For Halloween, Some Splurge on Decor, Costumes

Some families, like Danielle Mitchell's, go all out to make Halloween a spook-tacular celebration.

“We probably spend a couple hundred dollars a year because we like to decorate the house. Everything we can for the kids, and we have a lot of kids in my family, so everyone gets dressed up and do trick-or-treating. We make the house look all cool outside so all the trick-or-treaters have a good time,” said Mitchell.

She was just one of dozens of people at Fred Meyer getting an early start on their Halloween shopping.

“Years ago we used to spend a lot more, maybe 20 or 30 dollars and it was cheaper then. Now all the kids are out of the house so it's pretty much a bag of candy, five bucks,” said Ken Roberts.

From the candy to the costumes, it all adds up. The National Retail Federation (NRF) estimates each person will spend $80 on Halloween this year, that's up $8 from last year.

“It seems a little low to me. It seems a little low. I know a lot of people in town like to celebrate Halloween. A lot of times Upper Hillside is a cool place to go because they always go above and beyond,” said Mitchell.

October 31 isn't just for the little ones anymore.

“My son goes all out for his costume so I can see him spending 50 or 60 bucks for all the materials,” said Roberts.

An NRF survey shows 45 percent of people will dress up and more than half of Americans say they plan to decorate their home or yard.

“I guess it depends where you live. Right now we're in an apartment/condo where it's secure and locked up so to buy any type of decoration or something like that is a waste of money. But if you're in a house where there's a lot of kids coming through, I can see where you might want to spend a little more on the lights,” said Roberts.

Overall, Americans are expected to shell out $8 billion this Halloween.