Halloween spending up as area residents boost their decorations

The average amount spent on decorations for the 2023 season is $87, up from $61 last year. This year’s increase may indicate a slight recovery of American pocketbooks after the sharp rise in inflation over the past two years, the study suggests.

Mike Foy, owner of Foy’s Halloween and Variety Store in Fairborn, can attest to this.

In the midst of the 10 busiest days of the year for his stores — he owns a total of five Halloween stores on the same stretch of Main Street — Foy said Friday he’s had to work harder this year to keep things stocked.

“We’re ordering more items this year and selling out of a crazy amount of stuff,” he said, noting that some of his most in-demand items at the moment include seasonal apparel like sweatshirts adorned with horror movie characters.

And Foy said he’s seen an increase in demand of even consistently popular Halloween items, like costumes and masks, facets of the holiday that he sees continue to charm adults and children alike.

“There’s people we’ll see from Fairborn all the time who maybe don’t talk much or are a bit shy and when they put on a mask, they change,” he said. “I think some people just love that they can let themselves be someone or do something they’ve never done before, and that’s fun to see.”

Sales of outdoor decorations are also up, a rise that’s reflected in the Lombardo Homes study, which ranks Ohio as 20th out of 50 in the “most-obsessed” states with decorating for Halloween category.

Foy said outdoor animatronic decorations are a big hit this year, noting a new shipment had just arrived at the store. He highlighted the technology’s continued advancement as a reason for the spike.

“It makes sense,” he said. “They’re getting better and nicer every year.”

Things like skeletons and other large props have gained popularity, too, he said.

Less than a mile away, Fairborn resident Shane Syx has filled his yard with these types of large figurines to create multiple different scenes, even incorporating non-holiday items like a riding lawnmower and a baby pool to bring his ideas to life.

Syx said that while he decorates every season and has for years, he’s noticed a growing trend, both of other residents in Fairborn beginning to decorate and of people coming out to see the decor.

“People will come and sit on the side of the road in their car to look, like how people drive around looking at Christmas lights,” he said.

In Huber Heights, Autumn Leigh is seeing the same shift.

Leigh has decorated her house, or Hemlock Hollow as it’s known during the Halloween season, for over a decade. For the past two years, she’s done so not only as a hobby, but for a good cause.

Leigh’s home is part of what’s known as Skeletons for St. Jude, a nationwide effort to raise money for the St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital.

“Honestly, we spend a whole lot of money doing this,” Leigh said of her home decorating. “And it felt like it was important to have what we do, all of this time and money we put into this, to go toward something that matters so much more than just a display in our yard.”

Each year, Leigh said she adds upwards of 40 to 50 new items to the exhibition.

“Back when we stared, barely anyone decorated, and it was a huge exciting thing to see anyone else around us doing it,” she said.

The trend has gained so much traction over the past few years that now, thanks to a growing Facebook group called Huber Haunts and Hopping in the Heights, residents and visitors are able to download a map that shows a majority of the decorated homes in the city.

“People love having a something physical like a map to follow so they’re not just driving around aimlessly,” Leigh said. “It’s just a fun experience.”

Leigh said she can specifically recall noticing an increase in Halloween decorating throughout the city following the peak of the COVID pandemic in 2020.

“I think it made people realize a lot of things they thought were important aren’t, and that you need to enjoy the little things more often,” she said, highlighting how the simple act of decorating can allow for that. “It just makes my spooky little heart happy.”