UNITED STATES—By the time you read this column, Halloween will have come and gone, but there is something we have to chat about: the spending craze for the spookiest month of the year. Yes, Americans have always spent an ample amount of money when it comes to decorating their home and purchasing candy to pass out to the kiddos. However, what about those Halloween costumes? I was at a Halloween costume store this past weekend and damn was it busy.
I could not believe what I was seeing. I thought it was like Black Friday, and it’s October. The biggest surprise, the number of ADULTS purchasing Halloween costumes. There were more adults in the store than it was kids, and I was flabbergasted, just taken aback. The adults were purchasing costumes in loads, and I mean loads. The amount of these costumes, whew, brutal gut punch for the wallet. I mean a freaking Michael Myers mask was $60. Yes, $60. The same for a Jason Voorhees mask or a Freddy Krueger mask. That is crazy to spend that amount of cash for a mask to wear for one single day.
If that is the case, that mask is something I would be utilizing every single year, because the absolute cost that I am spending is way too much for my budget. In addition, the quality of the material is not anything extravagant or sturdy. Most of those masks if they came too close to fire would go up in flames almost immediately. A vampire cape cost $30 bucks! Are you serious? Yeah, I am serious because that is the cost that was on the package.
Regardless, the parents purchasing costumes for their kids were spending the money regardless of price, I saw one guy with like six costumes in his hands, and when it was all said and done, he easily spent $250 to $300. You also had that issue with a ton of the costume packages already open. It was obvious individuals were trying on the costumes and just stuffing it back into the package with no care in the world. Here’s the kicker, there was no changing room for people to try on the costumes, so what gives there?
There was a clear sign noting no refunds, which I could totally understand because you’re less than a week from Halloween. You can’t return an item after purchasing it at this point, which I would rule out plenty of people attempting to do that. Perhaps the biggest realization for me is that adults enjoy Halloween a lot more than kids.
It is an opportunity to dress up, party, scare people and be somebody besides yourself for at least 24 hours. What is not fun about that? What is NOT fun about that!? If you’re spending money ensure it is on an item that you truly want because once you hand over the credit card or the cash that’s it, but at the same time, you can be creative in the costume realm. You really don’t have to break the bank to manifest your costume. Sometimes it just takes thinking outside the box. With that said, Halloween is starting to ramp up as the next expensive holiday next to Christmas, and we know why Christmas is so expensive, but Halloween that’s a head scratcher.
Written By Jason Jones
