October Deals

Warning: Blogger wants to cap everything. I guess it wants to shout the deals at you.

Every month has a few items that are worth looking at in October.

Cars

If you were planning to buy a car, now is a good time to snag 2013 model. Now to December, dealers will keep slashing prices to get the old cars off the lot. No one considers a 2013 car a new car in 2014, even if it’s never been driven. Dealers know this.  Don’t rush out and buy a car if that wasn’t your intention.

 Vacations and Cruises

October is the time between the summer vacation rush and before the start up of the holiday vacation. If you are in the position to not have to plan around school schedules, this is the time to vacation. Resort are less crowed and cheaper.

Cruises are cheap for the same reason as vacations. Sometimes, you can book in October at a discount for a later cruise. Others choose to cruise in what they consider a childfree month. If you are looking for a romantic cruise, avoid Carnival who always seems to have a plethora of children who appear never to attend school.  Newsday explains a repositioning cruise. This is a one way cruise.  You’ll fly in one place and fly out another. You can get super cheap rates, but this only works if your flights are equally cheap.

Broadway Shows 

Planning to go to New York City soon? If so, Broadway is slow in October that means cheaper tickets for you and more availability. Many tourists have been disappointed to find the show they wanted to see sold out. This isn’t usually a problem in October.

School Supplies

Sick of looking about school supplies? So are the stores and they need the shelf space for holiday merchandise. You can pick up some real deals now in the clearance section. Yes, your child will need paper, marker and pencils for the upcoming year. Stock up now before they return to full price.

Camping Gear

Are you a cold weather camper? If you are you’re different than about 80% of the other tent campers. Now is the time to stock up on your camping supplies. Those minus thirty-eight degree sleeping bags might not be marked down, but everything else will be.

Plants

Yep, you heard me right. The garden centers have to get rid of their perennials, bushes and tree. You can plant them now, water and feed them to ready them for the coming year.

  

Outside Gear

This includes patio furniture, flower pots, garden statues, wind chimes, table umbrellas, grills, and coolers. There will only be a few at each store. You might even run across pool supplies and the occasional air conditioner all at discount prices.

The thing to remember is who has to sell the item the most. Usually stores that do not normally carry the item have to get rid of it. Store that always carry the item can  mark it up to full price. Case in point: school supplies on the clearance table at Krogers

DIY Halloween Costumes

I came from a family that recycled Halloween costumes and made them out of things they could find around the house. If you have more than one child, Halloween costumes can get expensive.

Fairy Princess- Goodwill is my go to place for discarded prom dresses, bridesmaid dresses and even wedding dresses. Yard sales work too. Want extra glitter. Buy a can of spray glitter. Wands can be made or bought at the Dollar Tree.

Angel-buy a pair of wings at the Dollar Tree. White dress or even an oversized white t-shirt will work. Spray with glitter.

Animals- you can usually get away with this by dressing the child in clothes in the color of the animal. Get an animal headband ears at the Dollar Tree. It is better to create the face with makeup as opposed to a mask. The makeup is available almost anywhere.

Zombie-rip up some clothes already destined for the trash.  Create a decaying face look by darkening the areas around the mouth and eyes. This makeup can be bought almost anywhere. Warning: some children are allergic to it.

Vampire-all you need to buy is cape and fangs. (Go to the Dollar Tree.) Dress your child in black and whiten his face with powder.

Witch-black again with the dollar hat you bought at the Dollar Tree. She could carry a stuffed cat if she wanted too.

Grandparents- kids dressed as their grandparents can be cute. Glasses with the lenses out, a cane, and a pocket book are nice accessories. Usually they can get these from their own grandparents.

Appliances- a large box with arm holes and head hole cut out of it can transform your child into anything from a washing machine to an I-phone with a little paint or markers.

Robin Hood or Peter Pan-Cut bottom hem of a large green T-shirt in a zigzag pattern, pair with green or brown tights, leggings or sweat pants tucked into boots.  A feather hat or quiver of arrows can be purchased at the Dollar Tree too.

Men in Black character-dress in a black suit or all black and wear dark sunglasses. (Only put the sunglasses on at the door for safety.)

Thrift stores are great places to get costumes too.  Costumes can be recycled through families. Several children wore the tiger costume my sister painstakingly made. Costumes from plays can be re-used again.

Here are more places to search for ideas.

1.       Real Simple- sixteen simple costumes for your children.

2.       Homemade Halloween-children’s costumes

3.       DIY Costumes for Teens, Adults and pets

4.       DIY Adult Costumes

5.       Pinterest-this is the DIY Costume landing page.

Don’t stress too much over this. Remember the purpose is to have fun.