We all love our kids to death and would love to satisfy every single one of their wants if our pocketbooks allowed for it. Let’s face it—buying a $30+ costume every year, for each member of our brood adds up! Luckily, there are a few alternatives around town that won’t have you cringing and filled with buyer’s remorse in the checkout line. Cruzin Kidz and Again & Again are just a few of the many examples of stores that sell gently loved and gently priced costumes that are too cute for words. 

This year, parents have yet another option. My Three Little Birds (6959 California Ave. SW; 206.946.6591), an upscale childrens’ resale store in West Seattle’s Morgan Junction, which opened this past April, is having their first Halloween Costume Swap today, October 1, between 1 and 5 p.m. You can bring in those lightly used costumes that may no longer fit and trade them in for new-to-you versions. Sounds like a budget-happy way to keep your kids looking just as adorably spooky as all the other kids. Let the tricking and treating (and tooth decay) begin.