Halloween is one of my most favorite times of year. The weather is starting to cool off, leaves are falling, and I’m just a nut for costumes and parties and all things paranormal so I love it!

Anyone with children knows that it’s a fun time, but can be costly.  So I’ve looked around for some things to help you out.

Most people are familiar with the Spirit Halloween stores.  They pop up in otherwise vacant storefronts starting in late September.  Since Halloween is ALL they do, they’re good at it.  Most stores are well stocked and large enough to hold all the decorations and costumes you could ever ask for.  Of course, ordering online has the advantage of an even larger selection.  I stocked up on spooky decorations last year, but I know I’ll be taking advantage of this coupon code myself to beef up my arsenal of decor and replace some things that wind & rain took a toll on last year.

BuyCostumes.com is also a terrific site for costumes for all ages and sizes, even all species!  I’m a plus sized lady, so I’ve purchased quite a few costumes from the Plus Size Costumes section of their site.  They’re good quality and stand up over many wears, unlike some costumes that nearly disintegrate after one night on the town.  They have costumes for men, women, children, and dogs!  They also have a good selection of party decorations and other supplies.  This is a great deal if you’re buying costumes for the whole family.  Their selection is great, and their prices are pretty good too.

If there’s a specific pop culture themed costume you can’t find any BuyCostumes.com, you can try Hollywood Toys & Costumes.  They have a large selection of Halloween costumes that are specific to Hollywood and pop culture.  I haven’t personally bought costumes from there, so I can’t really comment on the quality of the costumes, though I’ve heard good things.  They have a lot of timely movie costumes, like Star Trek, GI Joe, and Harry Potter.

Of course, once you’re done with your Halloween fun, you’ll have pictures!  Lots and lots of them, if you’re anything like me!  I love Kodak Gallery to print my photos – they’re excellent quality and always a great price compared to taking them to a local shop.  They’ve recently adjusted their prices from 15 cents per print to just 9 cents per print for 4x6s, so you don’t even need a coupon to take advantage of the savings!

Received an email today from the Girl Scout Store advertising all their cookie gear.  They now have everything from badges, to socks, to scrapbook kits, to a totally awesome cookie jar!  Check it out all the Girl Scout cookie gear here.

I’m not the kind of person that uses a cookie car, but this is awesome.  Also, to reflect back for a moment, it’s been 10 years since I was a girl scout and I can selfishly wish they’d been smart enough to market this kind of thing when I was a scout!  Not only is this a cool piece of paraphernalia, but it would have been a great thing to be able to sell to neighbors, friends, and relatives along with the cookies.  What an up-sell opportunity!  I have the benefit of being able to look back on this from my current career in marketing to know that any up-sell opportunity it one worth exploring.

I’m also really glad to see that there are actual badges now regarding the cookie sales.  I remember all we got was the event patch for participating, and I always had the nifty little Top Seller add-on patch.  Way to go GSUSA!