Halloween costumes in July – yes, seriously.

Leave a comment

20131010-092134.jpg

I have been known to buy Halloween costumes in July.

I’m not sure about other places, but here in Kelowna, Halloween costumes start making an appearance in the stores well before the end of Summer. And with my kids, it seems that they decide on a costume basically the day after the previous Halloween.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I really appreciate the homemade costume route. And truthfully, given that my educational background is fashion design, I really don’t have even close to an excuse for not hand-making the kids’ costumes. However, I know that the ROI on that much work, just for it to be covered in chocolate smears, isn’t worth it to me. I’d rather spend that time with the kids. Plus, it honestly is just a whole lot cheaper.

So, kids get what they want, and I buy early so it’s out of my mind – no scrambling or searching tirelessly for sold out costumes. Additionally, buying early means that one obscure costume they want (because it’s never as easy as witch or vampire) can be snagged before the stores run out.

Along the journey of preparing for about eight kid-included Halloweens, I’ve found:

  1. Online costume stores always are much more competitively priced, but the shipping costs as much as the freaking costume!
  2. If you’re going to buy online, Old Navy is a good bet if you have more than one to buy (since it’s free shipping over $50 and the costumes are warm)
  3. The Halloween stores in town are SO OVERPRICED ($50 for a kids costume is INSANE).
  4. If you want your kid to pick (or not pick) a certain costume, plant the seed early.

And, since I can’t possibly be the only one who has had to go through this, here are places to find Halloween costumes in Kelowna that I’ve found:

  • Target – I bought costumes during the first week of September from Target. Great selection and decent prices. Definitely some cool stuff that you won’t find anywhere else.
  • Value Village. – They sell new costumes too, and for reasonable prices. Also good for accessories, like facepaint, etc.
  • Homesense – Great place to find really pretty girls’ costumes that are much better quality, but not a huge selection. I go the day after Halloween or stock up our dress up bins for cheap.
  • Winners– Same as Homesense. Maybe a little less selection.
  • Costco – I think they sell Halloween costumes in August (or maybe even earlier). Good prices and fun costumes, but it seems like half of the kids in town wear these
  • Baby & Me – I just discovered this one. They have adorable and decently priced baby costumes that actually look pretty warm.

And, of course the dollar store for accessories.

One last option is Castanet (or Kijiji), but really, I think someone could set up shop with a second-hand costume store in town. Just between all of the little girls in Disney princess dresses, you could make a killing. And that’s not just a Halloween. God knows, I have at least a dozen in my basement.

Share your thoughts!