The National Retail Federation put out their annual Halloween survey.  And dressing up is only the THIRD most popular way we’ll celebrate this year.  Handing out candy is first, followed by putting up decorations.

But if you’re planning to dress up, this might help you avoid wearing the SAME costume as someone else.  They looked at this year’s most popular costumes for kids, adults, and PETS.  Here’s what they found . . .

1.  The ten costumes for adults this year are:  Witch . . . vampire . . . ghost . . . cat . . . pirate . . . Batman . . . zombie . . . Superman . . . the Joker . . . and a tie between Spider-Man and Dracula.  Avengers characters also made the list.

2.  The ten costumes for kids are:  Spider-Man . . . a princess . . . Batman . . . other random superheroes . . . a witch . . . a ghost . . . pumpkins . . . Superman . . . a zombie . . . and the Avengers.

3.  And the ten most common costumes for PETS this year are:  A pumpkin . . . a hot dog . . . a superhero . . . a cat . . . a bumblebee . . . a ghost . . . a bat . . . a lion . . . a dog . . . and a witch.  Devil and pirate also ranked high.

They also found households with kids will spend an average of $147 on Halloween this year.  Households without kids will spend about half that, just under $74.  The overall average is $103. 

Photo by Karsten Winegeart