By Melissa Segrest
When Halloween rolls around, things no longer go bump in the night. They go “ka-ching.”
That’s the sound of money in the till, and this holiday is big business for retailers. Americans will spend more than $5 billion for costumes, candy and spooky décor this year, according to a projection from the National Retail Federation.
Stores started hauling out the Halloween gear around Labor Day, so you may already be behind the curve on planning outfits for the kids, the grownups and even the pets. It’s time to hit the grocery store for candy – the average person will spend $19.84 for sweet treats, the federation says. And don’t forget the creepy creations for the front yard, the porch and inside the house. Halloween decorations have become a big part of the holiday, and the average person will spend almost $20 for them this year.
All told, the typical American will spend $64.82 on Halloween this year, compared to a little over $59 in 2006. The federation conducted a survey of more than 8,800 people in early September and got other interesting Halloween details: About 73 percent of consumers will hand out candy at the front door on Oct. 31, 43 percent will carve pumpkins and more than 47 percent will decorate the house or yard. Another 28 percent will throw a Halloween party.
CONSIDER THE COSTUME
There are innumerable websites that sell Halloween gear of all kinds, from baby costumes to lovely or spooky decorative items for the home. Despite adults worming their way into the costume picture, it’s still the kids who take center stage when it comes to buying Halloween regalia. With so many costume choices on the Internet it can make your head spin (which would be a nifty yet creepy trick) – but here are some ideas and sites to check out:
Traditional kiddie costumes are still the big sellers. Little girls still want to primarily be princesses (almost 11 percent). After that, movies and TV hold sway over kids’ choices and the winners are Spider-Man, pirates (inspired by Pirates of the Caribbean movies), witches and fairies for older girls as well as little ones. Some new looks on the list this year are Hannah Montana and High School Musical for girls and Harry Potter and superheroes for boys.
There is also an adorable assortment of costumes for babies and toddlers, from homemade outfits to delightful flights of fancy, like red chili peppers, animals and more.
Adults tend to get more creative with their outfits, and they give them a lot of thought. About 75 percent of you have already decided how you want to dress, the federation’s survey says. The top five favorites are traditional: witches, pirates, vampires, animals and – again – princesses. Other iconic faves are Star Wars, doctors and athletes.
POP-CULTURE INSPIRATIONS
If prepackaged costumes aren’t your cup of tea, then get creative with everything from TV or film icons to politicians or household appliances. A list of fun recommendations on AOL suggests looking like train-wreck pop singer Amy Winehouse (bee-hive black hair, lots of eyeliner), American Idol has-been with the big hair Sanjaya and, of course, Paris Hilton in prison garb. If you can figure out how to look like Lindsay Lohan in rehab, then by all means try it.
One Halloween retailer says he’s already sold out of Bill Clinton costumes, but he still has Hillary Clinton, George and Laura Bush and, of course, the ever-popular Richard Nixon. AOL suggests you try the look of the portly and reclusive dictator of North Korea, Kim Jong-il, (don a poofy black wig, giant ’70s glasses and a gray slack suit.) Forbes.com makes it easy with cutout masks of people in the news such as former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Katie Couric or Borat.
And, of course, the sexy Halloween look for women is still stylish. Trashy.com has a wide selection of risqué looks, but PR director Bridget Silvestri was quoted as saying that Trashy has 40 women’s pirate costumes and 10 new styles this year. Even Nicole Kidman bought one from their site, she said.
Pop-culture costumes have been hot for decades, and looking back at them over the years provides a snapshot of who and what was in the news at the moment. Phyllis Galembo, who co-authored the book “Dressed for Thrills: 100 Years of Halloween Costumes,” says in a press release that since the first commercial costume companies appeared in the 1930s, witches and ghosts were usurped by cartoon characters, then sitcoms, politicians and newsmakers.
DON’T FORGET THE PETS AND THE YARD
Every member of the family is getting into the Halloween spirit these days. About one in 10 celebrants – 7.4 million households – will dress up the dog or cat, the survey says. Favorite costumes for pets include devils, pumpkins, witches, princesses and angels.
Or throw them for a loop by dressing your wiener dog as a wiener.
If you want to dress up the lawn, and money is no object, click over to FrightCatalog.com, where you can pick up a “death chamber” for a terrifying $8,900, a creeping zombie for $750 or a less-pricey “evil pumpkin skeleton” for $139. Some other spooky looks for the front porch include an “animated haunted girl with a vibrating head,” a 5-foot animated floating witch, a hanging decapitated head that will likely scare the littler ghosts and goblins, or even a simple animated hanging clown for $24.99 (remember: nothing is scarier than an evil clown).
Want just a few ghoulish touches for the house? Try a simple tombstone with skeleton hands for only $6.99. Still too scary for you? Consider a kinder, gentler “pumpkin pathway marker” for $18.74 or go with the classic “giant black widow spider” for just $3.99 (buy two – they’re big).
All too tacky for you? Then turn to our arbiter of holiday style, Martha Stewart, for suggestions, including a recipe for “lady fingers” cookies that almost look too real to eat. The Frontgate Catalog, a home for all manner of tasteful items, offers some elegant touches, like a witch’s broom to place in a corner for only $15, or some midnight black candle holders for $15 to $24.
Still stuck for an idea on how to dress up? Go to findmycelebritylookalike.com and dress yourself accordingly.
Melissa Segrest is the managing editor of Noofangle Media. She was formerly deputy managing editor for USA Today.com, the Austin American-Statesman and the Palm Beach Post.
Copyright © 2007 | Distributed by Noofangle Media
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