Canadians are paying close attention to how much they spend for Halloween this year. Maritimers Marley Comeau and Sylvie Aulenbuck were out shopping for decorations for their Halloween party in two weeks. They say shopping around helps keep things affordable. “We went to the Dollarama first to get a lot cheap and then we came here (Party City) to check it out. We are not really on a budget but looking for what’s cute,” says Aulenbuck. An online survey conducted by Angus Reid for NextDoor Canada found most Canadians are keeping to modest budgets this Halloween, with almost a quarter of spending at all. It found around 65 per cent of Canadians set their Halloween budget to less than $50 while 23 percent plan to spend between $50 to $99 and 12 percent have put their cap above $100. “Specific to Atlantic Canadians what we found is that more than two in three Canadians expect to spend between $0 and $49 total on Halloween this year and that’s pretty much in line with the national number of 65 per cent and only six percent of Atlantic Canadians say they are willing to spend between $100 and $149. And that’s pretty much in line with the national average of nine per cent,” says Maya Kosoff, Nextdoor senior communications manager. Kosoff says what surprised their team was the broad range of responses, with some not planning spend anything while others planned to go all out. “Costumes cost a lot of money, decorations cost a lot of money, candy costs some money, too. Tying in all those factors means that this could be a really big outlay especially if you have multiple kids or are in a high cost of living area,” says Kosoff. Jason Grandbois, store manager of Party City in Dartmouth, N.S., says sales are up at their store this Halloween compared to last year. “One of the biggest things is Halloween is on a Saturday night so the kids are trick or treating until like 8 or 9 o’clock and after that parents are having parties plus the time goes back an hour the next day so it’s becoming a big event this year,” says Grandbois. Whether its costumes, decorations or animatronics, Grandbois says their team prioritized purchasing more discount items this year to help with the cost for Maritimers. “When I did the purchasing, I did a lot more value stuff in. People can get a costume for $5, $9, $10, $15. As well you can get the deluxe costumes for $50, $60 or $70. We really have costumes, decor and anything for anyone’s budget,” says Grandbois. Ashley Tymes normally goes out with her cousins and their kids but this year she gets to celebrate with her nine-month-old. She bought her a unicorn costume this year. “Budget wise I really didn’t want to spend more than $30 since this is her first Halloween and she won’t be able to fit into it next year anyway,” says Tymes. The survey also found about 59 per cent of Canadians say supporting local is important when shopping for or celebrating Halloween this year. “Atlantic Canada is the only region that we surveyed that said it’s very important and not somewhat important,” says Kosoff. Twenty-four per cent of Canadians say free or low-cost community events would make them more likely to support local and Canadian businesses. But what’s most important to kids is trick or treating, which is part of the reason why NextdDoor started Treat Map. It’s a free way for neighbours to find the homes dishing out candy and free local events in your community.
