I went Halloween shopping at Five Below with a $50 budget and think the competition should be scared
- Five Below is a popular discount store chain with locations across 43 states.
- I visited my local store in New York to stock up on Halloween items.
Five Below is a discount chain founded in Wayne, Pennsylvania, 22 years ago. It began as a children's store but has now expanded to include candy, decor, tech accessories, T-shirts, and more.
And as the product selection has grown, so has the chain's reach. By 2008, there were 100 stores, and in 2016, sales reached $1 billion, according to the company's website.
Today, there are 1,600 locations in 43 states, but the company has said it wants to expand to 3,500 locations by the end of 2030.
I went holiday shopping last year with a $50 budget at Five Below and found it to be fun and a successful shopping trip.
This year, I decided to see what the Halloween selection is like at my local Five Below in New York, once again with a $50 budget.
Here's what I bought.
I went to Five Below on Long Island, New York, to check out its Halloween and fall decor options.
I've tried shopping at Party City and Spirit Halloween before, but Spirit mainly sells costumes, and I find Party City a bit overwhelming.
Plus, I'm not shopping for a party yet; I just want some subtle reminders that spooky season is upon us.
I was pleasantly surprised by Five Below when I went holiday shopping there last year, so I decided to give it a chance for Halloween.
As soon as I walked in, I was greeted with wheelbarrows filled with $1 Halloween accessories.
At Five Below, almost everything is $5 and less — though there is a section inside called Five Beyond where products can be up to $25.
At the store I visited, the $1 items in the wheelbarrows — caution tape, spiderwebs, and skeletons — were a little intense for me, so I kept moving.
I also saw a wheelbarrow filled with tiny pumpkins, both velvet and plastic.
These pumpkins were much more my style. I grabbed a six-pack of velvet ones and threw them in my cart.
Most of the Halloween items were on the right side of the store, which was essentially a medium-sized warehouse.
I was actually surprised that Halloween items didn't take up more of the floor. Maybe as Halloween gets closer, it'll encroach on the rest of the area.
There was a lot of cheap candy to choose from.
As any Five Below fan knows, there's already a huge candy section at every location, which you can see in the background of this photo.
This section contained just Halloween-themed novelty candy and other treats.
I spotted stacks of Halloween-themed Oreos.
Oreo is known for its specialty flavors. The Halloween-themed Oreos contain orange-colored cream but taste like regular Oreos.
There were also $4 skull-shaped hot-chocolate bombs available.
I purchased one of these during the holiday season last year, and they're quite tasty.
Next to the selection of candy were Halloween plushies.
I spotted Hello Kitty, Stitch from "Lilo & Stitch," and Beetlejuice.
I knew right away I had to snag one of these pumpkin succulents.
I love a succulent, even if it's fake. They liven up a space, and these orange ones add a pop of color.
There were key rings, patches, buttons, and other small items for anyone looking to sport a subtle Halloween reference.
I went for the keychain.
I enjoyed the "cozy, creepy & totally cool" sock options.
There were also bat-shaped and cat-shaped pillows right underneath. They felt a little scratchy, so I decided to pass.
As soon as I saw these pastel-pink ghost pajamas, I knew I had to have them.
Unfortunately, they only had the shorts in my size, so I didn't snag the matching shirt.
I was surprised by the graphic T-shirts, like this orange "Nightmare Before Christmas" shirt. I associate that more with Hot Topic.
In fact, "Nightmare Before Christmas" is all over Hot Topic.
But if Jack Skellington's not your vibe, there are plenty more shirts to choose from.
This reminded me of the Rock Wall of graphic tees that's present at every Hot Topic, just not as large.
I debated buying this "Twilight" shirt.
I'm glad teens are still into "Twilight" enough that merch is being sold. And with an animated version of "Midnight Sun" on the way, a whole new generation of tweens are going to be introduced to Forks.
Next to the graphic tees was the home decor.
I live in an apartment, so I'm not in the market for lawn decorations or window hangings, but I was pleased with this selection.
There were multiple different welcome mats to choose from.
I liked this welcome mat, but I'd feel like a fraud if I got this without being a true cat person.
"Harry Potter" accessories were mixed in with Halloween items.
I'd say that "Harry Potter" as a franchise has strong ties to fall — school starts on September 1, the first film has an iconic sequence that takes place on Halloween, and the rest of the films are spooky — so it makes sense that "HP" items were on the shelves.
But the most prevalent property was "The Nightmare Before Christmas," with some "Beetlejuice" mixed in.
I was very tempted to buy the orange Jack Skellington plushie, but I just couldn't justify it.
Another Tim Burton property, "Wednesday," also had a presence at Five Below.
In this photo alone, there are "Wednesday" action figures, "Nightmare Before Christmas" under-eye pads, face masks, tumblers, and "Beetlejuice" socks. Tim Burton really is everywhere.
There was a whole display dedicated to candles.
There were shelves upon shelves of candles.
Among the display, there was an entire shelf filled with pumpkin-shaped candles.
I already have a pumpkin-shaped candle, so I skipped these.
There were also plain fall-themed candles.
This entire aisle smelled heavenly.
A small corner of the Halloween section was dedicated to pets.
There were dog sweaters, dog Halloween costumes, and bandanas.
Halloween-themed cosmetics were spread throughout, all $5 and under of course.
There were also Hello Kitty products here, which I was surprised by.
This Hello Kitty eyeshadow palette was particularly cute.
The shades had names like Candy Corn, Pumpkin Patch, Crescent Moon, Spooky Cute, Batty, and Boo!
After completing my shopping, I snagged a $1 reusable shopping bag to carry my new fall goodies.
This has a Day of the Dead design.
My haul came to $51 after tax.
Before tax, this was $47.65.
It included pajamas, socks, candy, a sweater for my dog, and a welcome mat.
For just under $50 (before tax), I purchased:
- A pair of $5 ghost-covered pajama shorts
- A $1 pair of skeleton socks
- A $2.50 keychain
- A $3.50 Starlight Spell sugar scrub
- A $2 six-count of velvet pumpkins
- A $3 Jack-O'-Lantern succulent
- A $4 dog sweater
- A $4 novelty ice tray filled with gummy bugs
- Three fall candles for $5.55 each
- A $5 pumpkin welcome mat
- A $1 reusable bag
I was pleased with my purchases, even if my dog didn't love the sweater. Now, I just need the weather to catch up.
For just over $50, I tricked my brain into thinking that it was no longer 80 degrees in New York City.
This was my first Halloween-themed shopping trip of the fall, but after visiting Five Below during Halloween and the holidays — and enjoying its wide selection of affordable, fun items — I can confidently say it's one of my favorite stores for this type of shopping.
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