Americans Reported Spending Mega-Money on Halloween this Year

Is it out of love for the receivers, guilt, tradition? I am very curious about why so many Americans spend so much on the holidays, obviously!

American speaking here. I spend less than ten bucks...about 7 for candy to give out at the door to trick-or-treaters and about 3 bucks for a pumpkin to decorate my doorstep or be carved into a jack-o-lantern. So I am a bit out of the norm. I do not decorat my table, walls or windows. I do not decorate my walk or yard with spider webs or fake pumpkin lights. I do not wire scary music to my entrance or post scare-crows or witches in costume to greet my visitors. My child makes her costume from what's around the house. I buy my candy at the dollar store and give what's left over to kids I know. Cheap? You betcha. But I also see the trend and want nothing to do with it.

I'm with you, Jellen. The trend is very disturbing, for many reasons. How do people afford it, for one, credit cards? And why do they think they need to spend so much on trivial things? It says a lot about a society and where it's going when consumer spending is the hottest topic and the number one past time.

I love all the decorating too! I just hate all the pressure to spend, spend, spend! Maybe it's just me, but I notice this trend at every holiday now, and don't like it all. It seems to be more about being the ultimate consumer than the holiday itself.