Trending
If you haven't had the chance to read it yet, make sure you look at the cover story of this week's Valley Life section.
In it, Community Editor Julie Stenger offers a look at how some area residents have gone all in on decorating for Halloween.
It's a phenomenon that has been picking up steam during the last several years, with more and more elaborate displays being found in a growing number of neighborhoods. But that should not be surprising.
Americans will spend a projected $12.2 billion this Halloween, according to WalletHub. And, with the Washington, D.C.-based personal financial website reporting that $4.1 billion of that money to be spent on costumes, that means there will be a lot of dollars left to go toward candy and decorating.
Our area ranks among the top when it comes to decorating for Halloween. West Virginia is second and Ohio is 20th on the list of states decorating for occasion, with Pennsylvania coming in at 24th, according to LombardoHomes.com. Utah is tops on the list.
When it comes to decorations, there's a huge difference in our region. The skeleton is the top decoration in Ohio, while ghosts are tops in West Virginia and corn stalks are most favored in Pennsylvania.
Across the country, according to the survey, pumpkins remain the top Halloween decoration, followed by corn stalks, skeletons, black cats and witches. And, while 37 percent of people surveyed say they put their decorations up between Oct. 1 and Oct. 7, 15 percent say they put them up before Oct. 1, and they all spend an average of three hours decorating, the Shelby Township, Mich.-based homebuilder reports.
With all of that decorating going on, you might think that our region also ranks high on the list of best places to celebrate Halloween. Pittsburgh, WalletHub reports, comes in at 48th overall, ranking only 54th in trick-or-treat friendliness, 35th in Halloween fun and 56th for Halloween weather.
While that number is a little bit disappointing, it's still better than Columbus, which comes in at 71st overall (52nd in trick-or-treat friendliness, 77th in Halloween fun and 79th for weather), and Cleveland, which stands at 83rd overall (84th in trick-or-treat friendliness, 51st in Halloween fun and 47th for weather.)
New York comes in at No. 1, while Birmingham, Ala., is last on the list at No. 100.
Overall, WalletHub reminds us, 73 percent of Americans will be celebrating Halloween, and 50 percent of Americans plan to dress in costumes. When it comes to how we will dress, however, there is a pretty wide difference, with 4.1 million children expected to dress as their favorite superhero. Two million children will dress as their favorite princess, and 1.4 million children plan to dress as a witch.
When it comes to adults, 5.8 million expect to dress as a witch and 2.4 million will dress as a vampire.
Don't forget about the pets -- 20 percent of Americans plan to have costumes for their pets, with the pumpkin, hot dog, bat, bumble bee and spider being the most popular.
This year's top costume should come as no surprise -- it's Barbie. That's according to Frightgeist, a site that studies Google search trends. You'll likely encounter a princess or two, Spider-Man, a witch, a fairy, a Wednesday Addams, a dinosaur, a cowboy, a ninja or a rabbit -- those outfits round out the top 10.
If you think someone's missing from the list, you're right: Taylor Swift comes in at 22nd. But, if you add up all of the possible costumes that can be put together to reflect her different eras or her Kansas City Chiefs apparel, the guess here is that she might come in much higher
There are few surprises when it comes to the top costumes in the Tri-State Area -- Frightgeist reports that Barbie is tops in the Steubenville, Weirton and Pittsburgh region. The remainder of the top five are teacher, Spider-Man, any Toy story character and a ninja.
While decorations and costumes are important parts of Halloween, candy certainly is the star of the show. There will be $3.6 billion spent on Halloween candy this year, and 68 percent of Americans say they will give candy to trick-or-treaters this year. That's especially easy when you live in our area, with WalletHub reporting that Pittsburgh is fourth when it comes to the number of candy and chocolate shops per capita. Honolulu, Las Vegas and New York are tied for first.
When it comes to candy, Reese's Cups lead the list, according to CandyStore.com. They are followed by M&M's, Hot Tamales, Skittles, Sour Patch Kids, Starburst, Hershey's Kisses, candy corn, Hershey's Mini Bars and Snickers.
The top candies vary widely across our region. In Ohio, Charm's Blow Pops are the favorite, followed by M&M's and Starburst. West Virginians put Hershey's Mini Bars in the top spot, followed by Blow Pops and Hot Tamales. In Pennsylvania, the top three are Hershey's Mini Bars, M&M's and Skittles.
Now, before you make a final decision about what candy you plan to hand out, consider the list of the least popular Halloween treats. Tootsie Rolls are the 10th worst treats for Halloween, CandyStore.com reports, with Bit-O-Honey coming in at ninth. Black licorice is the eighth worst, with Smarties the seventh worst and Mary Janes the sixth worst.
The bottom five includes wax coke bottles, peanut butter kisses, Necco Wafers and candy corn (which also makes the most-popular list), with circus peanuts coming in as the worst Halloween candy.
It should come as no surprise, then, that candies from both lists are among the favorites of the Herald-Star staff. In our advertising department, for instance, Monica Yelder likes candy corn, Sierra Martin likes Reese's Cups and Brenda Swiger prefers Almond Joy. Operations Manager Robin Weltner said her favorite is the Take 5, while Kay Shannon likes Fast Break and Joe Emery has chosen flavored Tootsie Rolls.
In our front office, Diana Brown's favorite is popcorn balls, while Lisa Vargo likes Reese's, as does Stenger. Zagnut and Almond Joy are the favorites of City Editor Mike McElwain and Weirton Daily Times Managing Editor Craig Howell, respectively. Publisher John Hale says the left Twix is his favorite, reporters Christopher Dacanay, Warren Scott and Linda Harris like Payday, Zagnut and Mounds, and Sports Editor Andrew Grimm likes Reese's.
As for me, a Reese's White Creme Peanut Butter Cup (or pumpkin or Christmas tree) always is appreciated.
So, enjoy Halloween -- and remember, the Christmas shopping season will officially ramp up on Wednesday.
(Gallabrese, a resident of Steubenville, is executive editor of the Herald-Star and The Weirton Daily Times.)