Parents turn to second-hand Halloween costumes to cut costs

Families are increasingly buying used Halloween costumes to save money, with demand rising at shops and online platforms, DR reports.

Laura Mehdidehno, a mother of three, is looking for costumes for no more than 50 kroner at the Børneloppen second-hand shop in Tilst. She has a four-year-old and two-year-old twins, and recently spent 250 kroner on a costume for one child at Fætter BR.

At Børneloppen Tilst, the number of shared costume racks has grown from one to three in a few years. They are restocked daily to meet demand, according to shop manager Mia Dybro. When she started at the shop more than three years ago, it sold about 10 Halloween costumes a day. Now, 20 to 30 are sold daily.

Second-hand platforms are also seeing increased interest. Sellpy says sales of costumes and Halloween costumes in Denmark rose by 101.4 per cent from September 1 to October 27 compared with the same period last year. Reshopper recorded 8,327 sales of Halloween and costume items during the period this year, up from 5,661 in 2023.

Some families say they prefer buying used because costumes are worn only a few times. Sine Daugaard, a mother of two, was considering a 60-kroner green monster costume for her 18-month-old son to wear at a nursery Halloween party.

Maria Munk Simonsen and her partner have usually spent about 600 kroner each autumn on costumes for their three children. This year, they are shopping second-hand for the first time and expect to save around 400 kroner. Simonsen says her children do not mind whether their costumes are new or used.