Make or Buy? The Most Popular Approach to Halloween Costumes May Surprise You

Yahoo Makers Staff
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This Statue of Liberty takes a store-bought crown and a basic DIY gown. (Photo: Oliver Libaw)

DIY die-hards and hardcore Halloween fans always pride themselves on making their Oct. 31 outfits from scratch, of course. But a new poll finds average folks are craftier than you might think.

Overall, just 11 percent of people make their Halloween costumes, a new Yahoo survey finds. Another 41 percent buy their costumes. (Even though there are plenty of easy last-minute DIY costumes you can make in no time, hey, we don’t judge.)

But even more people — 48 percent — go for a hybrid approach, buying some parts of their Halloween costumes and DIY’ing the rest.

Upcycling, enhancing, and customizing a boring off-the-rack vampire or zombie? It makes perfect sense to us.

The hybrid strategy fits people’s budgets, too. About half (46 percent) of those dressing up for Halloween plan on spending between $21 and $50 on their own Halloween costumes this year. About one in three will spend more than $50 on their look. (Interestingly, 38 percent of guys plan to splurge, compared with just 24 percent of women.)

While most parents (55 percent) are planning on spending between $21 and $50 on their child’s Halloween costume, millennials are more likely to shell out even more. Millennial parents are also significantly more likely to feel competitive about dressing their child in the “best” costume. (Memo to millennials: They’re all adorable!)

Before you decide your child absolutely needs that Little Stinker skunk costume, remember you’ll probably also be shelling out for some spooky decorations.

Related Story on Yahoo Food: America’s Favorite (and Least Favorite) Halloween Candies

Overall, 69 percent of adults over 18 plan on decorating for Halloween, and — scary surprise! — parents and millennials lead the pack.

Pumpkins are the top accessory, followed by lawn decorations (tombstones, etc.), fake spider webs, and spooky lights.

Painted pumpkins can be fantastic, but most people prefer the mess of carving them up the old-fashioned way.

Whatever your budget, don’t be the one boring house on your block — get cracking with some last-minute accessories!

The data comes from an online nationally representative survey of 1,016 adults conducted between Oct. 13 and 19, 2015.

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