become a robot, a LEGO brick, or even a dice. It’s a cheap, fun project for kids and adults alike. This can be extended to everyday items like scarves to wrap into skirts, tops or other costume elements, or gloves and hats you may already have in the closet which may match your favourite Halloween character’s wardrobe too!
• Embrace make up as face paint: As the experts at Moneyboat note, “Buying new costumes every year isn’t just costly, it’s wasteful.” Often, we have things at home already that we haven’t used to its full potential, make up being one of these. A simple black and white palette from eye shadows can create endless looks like skeletons, cats, or zombies. A red lipstick can also go a long way, emulating blood or other Halloween themed designs. YouCheck out free tutorials on YouTube and TikTok to master simple but effective looks.

2. DIY Decorations: Simple, spooky, and saving money

Forget expensive, plastic-heavy store-bought decorations. A truly spooky atmosphere comes from creativity, not cash.

Halloween decoration tips:

• Turn toilet paper rolls into bats or egg cartons into spiders.
• Old milk bottles with battery-powered tea lights inside become glowing ghosts.
• Drape tissue paper or old white sheets over balloons to create floating phantoms.
• Use natural elements like sticks, pinecones, and autumn leaves for a rustic, eerie vibe.
• Cut out classic spooky shapes—bats, black cats, a witch on a broomstick—from black cards. Stick them inside your windows so they are silhouetted against the light. It's incredibly effective and costs next to nothing.
• Pull apart cotton wool balls until they are thin and wispy. Drape them over picture frames, furniture, and doorways for an instant dusty, abandoned-house look.
• Swap your regular lightbulbs for red or orange ones for an instant spooky glow. You can also carefully drape thin, coloured scarves over lamps (ensure they don't touch the hot bulb!) to cast an eerie light.
• Create a truly immersive atmosphere for free. Search for "Halloween ambient sounds" on YouTube or Spotify and play it through a speaker. The sounds of creaking doors, distant whispers, and rattling chains will do more for the mood than any plastic skeleton.

3. Sweet savings: Spooky snacks that won't haunt your wallet

Halloween treats don’t have to come in expensive, branded packaging. Homemade snacks are cheaper, more fun, and often taste better!

Halloween treats tips:

• Discount stores and supermarket own-brands offer plenty of affordable sweets. You can handpick these to match your theme and create custom labels to repurpose those regular strawberry laces to ‘bloody zombie veins’ - the creativity is what you make it!
• Host a potluck party where everyone brings a dish to share the cost and workload.
• Use the whole pumpkin! Often we throw many away this time of year but they’re full of potential. You can roast the seeds for a tasty snack and use the flesh for soup, pie, or risotto.

DIY Halloween recipes:

• Graveyard pudding: A definite crowd-pleaser! Layer chocolate mousse in a clear dish, top with crushed Oreo biscuits for "dirt," and stick Milano-style biscuits in as "tombstones." Add gummy worms crawling out for the final touch.
• Mummy hotdogs: Replace bread buns for rusticly wrapped pastry strips to create a mummy effect.
• Ghost cupcakes: Place foil balls around your cupcakes before baking, to create ghost-shaped cakes to decorate simply with white icing (and any other details!)
• Severed fingers: A gruesome but simple classic. Cook cocktail sausages, cut a small slice from the end for a nailbed, and attach a sliver of onion as the "fingernail" with a dab of ketchup. Serve with more ketchup "blood" for dipping.
• Creepy ice cubes: Freeze plastic spiders (wash them first!) or gummy worms into ice cube trays. They'll add a spooky surprise to your guests' drinks.
• Jelly brain: All you need is a cheap brain-shaped mould (easily found online, in bargain stores or reused from previous purchases like your favourite summer trifle) and a packet of red or pink jelly. It's low-effort, high-impact!

4. Frighteningly fun activities (for free!)

The best Halloween memories come from shared laughter, not lavish spending. Keep your guests entertained all night with these free or low-cost games.

Halloween activity ideas:

• Halloween games: Classic games like apple bobbing and wrapping the mummy (using cheap toilet paper) are always a hit.
• DIY Photo booth: Set up a DIY photo booth with a spooky sheet as a backdrop and a few props which you can print out at home.
• Halloween movie marathon: Host a Halloween movie marathon using streaming services you already pay for. These streaming services handily put together dedicated Halloween sections around this time of year, so you can see their full range of scary shows and films in one dedicated place.
• Horror movie bingo: Make your movie marathon interactive. Create bingo cards with common horror movie tropes ("jump scare," "character splits from the group," "phone has no signal"). It keeps everyone engaged and adds a competitive edge.
• Guess the guts: A brilliant sensory game. Fill several bowls with weird-feeling foods and have blindfolded guests guess what they are. Think cold, cooked spaghetti for "guts," peeled grapes for "eyeballs," and jelly for "brains."
• Collaborative ghost story: Turn down the lights, light a few candles, and sit in a circle. One person starts a ghost story with a single sentence, and each person around the circle adds the next sentence.
• Spooky playlist: Create a collaborative playlist on your music streaming service and send the link out with your invitations. Guests can add their favourite Halloween tunes ahead of time, ensuring the music is a crowd-pleaser and saving you the job of being DJ.

Celebrate without the scare (to your wallet!)

Halloween should be about fun and frights, not financial fear. Halloween doesn’t have to cost a fortune. With a little creativity and planning, you can enjoy the spooky season without giving your budget a scare.

By focusing on creativity over consumption—reusing costumes, crafting decorations, baking treats, and playing games—you can host a brilliant party that your guests will be talking about for years to come.