If you’re budget for Halloween isn’t what you’d like it to be, the annual Halloween VillageFest Spook-tacular can be a good way to keep the soaring cost of the holiday in check.

This week, LendEDU released its second annual Cost of Halloween based on a survey of 1,000 Americans. According to the survey:

  • The average American will spend $185.50 on Halloween in 2018. This figure is up from its figure last year: $169.81
  • Within that total expenditure, $76.05 (41 percent) will go towards candy, $66.78 (36 percent) will go towards costumes, and $42.67 (23 percent) will go towards decorations

Why so much on candy, you ask?

No one wants to be that one house in the neighborhood that is known for not giving out candy on Halloween, so everybody reaches into their pocket to buy some to handout to eager trick-or-treaters, according to Mike Brown of LendEDU. Just don’t be the house that leaves an unsupervised candy bowl on the front steps because your costly candy will disappear quicker than a ghost, and you will be left having to go out again to spend more cash on candy.

The entire survey and the methodology used can be found here.

VillageFest might be a great alternative. You can save money on decorations at home. If money is no object and you’re simply looking for a good and safe time for your children this Halloween season, you might want to put VillageFest on your list, specifically Thursday, Oct. 25 for the annual Halloween Spook-tacular.

Activities include a children’s costume contest, trick-or-treating with VillageFest merchants and vendors, a haunted bus provided by SunLine Transit along with face-painting, crafts, games and more.

The costume contest begins at 7 p.m. on the corner of Museum Way and Palm Canyon Drive.

VillageFest hours this fall are 6 p.m. until 10 p.m. along Palm Canyon Drive between Baristo and Amado roads.

Consistently voted the best weekly street fair in the Coachella Valley, shops, galleries and restaurants stay open late during VillageFest.

For more information, visit www.VillageFest.org.

Image Sources

  • Halloween: Pixaby