Every year on October 31st, millions of children dress up in their favorite costume. Whether it’s door to door trick or treating or participating in a parade, Halloween does not need to take a big chunk out of your budget.

Consider making a costume out of everyday clothes or inexpensive material. Gone are the days when kids cringed from embarrassment at wearing a homemade costume. Homemade is now the new rage. Putting together the right look will gain incredible respect and envy among their peers.

Picture the perfect Cinderella or fairy princess. These costumes can be easily made out of an old prom dress or evening gown cut down to size. If it’s a pint-sized dress you need, cut it down to size and find creative use of the extra fabric in either a veil or extra dress layers.

How about the smart business executive? How cute is it when your 10-13 year old dresses up in mom or dad’s business suit? Match it with a briefcase and a cell phone and your child will look like they are off to the next important business meeting.

Sometimes kids just like to be a bumble bee. Black pants or leggings and a black turtle net can be the base of the outfit. Visit the fabric store for cheap yellow fabric. Tear the fabric into strips and loosely stitch around the outfit. Use two pipe cleaners for antennas and the look is complete.

Adults can get into the fun as well. Consider revamping an old unused item into a festive outfit for the office party. A tuxedo and a top hat makes the perfect “snazzy dresser” outfit. Visit a Goodwill store for vintage shirts that can be worn to create a whole new look. Fabric stores or even your local Wal-mart has scrap material that can be purchased at $1.00 a yard or less.

Recent years have shown a sharp decline on the number of trick or treaters so purchasing big bags of candy is not cost effective. If you want to purchase a small amount of candy, just in case, buy from your local Dollar Tree.

No money for candy to pass out, but still want to have fun?

No worries, check your local paper for organizations or churches in your area that will be holding an event on Halloween night. For example, many local churches will hold a Harvest Festival on Halloween night that will allow costumes as long as they are appropriate.

If your littlest kids want to walk in a parade, check out the happenings at your local library. Many libraries will have a costume parade and allow the kids to show off their costume past many admiring library staff and patrons. Check out your local mall to see if they will be passing out candy on Halloween to kids in costume.

Halloween does not need to be expensive. A little bit of imagination can go a long way to having a great time.