Answer:

Note: Figures above represent amount spent per person. 

Questions:

1. What did you/your family spend the most on this year? How much did you/your family spend on all Halloween items? [Average spend this year was $86.27] 
2. What role did social media have on your Halloween spending this year (e.g., did you find costume ideas on Instagram?) Explain. 
3. Would it surprise you to learn that Halloween is the second most popular holiday in terms of consumer spending? Why do you think it's so popular?

Here's the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom.

Behind the numbers (National Retail Federation)

Long gone are the days when Halloween was just for kids (or those taking mini-ghosts and ghouls trick-or-treating). In fact, 18- to 24-year-old consumers are the most likely to celebrate Halloween, with nearly nine in 10 planning to do so this year, up from 84 percent a decade ago.

How these younger consumers are celebrating has shifted as well. While fewer plan to host or attend parties, more are handing out candy, decorating and dressing in costumes. They’re significantly more likely to dress up than their older counterparts and will spend roughly $36 this year on costumes.

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About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.