Last updated on January 9th, 2020 at 10:19 am

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I was reading a back issue of All You magazine from my local library when I came across a suggestion for a type of money saving swap party that I haven’t heard of before.

A contributor mentioned that she and her moms group throw a Halloween costume swap party every year.

“Around the last weekend in September, my moms club hosts an annual Halloween costume swap at someone’s house. We organize the costumes by size and gender on clothing racks and issue tickets that entitle people to take as many things as they came with; if there’s a big crowd, we draw numbers to decide who shops first. New costumes are pricey–it’s crazy to spend a lot on something kids may wear only once.”

Daniele Condon, 35, Nashville (quote from August 2015 issue of all you magazine)

The quote got the idea wheels in my brain going on how many types of money saving swap parties thrifty families could throw.

10 Money Saving Swap Party Ideas

1. Halloween Costume Swap Party

I dug a little deeper into the Halloween costume swap idea and found out that October 13 is actually National Halloween Costume Swap day. Who knew that a saving money Swap party actually has its own national day! I also found this article on how to set up your own Halloween Costume Swap Party.

2. Book Swap

You could go generic and do books for all ages, or you could do just children’s books or just ones you and your friends would enjoy. Here is an article cram packed with ideas of how to make your book swap party a success.

3. Board Game & Video Game Swap

I couldn’t find an article to share for board games and video game swap, but essentially the rules for hosting a swap party of any type would work.

4. Children’s Toy Swap

Children, especially younger children, either outgrow or get bored with toys at a rapid pace. Instead of spending money on new ones, host a children’s toy swap with other families you know.

5. Clothing  Swap

This is another swap that could be done from several different angles. You could host a children’s clothing swap, a business wear swap, a women’s clothing swap, a winter clothing swap (boots, coats, scarves, hats, etc for the whole family).

6. Cookie Swap

Generally cookie swaps are held around the Christmas season. I have to be honest, I am not a fan of cookie swaps. I think it is because I love baking cookies and our family is very cookie picky–as in we have a small handful of favorite cookie recipes we like at Christmas time and we don’t stray from them.  However, if you don’t like to bake and a cookie is a cookie in your household, then a cookie swap can be fun and a great way to get a variety of cookies for the Christmas season without spending as much time baking.

7. Freezer Meal  Swap

This is one swap party you might want to do regularly–say once a month. You are probably going to have to put more thought into who you invite to your group as food can be a hot topic now a days–your idea of what is acceptable as a dinner might not be what someone else thinks as acceptable. Here is one post I found that shares 5 tips for starting your own freezer meal swap group.

8. Christmas Decor Swap

I don’t know about your family, but our family has way too many Christmas decorations. Although we have some Christmas decor that we would never part with, most we tire of and want to display something different. Follow the simple rules of a successful saving money swap party and put a Christmas decor twist on it.

9. Perennial Plant Swap

Perennials are expensive, but often green thumb friends thin out their perennials every spring. Why not make a money saving event out of this annual chore by hosting a perennial plant swap with fellow green thumb friends.

10. Craft Supply Swap

Lets face it, we have all bought craft supplies to make a project and never gotten around to it. Plan a craft supply swap and trade those crafts supplies that don’t interest you anymore for supplies that do.

For a list of 52 different websites, apps, and stores our thrifty family uses to help us keep our expenses low, click here to visit our Thrifty Tools Resource Page.

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