Halloween's Hottest

Now that back-to-school is officially coming to a close, the retail
focus is on the next big Holiday. No, not Christmas, although the retail
season does seem to come earlier each year. For kids of all ages,
October brings the ultimate chill-fest, Halloween.

And what is predicted to be popular on the kid-costume front this year?

According to buycostumes.com®, which claims 70% of Halloween shoppers
start contemplating their costumes as early as August, the biggies for
boys this year come primarily from the Silver Screen: Star Wars® (Darth
is always a hit, and Anakin is extremely popular), Batman (version from
Batman Begins®), Harry Potter®, The Fantastic Four® and even Willy
Wonka® (that should be scary) followed by the standards which include
superheroes like Superman®, Captain America®, Power Rangers® (yes, Power
Rangers have been around so long that they are now considered a
Halloween standard), pirates, etc.

Girls will continue to go for Barbie® costumes (such as Barbie Deluxe
Renaissance Princess®), American Idol®-themed costumes, the Disney
Princess® collection and a variety of the ole standbys (generic
princesses, cowgirls, etc.)

All of this excitement means retailers will scare up some pretty big
business. Halloween is now considered the second-biggest holiday of the
year. According to Ellen Scoinic, writing for TD Monthly® (a trade
magazine for the toy, hobby, game and gift industry), the typical
consumer will spend about $45 on Halloween treats, costumes and
decorations. When you multiply that by the number of people that
participate in Halloween, (and you can be certain it¹s not just kids
anymore) you end up with a truly monstrous number.

So, keep an eye out for Darth or Cinderella on October 31st — have fun
and compliment the kids that stop by your house ­ it¹s a big deal to
them. And have a frightfully good time!