Happy Halloween!
One of our favorite holidays of the year at Carrington College California is just around the corner! Just like past years, we’re sure that many of our faculty, staff and students are really going to get into the Halloween spirit again later this month.
We usually see some amazing costumes and enjoy fun events, like pumpkin carving contests in our campus student lounges and even haunted houses. I know the Veterinary Technology department at the Citrus Heights campus prides itself on their haunted house every year. And just take a look at this photo of our Sacramento campus faculty and staff really getting into the spirit last year!
But do you know just how popular Halloween is in the U.S.? A survey estimated that last year a record 170 million people would celebrate Halloween, that’s 71.5% of American adults getting ghoulish on or around October 31st.
It’s big business too! The same survey forecast that as Americans, we would spend close to $2.9 billion on costumes for ourselves, our children and our pets. A staggering $1.4 billion was forecast to be spent on adult costumes, $1.1 billion on children’s costumes, and an even more amazing $370 million on pet costumes.*
When you start to add up all the other Halloween goodies, such as candy and decorations, the survey estimated that we would spend $8 billion celebrating the holiday. That’s means the average person would spend almost $80 on decorations, costumes and candy. If that’s the average, then a lot of people are spending an awful lot more!
So with just about three weeks to go, you still have plenty of time to get together with your friends and classmates to pick out or make your costumes, and plan your parties and events. In case you need some inspiration, here’s a list of the top adult, kid and pet costumes from Halloween 2012.
|
Top Adult Costumes |
Top Children’s Costumes |
Top Pet Costumes |
| 1. Witch | 1. Princess | 1. Pumpkin |
| 2. Vampire | 2. Batman | 2. Devil |
| 3. Pirate | 3. Spiderman | 3. Hot dog |
| 4. Batman character | 4. Witch | 4. Cat |
| 5. Zombie | 5. Disney Princess | 5. Bee |
| 6. Vixen | 6. Action/Super Hero | 6(T). Dog |
| 7. Princess | 7. Pirate | 6(T). Ghost |
| 8(T). Ghost | 8. Vampire | 7. Action/Super Hero |
| 8(T). Nurse | 9. Zombie | 8. Witch |
| 9. Cat | 10. Ghost | 9. Bowties/Fancy Collars/Bandanas |
| 10. Superman | 10. Superman |
Whatever you get up to this Halloween make sure to have lots of fun, but always remember to be safe, especially at parties or if you’re heading out on the street trick-or-treating with your kids and pets. Unfortunately Halloween is, by far, the deadliest day of the year for young pedestrians.
*All statistics are from the National Retail Federation’s 2012 Halloween Consumer Spending Survey & Costumes surveys conducted by BIGinsight
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