Thread: These Days, HAlloween's a Big Deal

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article I found on MSN.thought you all might like to see it

These days, Halloween's a big deal

Grown-ups still send the kids out for trick-or-treating, but it’s adults' own love of the holiday that's spurring elaborate parties and decorations and a corresponding rise in consumer spending.

By Melinda Fulmer In Melanie Nelson's world, the Great Pumpkin trumps Santa Claus every year.
The Tulsa, Okla., stay-at-home mother spends hundreds of dollars in October on her annual Halloween party and a slew of decorations, which grace not only her front porch but just about every room of her house.
The spending doesn't stop there. Nelson and her neighbors leave small "boo" gifts for each other. And she surprises her two children, ages 6 and 8, with presents from the Great Pumpkin, which was made famous in the 1966 cartoon "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown."
"Halloween is a big deal at our house," Nelson said. "My mom is the Christmas freak in our family. (Halloween) is the one holiday that I take up a notch."
Nelson and her neighbors aren't the only ones making a big deal of Halloween these days. Consumers across the U.S. are spending more than ever on the holiday, which passes unnoticed in most other parts of the globe.
This year, the National Retail Federation expects consumers to spend a record $4.96 billion on costumes, cards, candy and decorations, up 51% from $3.29 billion a year ago. That translates to about $59.06 in spending for the average consumer. Halloween has turned into the second- or third-biggest party night of the year, depending on who's counting, behind New Year's Eve and Super Bowl Sunday. Hallmark makes more than 300 Halloween cards.

"More and more people are getting into celebrating the holiday, regardless of their age," said Scott Krugman of the National Retail Federation in Washington, D.C. Young adults leading the trend

It's not older, affluent parents driving this surge in spending but a swelling number of partygoers ages 18 to 24. Of the 18- to 24-year-olds surveyed for the National Retail Federation by BIGresearch, 85% said they planned to celebrate Halloween this year, up from 67% last year. Overall, 64% of adults surveyed said they would observe the holiday in some way versus 53% last year.
Nearly two-thirds of the 8,001 adults surveyed for the retailers group said they planned to pass out candy this year. About 30% said they would attend or throw a party, and 49% said they were planning to decorate their yard. Indeed, sales of decorations are expected to be the biggest mover, rising to $1.3 billion from $840 million last year.
With that kind of jump, we're not just talking about sales of paper skeletons and window decals. This year, Party City of Rockaway, N.J., and other retailers are peddling products such as $150 inflatable grim reapers for the front yard, $100 cauldron fog machines and $24.99 fiber-optic pirate skulls, as well as large vinyl press-on murals for their hallways.
"People are now decorating the inside as well as the outside of their house" to achieve the perfect "themed environment," said Deborah Radman, a spokesman for the 500-store Party City chain, which derives as much as 50% of its revenue from Halloween goodies.
Consumers also are spending more on elaborate costumes, rather than hauling out felt and construction paper, said Kevin Green, the chief executive of Celebrate Express in Kirkland, Wash.
Sales in Green's Costume Express division are expected to jump 50% this year as people buy multiple costumes to attend different events.

Even Fido can get a costume, such as a $14.50 number at Costume Express that transforms a dog into Yoda from the "Star Wars" trilogy. A monthlong celebration

Simply put, analysts say, in tough times, people feel a need to kick up their heels a bit.
"People are celebrating throughout the whole month of October, not just one night," Krugman said.
Though many parents will just send their kids down the street for trick-or-treating, a growing number host their own large parties, for kids and adults. Likewise, schools and municipalities plan their own parades and parties. And the party scene at colleges and universities is getting more hedonistic.
"It just keeps getting bigger and bigger each year," said party planner Lisa Kothari of Peppers & Pollywogs in Seattle.
Officially, Halloween is the sixth-largest holiday in terms of spending, a drop in the bucket compared with the $457.4 billion the National Retail Federation expects to be spent this year for Christmas and Hanukkah. But Halloween is growing rapidly, boosting retail coffers and putting some consumers more deeply in the red by January.
Kothari's clients spend $500 to $1,500 on Halloween events to feed not only the kids but to offer up sophisticated, spooky hors d'oeuvres and cocktails for the parents.
"It can be very expensive," said Jennifer Shuart, an Ansonia, Conn., mother who throws an elaborate Halloween party for about 50 people every year. "I probably spend, with alcohol included, between $300 to $400."
Shuart said she chooses to spend more money on the holiday because it makes her feel like a big kid.
"I enjoy Halloween more than Christmas," she said. "There's less pressure, and you can be spooky and campy and over the top."
Of course, creating that over-the-top spooky atmosphere isn't always cheap, said Nelson, the Tulsa mother.
Though she makes many of her decorations and buys others on sale after Oct. 31, she is itching to buy a fog machine for her party this year. Her husband, she said, thinks it's too frivolous a purchase. But Nelson is undeterred.
"I've been holding back," she said. "But I really need that."

Good article, moon. Encouraging, and bodes well for all who celebrate.

Ahh that made my day! People dont need to spend tons of money to have fun, but it's great to hear people are celebrating.