REVEALED: This is how Sheffield will celebrate Halloween

New research has today announced how Sheffield will be celebrating Halloween.
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VoucherCodes, the leading savings site, surveyed residents of Sheffield and discovered that the average parent will spend at least £41.95 celebrating Halloween with their family this year – spending slightly less on their children’s costumes than their own! Adults will spend an average of £13.00 on a costume for themselves and £11.95 on each of their children, as well as £7.50 on sweets and £10.00 on decorations.

Costumes

The biggest dilemma of Halloween is often what to choose as the costume, with the eyes of expectation from friends and family anxiously hoping for something special. Fortunately, the research discovered the hot pop culture references to jump on and the clichés to avoid.

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There is an appetite to find something new, away from the traditional Halloween norms. Indeed, the most popular costume according to Sheffield this year is the whimsical unicorn. A fifth (20%) think that the mythical creature will be 2018’s most popular costume. Meanwhile, over a third think vampires (42%) and ghosts (28%) are a thing of the past as the most overused costumes.

It’s clear that the entertainment industry has a big impact on Halloween costume ideas. The classic rivalry debate of Marvel and DC is also played out at Halloween and, this year, it’s the likes of Spiderman and Hulk who come out on top. For Sheffield’s kids, it’s Marvel who lead the charge with half (50%) of them wanting to dress up as Marvel characters compared to 23% of kids preferring their favourite DC heroes such as Superman and Batman.

Trick or treat?

Trick or treat is the question on every kid’s lips at Halloween, as they anxiously knock on doors with carrier bag in hand and an appetite hoping to be filled. The research has discovered Sheffield’s favourite treats and the likelihood of a trick coming your way if you answer the door emptyhanded.

Over half (57%) of Sheffield residents are in favour of celebrating Halloween, with only 18% actively disliking the holiday. However, more people are planning to spend the night with their lights switched off pretending they’re not home (44%) than to head out trick or treating (37%) this year. This means almost half the houses across the city are leaving themselves vulnerable to a crowd of ghosts and goblins. Worryingly the majority (71%) of Sheffield’s children confess they’ve ‘tricked’ a house for not handing out sweets at Halloween!

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To avoid a nasty surprise this Halloween, the research has found you’d be better off keeping it simple. Close to ¾ of Sheffield children say their favourite treats are Haribo (71%) or Chocolate bars (54%) which are far more popular than the pricier Halloween-themed chocolate (29%), cupcakes (18%) or biscuits (11%). For kids wanting to give a nasty surprise, the research has found that clown costumes (39%) are what adults are most afraid of.

How to celebrate Halloween

There are lots of ways to celebrate Halloween and embrace the creepy spirit as a Sheffield family. Indeed, the research has discovered that carving a pumpkin is just as popular among adults (56%) as it is with children (56%) for a great, affordable family activity at home. Similarly, there is a desire for DIY costume making with a third of adults in Sheffield (33%) saying it’s something they’re looking forward to trying in the future and nearly a fifth (19%) of our children saying it’s a task they’ve enjoyed in the past.

The research has found that Halloween fever spreads far beyond children and families. The majority (54%) of Sheffield adults say they will be celebrating Halloween by watching a scary movie this year.

Anita Naik, Lifestyle Editor at VoucherCodes, said: “Halloween is a fantastic time for families to come together, with children dressing up as their favourite heroes and villains from the year.

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“However, it’s scary that parents will be spending over £40 celebrating the occasion buying costumes, sweets and decorations. You don’t have to spend a fortune if you are celebrating on October 31st, over on the VoucherCodes blog we’ve pooled our collective money-saving expertise to show you how to do everything from costumes to parties without busting your budget. Hopefully this research will help guide families to ensure that money is spent wisely - and there’s no nasty tricks up anyone’s sleeves this Halloween!”