Halloween on a Budget: The Best Shops to Stretch a Dollar

With Halloween just around the corner, it's time to start stocking up on pumpkins, spider webs, costumes and more. There are many stores in Ditmas Park that carry the goods, but which offer the best bang for your buck? After checking out almost all the neighborhood spots, Patch can help you narrow down your search: 

Pumpkins

What's Halloween without a pumpkin? Almost every supermarket in the neighborhood is carrying the holiday staple, but prices and sizes do vary. At Met Foods on Cortelyou Road and East 16th Street, large pumpkins are 49 cents per pound, while decorative mini pumpkins (read: super small) are 79 cents per pound.

Also on Cortelyou Road, the Flatbush Food Co-op is selling pumpkins of all sizes for $1.49 per pound. C-Town Supermarket on Newkirk Avenue and East 16th street is selling small pumpkins for a flat rate of $4.99. Across the street, the West Indian and American Grocery Store is selling large pumpkins for a flat rate of $11.99 and small pumpkins for a flat rate of $4.99

Verdict: Met Foods has the best deal, if you're looking for a large selection and reasonable prices. For a flat rate, West Indian and American Grocery Store can't be beat.

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Candy

You can probably find candy in almost any corner store, but on Halloween, bulk packages is where it's at, and pharmacies are the best place to find a wide variety at reasonable prices. Duane Reade is selling bags of fun-size favorites, from M&M's, Almond Joys, and Hershey bars for $2.99 a bag, to Trolli candies for $6.99 a bag. 

Rite Aid on Newkirk Avenue and Rugby Road also has a wide variety and is running a sale: two bags of fun-size candy for $5, or three fun-size bags of candy for $9.99. 

Verdict: You'll save money and get a wider variety of goodies at Rite Aid. 

 

Costumes and Decorations

Pharmacies are once again the place to go to find these Halloween items. At Duane Reade, women's costumes cost $19.99-24.99, and masks are $9.99-12.99. Plastic pumpkins, a staple of any child's trick-or-treating supplies, cost $4.99. 

Rite Aid has a wider array of selections in this department, with two aisles full of women's, men's and children's costumes. Sales abound, all costumes are 50 percent off original prices ranging from $19.99-39.99. Plastic pumpkins, in a variety of styles, are $1.99, and an expanse of interior and exterior decorations are ready for the taking, including scare crow lawn decorations that cost $9.99 and straw bales that are 50 percent off their original price of $16.99. The store also sells costume makeup, inflatable decorations, spider webs and Halloween lights, all at a marked-down rate. 

For simple plastic pumpkins and fun trick-or-treating bags, Yang's Brothers Enterprise 99 Cents Store in Newkirk Plaza has great deals: all items are 99 cents. 

Verdict: Head to Rite Aid for a great, cheap selection of costumes, make up and decorations, but get those plastic pumpkins at Yang's. 

Know of any other deals that would come in handy this holiday season? Did we miss a great spot for witch's hats and vampire fangs? Let us know in the comments section below!