Sonoma County Halloween happiness is candy, costumes

In the pantheon of American holidays, Halloween can’t approach the consumerism of Christmas, the spending of the Mother’s/Father’s/Valentine’s day troika or even the expensiveness of Easter.

In fact, for flat-out spending, it can’t hold a pumpkin, either, to big-spending days like Black Friday, back to school or even the Super Bowl.

But Halloween 2016 is bigger than ever, judging from the all-time high $8.4 billion Americans are predicted to spend this year on costumes, candy, decorations and even greeting cards.

It’s the busiest time of the year at costume stores like Santa Rosa’s Disguise the Limit, where the aisles get filled with adults looking to complete the right scary, funny or splashy party costume.

On Friday, Karina Halseth was at the Railroad Square store, where she tried on a platinum blond wig to go with her skeleton costume, then pondered the right makeup to transform her face to a ghostly, pale white.

“This is more spooky,” the store employee said of one brand.

“I like that. Will it make me look really creepy?” Halseth asked.

The Petaluma mom said she was dressing for her neighbors’ “fabulous Halloween party. You feel stupid if you don’t show up,” she said.

Not only were there plenty of people showing up for Halloween festivities this weekend, many students and office workers are expected to dress today for the occasion.

More than 171 million Americans plan to celebrate Halloween this year, spending an average of almost $83, up from last year’s $74, according to a poll commissioned by the National Retail Federation.

The survey found 7 in 10 consumers plan to hand out candy and nearly half will decorate their homes or dress in costume.

Halloween has its origins in ancient Celtic tradition, when Oct. 31 was believed to be the night when ghosts of the dead returned to earth. But in the late 1800s in America it became more of a holiday about community and get-togethers, according to History.com.

More recently, social media has helped spread and disseminate Halloween tradition even more, since a clever costume easily becomes fodder for Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat.

Millennials, ages 18 to 34, are most likely to participate in Halloween and are also among the top spenders on costumes.

For adults, the top five costumes are witch, pirate and political (i.e. Trump or Clinton), followed by vampire and a Batman character, according to a survey by Prosper Insights & Analytics.

Ilian Sanchez, manager of Disguise the Limit, said the store sold out of Harley Quinn, the supervillain from the Suicide Squad movie based on a comic book character. Sanchez said zoot suits also are big, along with 1920s flappers.

“Masquerade masks or wigs are go-to when people can’t find a costume,” she said.

Almost one-sixth of Americans are even dressing up their pets, according to Prosper Insights, with pumpkin, hot dog and bumble bee the top of the list of pet costumes.

When it comes to kids’ costumes, superheroes are expected to dethrone princess costumes after an 11-year reign.

Some schools, including in Santa Rosa and Windsor, are explicitly banning clown costumes in the wake of a social media- and hoax-fueled frenzy over clowns in various parts of the country allegedly threatening children and schools.

Some general rules are “no full face masks, no clown costumes, no weapons,” said Beth Berk, communication coordinator for Santa Rosa City Schools, adding that costumes must be appropriate as far as covering the body.

The rules are roughly the same in Windsor schools, said Lisa Saxon, director of educational services, adding “costumes have to be respectful of race, ethnicity, gender and religion.”

At dusk tonight, neighborhoods like McDonald Avenue in Santa Rosa will be bustling with several thousand trick-or-treaters with the Victorian McDonald Mansion welcoming visitors beginning at 5 p.m.

Other popular area trick-or-treat destinations include Armstrong Estates in Sonoma, historic downtown “D” street in Petaluma and Florence Avenue in Sebastopol.

The Highway Patrol reminds motorists and parents to be aware of pedestrians, slow down or even avoid neighborhoods where excited trick-or-treaters may forget about safety.

In general, the number of families going door to door has declined with less than one-third planning to do so, according to the National Retail Federation. The decline is blamed on alternative celebrations, concerns over food ingredients and fear of taking candy from strangers.

Some adult trick-or-treaters opt not to drive to their Halloween parties, or to have designated drivers.

Patti Belanger of Sebastopol, who was buying a Batman-themed “Poison Ivy” character costume Friday at Disguise the Limit, said she planned to attend a private barn party complete with live band and designated drivers.

“I won’t drink and drive. It isn’t worth the risk.”

You can reach Staff Writer Clark Mason at 707-521-5214 or clark.mason@pressdemocrat.com.