Families Deck the Halls for Halloween

Farris Carinci
Nov 6
2 min read

As Halloween approaches, Charlotte Catholic families have begun to accessorize their houses with festive decorations.

According to the National Retail Federation, 78% of shoppers are expected to buy Halloween decorations this year, which reflects an upward trend in the popularity of decorating for the holiday. Additionally, the projected amount of money people will spend on decorations this year is $4.2 billion, which is a $1.6 billion increase from the previous record set in 2019.

Because of this record breaking expectancy in Halloween decorations, some students at Charlotte Catholic remarked that they have noticed more houses with a lot of decorations. Sophomore Stone Johnson said, “I feel like many more families in my neighborhood have started decorating their houses compared to the past few years.” He also mentioned that one of the houses in his neighborhood has been completely transformed into a haunted house, and the family living there is allowing trick-or-treaters to walk through it on Halloween.

Some neighborhoods also hold competitions on the most festive houses. Themes for these competitions include most decorated, scariest, and coziest. Sophomore Ethan Sparks said, “Every year my neighborhood hosts a competition on who has the best house, and the winner usually gets a prize.” This new trend in having competitions has increased in popularity over the years mainly because of social media and the desire for neighborhood connection.

Additionally, social networks have greatly impacted if people decorate their houses. Families feel obligated to decorate their house in fun ways that catch the eyes of passersby. They also tend to accessorize their houses with trinkets that they have found online or have seen people post about. Senior Kathryn Kern said, “My mom always mentions pictures and videos she has seen online of what people bought to decorate their house with.” This common practice and further supports the ongoing study that people are heavily influenced by what others have and use.

Decorating for Halloween is a growing trend among people in the United States as well as Charlotte Catholic families. As people begin to notice the enjoyable impacts of Halloween decorations, they form more connections and share joy with one another.