I went Halloween shopping at Five Below with a $50 budget and think the competition should be scared

This was only the Halloween-specific candy.

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• 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.
• There was a wide selection — I spent $51 and purchased 13 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.

This Five Below is located in Westbury, New York.

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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.

There was caution tape, spiderwebs, and hanging skeletons.

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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.

There were two varieties of pumpkins.

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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.

The Halloween section wasn't huge.

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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.

This was only the Halloween-specific candy.

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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.

Five Below had regular and vanilla Oreos.

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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.

These cost $4.

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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.

There were so many plushies.

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I spotted Hello Kitty, Stitch from "Lilo & Stitch," and Beetlejuice.

I knew right away I had to snag one of these pumpkin succulents.

These are adorable.

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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.

There were many different types of accessories.

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I went for the keychain.

I enjoyed the "cozy, creepy & totally cool" sock options.

There were multiple different colors to choose from.

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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.

The pajamas were soft.

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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.

"Nightmare Before Christmas" is a huge property during the fall and winter.

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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.

A smattering of graphic T-shirts.

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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.

"Twilight" will never die.

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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.

There were tons of skeletons, pumpkins, and ghosts.

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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.

One of the welcome mats.

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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.

"Harry Potter" can be associated with fall and Halloween.

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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.

There were plushies, hats, and masks.

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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.

There were so many accessories.

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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.

This was what I was most excited for.

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There were shelves upon shelves of candles.

Among the display, there was an entire shelf filled with pumpkin-shaped candles.

The pumpkin candles caught my eye.

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I already have a pumpkin-shaped candle, so I skipped these.

There were also plain fall-themed candles.

The labels on these candles were doing the most.

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This entire aisle smelled heavenly.

A small corner of the Halloween section was dedicated to pets.

The pets section wasn't large.

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There were dog sweaters, dog Halloween costumes, and bandanas.

Halloween-themed cosmetics were spread throughout, all $5 and under of course.

The display read "spooky self care."

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There were also Hello Kitty products here, which I was surprised by.

This Hello Kitty eyeshadow palette was particularly cute.

I was glad to see this palette was sealed.

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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.

I was surprised to see this was just $1.

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This has a Day of the Dead design.

My haul came to $51 after tax.

All of my Halloween products.

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Before tax, this was $47.65.

It included pajamas, socks, candy, a sweater for my dog, and a welcome mat.

My Five Below haul.

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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.

Lily slayed this look, even if she hates wearing sweaters of any kind.

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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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