Kids in costume may get a free haircut at Sport Clips this month

A parent's post about two little boys and their first trip to Sport Clips reached us this week, and the line at the bottom was too good to keep to ourselves. The parent wrote that kids under 15 get a free haircut at the Gainesville shop this month if they come in wearing a costume.

We tried to confirm that and couldn't. The store's own page on the Sport Clips website lists no promotions, and its Facebook page has no Halloween or costume post from September or October. That doesn't make the parent wrong. Each Sport Clips is owned by a local franchisee who sets prices at the store level, so a deal that lives on a sign by the register and nowhere online is easy to believe. Still, call the shop at (940) 665-1950 before you load everyone into the car. Ask whether the deal is still on, what age counts, and whether the costume has to be on the kid in the chair.

The parent had never taken the boys, ages 2 and 4, because the shop had always seemed aimed at the older guys. They tried it anyway. By their account the staff had everything ready for both kids, listened to exactly what the parents asked for, and had them in and out quickly. The parent called the stylists "professional, patient, and so good with the boys." Both boys left with a sucker.

We can't add a review of our own. Nobody here has sat a toddler in one of those chairs lately. What we can add is where the shop is and when it's open.

Finding it

Sport Clips Haircuts of Gainesville is at 201 N. Interstate 35, Suite 120, in the strip that also holds Schlotzsky's and Baylor Scott & White. The store lists these hours:

• Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
• Saturday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

They don't take appointments. You can walk in, or check in online from the store's page to get in line before you leave the house. The phone number is (940) 665-1950.

The kids' cut on their menu is called the Junior Varsity. The store's page doesn't list a price for it, so we can't tell you what the costume saves you.

Before you go

Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, and the shop closes at 6 p.m. on Saturdays. If your plan is a haircut on the way to trick-or-treating, that's a tight window, and the waiting area will likely be full of pirates. The weekdays before it are the easier bet.

If the costume is already on and the hair looks sharp, our trick-or-treat map shows the porch lights that will be on that night.