With All Hallows Eve fast approaching, there are pumpkins to carve, ghosts and skeletons to post on the front lawn, and costumes and trick-or-treat candy to buy. Americans love to make Halloween spooktacular, but the recession has made this year especially frightening.
Total Halloween spending for 2009 is expected to drop to $4.75 billion, down from $5.77 billion in 2008. Here is a peek at what goes into making Halloween a ghoul-o-time.
Statistics provided by the National Retail Federation, National Confectioners Associations, U.S. Census and NASS.
By Amy Pollak
Trick or Treat?
This year, more than 36 million Americans of all ages plan to trick-or-treat, up about 65,000 from 2008. However, 88% of people plan to spend less money on the holiday this year.
Sponsored Content
(opens in new tab)
Pumpkins, Pumpkins Everywhere
Finding the perfect pumpkin should be no problem, with an estimated autumn harvest of 1.1 billion pounds of pumpkins, about the same as last year's harvest. Illinois still leads the nation in pumpkin production with 496 million pounds, but that's down from 542 million in 2008.
Sponsored Content
(opens in new tab)
BOOgie Down
Just because you're too old to trick-or-treat doesn't mean you can't dress up and have a little fun. One-third of adults say they plan on wearing a costume or throwing or attending a Halloween party. Most popular costume choice for women: witch, same as last year. Most popular for men: pirate, the perennial favorite.
Vampires are climbing the charts, too: Twilight and True Blood, anyone? Michael Jackson, Sarah Palin, Kate Gosselin, and even Bernie Madoff also may make an appearance or two at your door.
Sponsored Content
(opens in new tab)
Most Popular Costumes for Girls
The princess costume is once again the most coveted by young girls for Halloween. Witch and fairy costumes are also showing brisk sales, retailers say. But also expect to see a lot of girls dressed as Hannah Montana or Tinkerbell.
Sponsored Content
(opens in new tab)
Most Popular Costumes for Boys
Inner superheroes come out and play on Halloween. Spiderman is the top costume choice for boys this year, beating out the always-popular pirate get-up, according to the National Retail Federation. Batman and Star Wars are also popular with the boys.
Sponsored Content
(opens in new tab)
Life Is Ruff on Halloween
Kids and adults won't be the only ones dressing up. The most popular pet costume is a pumpkin, followed by a little devil. Just be careful not to mistake a pet costume for an infant costume, because they can be very similar in size and price.
Sponsored Content
(opens in new tab)
Recognize My Disguise?
Americans are expected to spend an average of $20.75 per costume in 2009, down from $24.00 in 2008. There are 2,011 costume-rental and formalwear shops across the nation to accessorize people for Halloween and other occasions.
Sponsored Content
(opens in new tab)
Give Me Something Good to Eat
The average household plans to spend almost $18 this year on candy, down $1.39 from 2008. Trick-or-treaters say chocolate is the most sought-after goodie, while fruit is the least desired. Surprise, surprise.
Sponsored Content
(opens in new tab)
Extreme Halloween Home Makeover
47.3% of households plan on decorating this year, down from 50.3% in 2008. Halloween is second only to Christmas in spending on decorations. As a way to curb spending this year, 35% of consumers will use last year's decorations again.
Sponsored Content
(opens in new tab)
Smashing Pumpkins
More than 20,000 people gather each year near Bridgeville, Del., to watch orbs of orange fruit (yes, pumpkins are botanically classified as fruit) being flung across an open field. At the World Championship Punkin' Chunkin' contest, 72 teams of innovators compete to hurl pumpkins the farthest distance.This trebuchet designed by Team Yankee Seige (at right) holds the world record in the Adult Trebuchet category with a distance of 1,897.47 feet -- that's more than a quarter of a mile!
This year's contest will take place November 6-8, after Halloween is over.
Sponsored Content
(opens in new tab)
-
-
State "Stimulus Checks" Are a Thing in 2022 – Will You Get One?
To help counter high inflation, pandemic woes and other financial hardships, some states are sending tax rebate "stimulus" checks or other payments to residents.
-
How Young People Can Own Their Financial Future Authentically
It starts with trusting the process. The good news is Gen Zers and younger Millennials are on their way, a new study says.
-
The Most Expensive Natural Disasters in U.S. History
Economic Forecasts Wind, water, fire and drought have all wreaked havoc on the United States. What’s been the worst?
-
Amazon Prime Day 2022: Some of the Best Deals from Kiplinger Editors
Amazon Prime Amazon Prime Day is here. We’ve identified some great values on products and services, a number of which we’ve used ourselves.
-
10 Tax Deadlines for April 18 (Today is Not Just the Due Date for Your Tax Return)
tax deadline Between requesting a tax extension, making IRA or HSA contributions, and meeting other tax deadlines, there's more to do today than just filing your federal income tax return.
-
Alternatives to Amazon Prime for Free Shipping and More
Amazon Prime You don’t need to pay Amazon Prime’s juiced $139 annual fee to find a wide swath of products online at different retailers.
-
40 Ways to Earn Extra Cash in 2022
business We flag a wide variety of cool side hustles to earn bonus bucks for expenses both expected and unexpected as we begin to emerge from the pandemic.
-
12 Good Reasons to Cancel Amazon Prime
Amazon Prime Amazon Prime membership recently jumped to $139 a year. That’s one good reason to cancel your Amazon Prime membership. There are 11 others.
-
40 Best Amazon Prime Benefits to Use in 2022
Smart Buying Amazon Prime membership will soon rise to $139 a year. Get your money's worth by following this guide to the best Prime perks to use for the rest of 2022.
-
2021 Tax Returns: What's New on the 1040 Form This Year
tax filing If you're a last-minute filer, familiarize yourself with potential changes for your 2021 tax return before tackling your 1040.
