Where to find the cheapest treats in time for Halloween including Lidl, Tesco and Morrisons
Shoppers are going to spend a scary £420million on the spooky season this year, up by 5 per cent from last year, according to the latest figure from Mintel.
Sadly, sweets and chocolates are usually the most expensive part of the festivities.
Chana Baram, retail analyst, said: “Confectionery is the biggest purchase for Halloween and even those who do not take part in the celebrations are likely to buy sweets or chocolates for any visiting trick-or-treaters.”
Hannah Maundrell, the editor-in-chief of money.co.uk, is advising shoppers to set themselves a budget to avoid overspending.
She told the Sun Online: "You should treat Halloween the same as you do Christmas and Birthday’s and set yourself a budget.
"Every year there seems to be something new to buy for Halloween and it can become pretty pricey if you’re buying new decorations and costumes.
"Don’t let yourself impulse buy when you pop to the shops. If you’ve reached your budget, stop spending!".
How to cut the costs on Halloween
1. Get your trick or treat sweets from the pound shop or cheaper supermarket isles and limit treats to one per child.
2. Check your lofts and garages for old decorations and costumes that you can use again.
3. Get creative – get the kids involved by making decorations and costumes, grab the arts and crafts stuff and let them get gory.
4. Cut the price of a party by getting everyone to bring a creepy dish or drink so you don’t have to splash out.
5. Set a budget before you begin – don’t buy more than you need to avoid waste and overspending.
The Sun Online compared prices on MySupermarket.co.uk and looked at individual offers to help you cut the costs on your favourites treats.
Bare in mind that all these sweets, can’t be too good for your waistline.
For example, just one 18g Mars bar contains 11.1g of sugar – that's almost half of an adult's recommended daily sugar allowance of 30g.
One “fun size bag” of these choccies at Lidl contains 19 of them – so indulge with caution.
Here's our round-up of the best deals:
Ocado – Cadbury Ghoost Egg – Three 50p eggs for £1
Cadbury has launched Goo Heads Cream Eggs in time for Halloween, which contain the same white fondant inside as a regular Creme Egg.
The eggs usually cost 50p each, or you can buy a five-pack for £2.85.
If you want five of the eggs though, we advise buying five individual Goo Heads for £2.50 as it saves you 35p instead of the five-pack.
And now there’s an even better offer around at Ocado, which is selling three of the spooky treats for £1 – meaning you could save 50p.
There are also miniature versions called Goo Head Minis, which cost £1 for a 89g bag at Morrisons.
Tesco and Asda – Five lollies for £1 at Tesco and Asda
Tesco and Asda are doing a five for £1 offer on popular treats including Chupa Chups lollies, Swizzels giant love hearts and Refreshers sticks.
The usual price of these treats varies from 35p to 40p meaning you’ll be able to save up to £1 by taking advantage of the offer.
Tesco – Barrat Halloween Bag – 89p
Tesco is selling a 180g Barrat Halloween bag for a discounted 89p until Wednesday.
That's even cheaper than Wilko and Co-op which are both selling the terrifying treat for £1.
The mix contains a variety of sweet formats, including chews and lollies, with iconic sweets like Refreshers, Wham and Fruit Salad.
Lidl – Mars and Milky Way Funsize bag – £1.99
Lidl is selling two fun size bags of choccies including a 366g pack of Mars with 19 treats as well as a 303g bag of Milkyways with 18 treats.
Both cost £1.99 each.
That’s quite a good offer considering a smaller bag of Mars with 13 chocolates would usually set you back by £2.79 at Tesco and £3 at Asda.
Tesco is currently selling the 250g bag of treats for a discounted £1.39 but if you compare prices per weight it would still cost 54.4p/100g at Lidl and 55p/100g at Tesco – meaning you would get more choccies at Lidl for less.
The next best price we found was at Iceland which is selling the massive bag of Mars and Milkyways for £2 – only 1p more than Lidl.
Morrisons – Swizzels Super Stars Variety Mix 630g – 2 for £5.
Morrisons' Swizzels super star variety 630g tin usually costs £4 (63p per 100g) but you can buy now two for £5 and save £3.
The box contains many favourites like love hearts, drumstick squashies and fruity pops.
But you'll have to be quick the offer is only valid until Wednesday October 31.
Asda – Witch Unicorn Cake – £10
Asda's spooky centrepiece is not the cheapest treat around but if you're looking for a quirky Halloween cake, it's actually a good offer.
The treat is a twist on the supermarket's popular unicorn cake only this time it's smothered in a goulish green frosting, instead of white.
It's big. The cake can serve up to 18 people so it's an ideal centrepiece for any Halloween party.
How to find the cheapest deals
- Find the cheapest online prices: The simplest way to slash your spend is to use a site like mysupermarket.co.uk which allows you to compare your basket with other retailers. It has prices from the big four supermarket but also discounters like Lidl and Aldi and online supermarket Ocado.
- Abandon online shopping baskets: Don't go straight to check-out after putting the items in your basket – it may tease retailers into giving you discount codes.
- Sign up to retailers' newsletters for big discounts: It sometimes means a percentage discount code, or a straight discount off your first shop.
- Time it right: Check with your local store when they discount food items that are about to expire – this is the perfect time to nab bargains.
- Check the offers. Many supermarkets offer tempting discounts if you’re new to shopping with them or you can go via cashback sites.
But at £10, it's actually £1 cheaper than the supermarket's regular unicorn cake.
Of course, it's only available for a limited time so you'll need to head to your nearest store – or order it online – before the end of the month to avoid missing out.
If you're not fussed about the Halloween-theme then Morrisons also sells an ordinary unicorn cake for a tenner but its serves 20 people so you'll get more for your money.
Wilko – Half price pick and mix
Wilko brought back its half price pick and mix deal and it means shoppers can save up off their favourite treats until Halloween.
For example, a Pick n Mix Treat Cup will only cost 50p instead of £1.
While a regular cup is reduced to £1 from £2, a medium cup is down to £1.50 and a large cup will now cost £2 instead of £4.
If shoppers choose a paper bag, the sweets will cost 45p per 100g instead of 90p.
The offer ends on Wednesday October 31, so you can stock up now, before trick or treaters visit on Wednesday.
Halloween is creeping around the corner and we've found all the inspiration you'll need for children's trick or treat outfits.
These are the must-have costume ideas for your babies and kids in 2018 – and how to recreate the look from as little as £3.99.
But make sure your children's fancy costume is fire resistant. Our investigation revealed that some set costumes from supermarkets and retailers including Wilko , Asda and Aldi can catch up fire in just two seconds.
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