Friday 3 October 2014

Halloween Affordably

So when kids get to the dressing up age, all of a sudden we're not just buying them clothes when they have a growth spurt or the seasons change, but also when they want to go to a party, love a certain Superhero or have a dressing up day at school.

What's looming in the calendar right now? Yes the weather is stilll GREAT. It was already 19 degrees, sunny with a blue sky as I cycled back from school at 09:15 this morning. But despite the weather tricking us that Summer isn't done with us yet, Halloween looms large. Halloween is literally ready to go bump in the night. Don't make it go bump on your purse!

For some parents, especially those with several children, Halloween is just another big ask on their purse. Costumes on certain websites can be as much as 19.99 GBP. So right now you might be wishing Halloween would go away. You don't want to spend that when they might only wear it once, and will be grown out of it by next year.

However, the Aldi Special Buys aisle just goes from strength to strength. I showed you an affordable nappy changing bag from there 2 weeks ago, then really affordable cycling gear last week, and now this week (from yesterday Thursday 2nd October for a week) the Special Buys aisle is all things Halloween.

Here's just a taster of what they have instore currently:
Halloween Cheaply at Aldi UK
I'm back to update this post as Aaron has tonight donned the Aldi Skeleton costume. Here you go:
Aldi Skeleton Costume in age 5 to 6 years
It's in age 5-6 and actually fits him even though he went into that age in clothes this time last year.

It's skin tight fabric with velcro fastening at the back and is only 3.99 GBP. It's THIN, so if you are going Trick or Treating it is best worn on top of clothes.

I will also model a lovely adult Vampire costume for you if I can get into it LOL!

And... here I am ... warning: photos taken by Aaron:
Vampire Halloween Costume from Aldi UK
We've actually done all of our food shopping in Aldi since I started reviewing their special buys range, and we're spending about 60 pounds a week instead of the usual 90-110. It's because the savings per items are HUGE. For example, I have a rocket addiction. A bag in the big supermarkets is minimum a pound, whereas in Aldi it's 65p - washed, delicious and ready to eat. That's the sort of saving you can expect on most things. They imitate the big brands and if they can't get it AS good OR better they stock the brand itself. It's a philosophy that works. When I went in to get some cycling stuff (as I wanted more than what had been sent) the store was packed. It's like all ages, and all classes have discovered Aldi!

I've done a video to show you what Halloween press samples we've been sent - note this was recorded BEFORE me and Aaron had tried any of it on:
Take a look at the full range that's available in store: Halloween at Aldi. There are lots of eats and treats, far from just costumes. Speaking of treats, we did trick or treat for the first time ever, last year, and Aaron adored it. He dressed up as Lightning McQueen for trick or treat. We spent it with his cousins and I was amazed at the generosity of the people in my area as the 4 of them came back with a FULL carrier bag of sweets EACH, and they were not just boiled sweets. People had stocked up on really decent treats, like chocolate bars, and Halloween themed Haribos etc... It actually warmed the cockles of my heart.

A good tip we discovered from walking the streets for 90 minutes was that the houses most likely to open the door and give you something are the ones that are decorated. Back in my career days I didn't even notice that some houses decorate for Halloween but indeed they do, and they're ready and waiting for you.

What's particularly adorable is that the very little ones, like aged 1.5 to 3 years, what they do instead of going out walking the streets, is they get dressed up, but they just enjoy opening the door and seeing all of the different costumes of the door knockers, and often the parent asks them to pass you the sweets. We saw so many little ones during our trick or treating, and the child and parent were equally thrilled if we made a fuss of the little one. The whole thing was such a wonderful experience that kind of blew me away. Having lived in London all my life I just wasn't expecting the level of generosity that I experienced.

Disclosure: as stated above and during the video, we were sent press samples, so that we could let you know about the Halloween range currently in store. Have a look, they even have party stuff and eats and treats. Well worth a visit. Look online so you know what to expect, and go soon as their special buys are only ever in store from a week, and that week started yesterday!

I actually really love the detail on the Skeleton costume and it will be what Aaron wears for Trick or Treat, but with a layer of clothes under it too. Look at the detail, I love it:
Skeleton Halloween Costume from Aldi UK Special Buy
Liska xxx

2 comments:

  1. I love Aldi too, it's so much cheaper and some of the products taste exactly like the branded ones. I had a look around the Halloween bits yesterday and loved all of it, I was unsure of the costumes because they are so cheap but after seeing this post, I'll happily go and buy them now :) x

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  2. Aaron in his skeleton costume <3 I love seeing the children enjoy dressing up, it is so much fun for them!

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