Despite the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, three-quarters of Americans plan to celebrate Halloween in some form this year, according to a survey released this week by Goodwill Southern California.
Many celebrations for the spooky holiday were put on hold last year amid the pandemic, but Goodwill’s survey found that many people hope to again don costumes or mark the occasion in other ways.
Overall, a reported 74 percent of Americans plan to celebrate Halloween, according to Goodwill. Forty-one percent said they plan to pass out candy to trick-or-treaters and 34 percent saying they plan to dress up. According to the survey, 34 percent of people plan to decorate their homes for the holiday, and 24 percent plan to attend either an in-person or virtual party.
But the survey found that 73 percent of Americans believe safety issues due to the pandemic will impact their Halloween plans in some way. Roughly two-thirds of Americans said their plans will likely be impacted due to concerns about relatives, friends or neighbors being unvaccinated—including the inability of children 12 and younger to get the shots.
“Halloween is Goodwill SoCal’s busiest season as customers embrace do- it-yourself costume and decor shopping at Goodwill stores,” Marla Eby of Goodwill Southern California said in a statement. “There are many ways to celebrate Halloween while taking safety precautions during the pandemic.”
But what will people be dressing up as this year? According to the survey, 28 percent of respondents said they’ll base their costumes on pop-culture trends or TV/movie/book/videogame characters, while 25 percent are planning traditional costumes such as ghosts, witches, zombies or werewolves.
