Move over Christmas: Halloween is turning into a major shopping holiday, with Americans expected to spend $5 billion dollars in 2007 on this spooky celebration, so says a National Retail Federation study on consumers’ Halloween spending habits. Broken down it comes out to just under $65 per person. That’s a number that can give a frugal gal like me a fright.

The challenge for us this year will be to allow our girls to enjoy Halloween without feeling like we overspent and they didn’t get ripped off. Plus, I’ve got to stay true to my green mission. Here are some ways I’m planning on maintaining my budget and not leave our bank account in a scary state:

* Start clipping coupons now. I noticed that in my last Sunday circular that there were a ton more candy coupons. I’m sure it’s timed to go along with Halloween shopping and that’s OK. I’m cutting them out, even though at our new house we probably won’t get any trick or treaters. We live down a dark, dirt road, and I doubt anyone would dare venture down here after dark on October 31. But I might need candy for one of the kid’s classroom parties. Hey, if I can save $1 here or there, that’s great.

* Use gift cards whenever possible. For years now we’ve had a Toys R Us credit card that gives us Geoffrey Dollars/Toys R Us gift cards as our reward. If I need candy or anything for my kids’ costumes, I’ll make sure I shop at the stores where I’ve got gift cards first. (Note to self: remember those canvas bags in the car’s trunk so you can avoid taking any new shopping bags from the store. Hey, these canvas bags could double as terrific trick-or-treating bags, too!)

* Minimize costumes. One year, my eldest daughter was determined to be Dracula’s daughter for Halloween. Since we didn’t have any appropriate clothes in our dress-up box, I decided to splurge on a costume from one of those seasonal Halloween stores. If you’ve ever been to one of these places, you can imagine how I started shaking in my shoes when I saw the price tag for her desired costume: $60. This year I’m encouraging my daughters to be a zombie soccer player and a zombie volleyball player so that they can each wear their team uniforms, and all we need to do to complete their costume is use stage makeup (from our dress-up box) to make them look dead. I might tease out their hair, too, but even with that added part of the costume, I know that I’ve got all the supplies I need under the bathroom sink.

* Use what you already own for decorations. One of my favorite Halloween decorations is a scarecrow, something I remember my mother making each year when I was a kid. The scarecrow would sit on the front stoop and “greet” our trick or treaters. She would use her “grubs” (grungy clothes she wore for gardening) to dress the scarecrow. All she needed to buy was some hay. If you don’t have any “grubs,” you could raid your hand-me-down clothes or the ones you were going to donate to charity, and use them to make your scarecrow. After Halloween, compost the hay and keep the clothes for next year’s scarecrow. (If you’d like some inspiration for clever scarecrows and you’re in the Philadelphia area, you should check out the scarecrow competition and show at Peddler’s Village, an old-fashioned shopping destination.)

What are some of the ways that you remain frugal and green at Halloween?