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It’s early September. Days are still warm and the trees are still lush and green. So what better way to enjoy the warm, summer setting than to go out looking for Halloween costumes and decorations?
As of September 1st, specialty Halloween stores are now open. Large retail stores such as Wal-Mart and Target have also been supplying holiday candy and costumes since the last week of August.
Is it really necessary? Do you really need to buy a pre-made costume this long before the actual holiday? Do you really need to buy Halloween candy that will just sit in your pantry for more than a month before the Holiday? It might make sense if it were cheaper to buy the supplies ahead of time, but they are the same price now as they are a week before Halloween.
“Halloween is my favorite holiday,” says Hannah Forrest, but she continues, “I don’t actually get my costume together until about a week before.” Hanna is one who loves the the annual practice of exploring the untouched depths of forgotten closet corners and finding clothes that look kind of like a character from some obscure TV show, book, or movie. Even people who buy pre-made costumes and get ideas for these costumes in stores (which, in 2012, was 35% of those who celebrate Halloween, according to NRF.com) don’t think of what they want to do until about a week before Halloween.
Given the overwhelming response from people who tend to put off preparations for the haunting holiday, one might expect the stores to be nearly empty this early in the year. Right? Upon visiting one of the many specialty Halloween stores in the first full weekend of September, a large crowd was already gathered to see what new costumes and decorations are in store for this year, and if not there to buy, they were there to start getting ideas, at least.
Is two months too much time to spend preparing for a Halloween? One would think that two weeks would be adequate, but the retailers apparently disagree.
