Happy Halloween from The Storage Inn
It’s almost Halloween here at The Storage Inn in Egg Harbor Township New Jersey (cue spooky music) – Time to stock up on candy for the storage rental office ! The 31st will bring costumed visitors from some of our storage space tenants, as well as some of our neighborhood kids. One thing that I have noticed on my drive home from our self storage facility, is that it seems that more people decorate the exterior of their homes for Halloween than ever – some of those decorations are quite spectacular, and I assume, pretty expensive! This got me wondering just how much time and money is spent on Halloween in this day and age, so I did a little digging. Here is what I found.
A Brief History of Halloween
Halloween is a holiday that straddles the line between Fall and Winter, plenty and scarcity, and even life and death. The ancient Celts celebrated their New Year on November 1st, making October 31st a sort of New Year’s Eve for them. It was said that on this day, the ghosts of the dead would return to Earth. This is believed to be the origin of celebrating Halloween by dressing as ghosts, witches, and skeletons. Eventually Halloween evolved into the secular, community-based event that we know today, characterized by Halloween parties and trick or treating.
Halloween by the Numbers
$69 Billion – Total that will be spent on Halloween this year!
$360 Million – On Halloween greeting cards (Wow – who knew!)
$4 Billion – Will be spent on candy and decorations
158 Million will celebrate Halloween in some fashion
36 Million ages 5 – 13 will go Trick or Treating
51% of families will decorate their yards
20% of families will carve a pumpkin
24% of US households do not celebrate Halloween – Boooooooooooo!
Costume Ideas
Where do we get our inspiration from?
35% – Halloween/Costume store
32% – Social Media
20% – Print Media
11% – Friends / Word of mouth
OK – so now you have some facts and figures about Halloween that you can spring on your friends while they’re bobbing for apples at the Halloween party! To all our readers of “The Storage Inn blog”, I’ll leave you with a Halloween joke.
What does a ghost use to wash his hair?
Shamboo!
Happy Halloween everyone!