But despite the economy, Halloween sales will top nearly $7 billion dollars this year, making it the highest on record.
From party supplies to costumes, plenty of people in the Valley spent Halloween day doing last-minute shopping. While they're spending more this year, they're also finding creative ways to save.
A steady flow of Halloween shoppers kept employees at Party City in North Fresno busy on Monday.
Some customers said they were waiting until the last minute on purpose.
"If you go later on, like the day of, or the day before, they usually half off, or priced to sell," Shaniece Guimont of Fresno said.
But at that point, several costumes were already sold out.
"So we have run across town to see if they have any more suits across town, so we'll see how that goes," Guimont said.
If that doesn't work, Kathy Isaguirre of Clovis says her kids will just reuse costumes they already have.
"We have five boys. This one has plenty to pick from. He just goes through the bucket," she said.
According to the National Retail Federation, 68.6 percent of Americans will celebrate Halloween this year.
That's up from 63.8 percent in 2010. And, Americans are spending more.
The average person will spend $72.31 on costumes, candy and decorations, compared to $66.28 last year.
Economists say people are willing to shell out more money in an effort to forget about the downturn in the economy, at least for a day.
