What to wear for a witching hour

Witches have no excuse for not being well turned out this Halloween, writes Conor Pope, in a PriceWatch special

Fun World's Wendy the Witch €15

Highs: This very impressive-looking long black gown, with a gold shimmering trim is available from Easons, and is pretty good value. It is not too fussy and is suitably austere - gold trim not withstanding - for what is supposed to be a dark and scary costume. Little girls might take to its long, flowing nature.

Lows: It requires a not inconsiderable amount of lacing up and, with all the strings attached, it might take a little while to put on. While its length is a strength, shorter children might find themselves tripping over the hem. The hat is a little suspect and is prone to unseemly droopiness.

Verdict: Fine and flowing.

Star rating:**

Child's view: "I liked my outfit because I liked the gold lace at the front of my dress and I liked my hat and mask because they looked really scary." Charlotte (9)

Smiffy's Pumpkin Witch Dress and Hat €45.99

Highs: Available from the Fun Palace costume shop on Dublin's South King Street, this is a very bling-bling witch's costume, right down to the frilly orange skirt and the crushed velvet (okay, it's probably polyester) bodice. Treated right it will last for years, although whether a child's interest will be as enduring is another matter entirely. Its stitching seems fairly robust, the wide-brimmed hat is good and the ensemble comes with nice bow.

Lows: €45.99 is an awful lot of money to spend on a Halloween costume, given the certainty that children will grow out of it, both literally and figuratively, in no time at all. On the off-chance that it gets smeared with the detritus of a night's feasting on junk, it may have to be dry-cleaned which will add further to the expense (the outside packaging says dry-clean only while on the costume it says it can be handwashed in cold water). Some people (but not PriceWatch) might notice that the tutu-like salmony pink frilly skirt clashes with the orange bodice.

Verdict: Very flashy and frilly and pricey.

Star rating:**

Child's view: "I thought my costume was really cool. It was kinda girlie and kinda scary at the same time. I want to wear it for Halloween." Niamh (9)

Marks & Spencer Witch's Hat and Cape €20.69

Highs: The very colourful and well-assembled cape is excellent. Not only is the lining luridly orange, it has all manner of toads and lizards spilling from the pumpkin-shaped pockets. It also scores points for ease of use thanks to the velcro neck tie. The hat doubles as a big bag of chocolate and marshmallow sweets, which is a nice surprise. The cape - but probably not the hat - is also washable.

Lows: Hat and cape are sold separately so if you forget to get one, you'll be in dire straits come the big evening. It is the second most expensive outfit and not as easy to get, unless you live within striking distance of an M&S outlet. The cape doesn't offer full coverage so some further thought will be required to make the costume work. It is 100 per cent polyester and the hat will struggle to stay up unaided. But did we mention it was filled with sweets?

Verdict: A very sweet offering.

Star rating:***

Child's view: "It was good because it was colourful. I liked the hat and mask - they made me look scary." Hugh (9)

Halsall Witch's Costume from Dunnes Stores €5

Highs: Once you accept that this cheap-as-chips costume is not destined to be a family heirloom, it is really very good. At a fiver a pop, if you get one entire Halloween out of it, you will be able to chuck it, secure in the knowledge that it was a bargain. The witch's hat stands up unaided and the raggedy edges on the sleeves and hem of the robe are a nice touch.

Lows: Impossible to fault in terms of value, but it is made from very synthetic material which may attract a lot of static. The waist sash promised on the packaging turned out to be more of a black ribbon than a sash. Mind you, the packaging made no mention of the hat which was included and that, in truth, is much more important.

Verdict: Very hard to beat.

Star rating:****

Child's view: "I thought my mask was deadly and I liked the way my costume had tatty sleeves." Laoise (9)

Note: All the (very, very good) masks were bought in Roches Stores and cost €5.

Value4Money  - Barm Bracks

Gateaux Halloween Barm Brack

€3.15 for 454 grams €6.94 per kg

Highs: Visually, this rich and moist brack is the most appealing by a long margin. There is masses of fruit and it tastes pretty good, too. The sturdy - and very shiny - ring, with its outsized purple stone, has presumably been designed with young girls in mind and it is sure to impress.

Lows: Young boys however, are likely to be less pleased by its engagement ring quality. This brack appears to be comparatively small (although it is probably just more densely packed) and it is the most expensive brand tried.

Verdict: A brack with bling and zing

Star rating:****

O'Hara's Halloween Fruit Brack

€2.79 for 430 grams €5.49 per kg

Highs: This breaks the round brack mould in favour of a more traditional bread loaf appearance. It's a nice, light tasting product with a pleasantly strong cinnamon flavour. It tastes as good as any of the competition and the ring is very sturdy - well, comparatively.

Lows: It is the smallest of the bracks tried and there isn't very much fruit in it. The ring was buried very close to the surface on this occasion which made it easier for little hands to prise it free without the necessity to eat any.

Verdict: Nice and spicy.

Star rating:***

Tesco Barm Brack

€1.39 for 454 grams €3.06 per kg

Highs: This is the cheapest by a substantial margin but tastes absolutely fine. It has a light dusting of sugar on top, which will appeal to those with a sweet tooth and it comes with a generous measure of dried fruit.

Lows: In fact it tastes entirely of dried fruit with all other potential flavours relegated to the sidelines. The ring is very, very shiny indeed but is also very flimsy and plastic and is unlikely to impress even the most impressionable of young children.

Verdict: Cheap and cheerful

Star rating:****

Irish Pride Halloween Brack

€2.59 for 550 grams €4.71 per kg

Highs: This looks to be the largest of the loaves tried although some of its bulk may be down to its extra air pockets. Its airiness is accentuated by a nice, light taste and - with the exception of the Tesco own-brand brack - it is the cheapest. Irish Pride also gives you the chance to win one of 70 real gold rings.

Lows: But speaking of rings, the "in-brack" offering is pretty miserable. By the time it was unearthed, it was already very discoloured. The fruit is on the scarce side too and was a little dry.

Verdict: Good size, shame about the ring.

Star rating:***

When the fáilte falters

You spot the prices, we ask the questions

Jane Halligan from Shankill in Dublin writes to echo concerns from other readers in connection with retailers either overcharging or failing to deliver on promotional promises, or occasionally both.

Her son is travelling to Japan this month and she wanted to give him "kitsch Irish souvenirs" - lapel pins, fridge magnets, stickers - to dole out in some of the schools he plans to visit as part of the trip. "I found myself doing something rather unusual for an Irish person and rubbing shoulders with a lot of tourists," she writes.

She was surprised at the high price tags attached to some of the "cheap tat" on offer in shops selling Irish souvenirs but what really sparked her ire was the number of times shops accidentally overcharged her. "I was overcharged for items in three of the four shops," she says. "The only place I was not overcharged was the tourist office in Andrew Street."

In one shop she was charged €8 for three fridge magnets, which had a price tag of €1.99 each or three for €5. In another outlet she was charged €11.90 for two flags which were priced at €4.95 each or two for €8, and in a third shop she was asked for €7 for three lapel pins despite the fact that they had a price of €1.99 each or three for €5.

"In each case, as you can see, what I was being charged isn't even the item price multiplied by the number of items purchased, never mind the special offer! I must also point out that the special offer price was in each and every case up in bold lettering in full view of the cash desk."

She says that when she pointed to the big signs displaying the real prices she received an apology and was charged the correct prices. "My point is that these are tourist shops where the shopper may not speak English at all or not well enough to argue the issue or may not notice the overcharge in the bustle of sorting out strange currency."

She does allow for the possibility that on each occasion the overcharging "was a slip of the finger" but says that as it happened in three out of four shops it left her feeling that "in 'rip-off Ireland' your average tourist is being systematically overcharged. Perhaps our national slogan of 'Céad míle fáilte' should be more accurately 'Caveat emptor'."

What's more . . .

Recently, PriceWatch reader Fiacra Quinn needed two watch batteries of different sizes. He went to a jeweller in Dundalk and was asked for €6 each.

He was told that was the price of all unfitted batteries. "Online at www.watchbattery.co.uk the total price was about €5.25, delivered free to the UK or about €9 delivered to my door. That's still a significant saving on €12 here in Ireland," he says.