LOS ANGELES – Each year, North America’s largest Halloween retailer, Party City, analyzes pop culture, the latest fashion crazes and Hollywood blockbusters to determine the year’s biggest costume trends. Together with “Hub Network’s First Annual Halloween Bash,” which will be broadcast Saturday, Oct. 26, 8–10 p.m. on the Hub Network, they are bringing you the top 13 costume and holiday-related facts for a spooktacular Halloween in 2013.
Read on…if you dare…
1. According to Party City, princesses and flutter fairies are among the top most popular costumes for the 2013 season. Coordinating accessories at Party City and www.partycity.com allows consumers to create a personalized, one-of-a-kind costume look.
2. Halloween spending in the United States this year is estimated to reach $8 billion, up significantly from 2011’s $6.86 billion.*
3. Consumers are projected to spend $79.82 per person on Halloween, with an average of $28.65 on costumes. An estimated $1.04 billion will be spent on children’s costumes, and $1.22 billion on adult costumes.*
4. 15.1% of the country will dress up their pets. Top pet costumes include: pumpkin, devil, hot dog, cat and bee.*
5. When it comes to inspiration for costume ideas, one-third (32.9%) will search for costume ideas online; another third (32.8%) will look for new ideas in a store, and one-fifth (20.8%) will seek advice from friends or family. Additionally, 14.1% will check Facebook for inspiration and 3.8% will review blogs.*
6. The most popular (human) costumes in 2012 included: witch, vampire, pirate, Batman character and zombie.*
7. In 2011, there were just under 2,000 costume rental and formal wear establishments sellingHalloween costumes. Party City has more than 800 stores across the country. (via U.S. Census Bureau, 2011 County Business Patterns)
8. An estimated 51.4% of Americans will decorate their home or yard this year, and 45% will wear a costume.*
9. More than 47,800 acres of pumpkins were harvested in the United States last year, with a total estimate production value of $148.9 million. (via U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service)
10. The estimated number of potential trick-or-treaters in 2012 (ages 5 to 14) across the US, was 41.1 million. (via U.S. Census Bureau, 2012 Population Estimates)
11. A few of the places across the nation that may put you in a Halloween mood, are: Tombstone, Arizona; Sleepy Hollow, IL; Kill Devil Hill, NC; Casper, WY and Scarville, IA.
12. Americans will buy more than 600 million pounds of candy this year, adding up to $2.4 billion spent on sweets in the weeks leading up to Oct. 31. The most popular candy is Snickers. (via National Confectioners Association)
13. The word Halloween is an abbreviated version of the phrases All Hallows’ Eve and All Hallows’ Evening. HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
*via National Retail Federation
Hosted by Kenan Thompson (“Saturday Night Live”), the “Hub Network’s First Annual Halloween Bash,” will feature the first-ever nationwide Halloween costume competition. Fifty semi-finalists representing each state in America will win a trip to Los Angeles to be a part of the televised costume competition to be judged by Halloween-expert Martha Stewart, actor Hal Sparks (“Spider Man 2”), and actress, singer and dancer Coco Jones (“Holla at the DJ”). One lucky winner will take home $25,000 and will have a chance at a walk-on role on the Hub Network’s Daytime Emmy® Award-winning series, “R.L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour: The Series.” The star-studded, two-hour special also includes a performance by pop-star Cody Simpson and teen-girl pop-group Fifth Harmony. Presenters include Bailee Madison (“Trophy Wife”), Rico Rodriguez (“Modern Family”), Nolan Gould (“Modern Family”), Zachary Gordon (“Diary of a Wimpy Kid”), Keean Johnson (“Spooksville”) and Todd Newton (“Family Game Night”), among others.
The “Hub Network’s First Annual Halloween Bash” will take place at Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, Calif. Bob Bain serves as executive producer and Paul Flattery is producer for Bob Bain Productions. Viewers can visit hubworld.com/halloween to view all of the Halloween-costume submissions and learn more about the special.
Sponsors of the “Hub Network’s First Annual Halloween Bash” include Party City, Activision’s Skylanders SWAP Force, Hasbro’s Furby Boom!, and Sparkle® Paper Towels.
