The
Coronavirus pandemic has put the world on pause since April. This year, school
was cut short, Fourth of July was cancelled, and birthdays were celebrated on
the couch. With Halloween so close, Premise Data was curious how the COVID-19 disease
and the safety guidelines put in place would affect Halloween. With data from over
1,300 U.S. residents, they also looked at the statistics for every state,
including Louisiana. Premise Data took data on people's Halloween plans last
year, just five months before COVID-19 hit the United States, to compare them
to Halloween plans for 2020. Although the data comes from residents all over
the country, responses depend heavily on location and age. And one thing
appears very clear: Louisianans are much more inclined to forge on ahead with
their plans for a Halloween as usual.
Dressing up
is one of the most fun parts of Halloween—you get to be someone different for a
night. In the U.S., the percentage of people who wore a costume in 2019 for
Halloween and the percentage of people who will wear a costume for 2020 are the
same, at 39 percent. In Louisiana last year, 39 percent of people wore a
costume, while this year, 44.5 percent plan to dress up.
In 2019, 46
percent of people decorated the outside of their house, and 43 percent
decorated the inside. This year, both of those percentages decreased slightly,
with 44.5 percent of people decorating the outside and 40 percent decorating
the inside. In Louisiana, half of the respondents decorated the inside of their
house in both 2019 and 2020. Meanwhile, more Louisiana residents decorated the
outside of their house this year than in 2019, increasing the percentage from 33
percent to 44.5 percent. Perhaps people needed a little boost of festivity this
year, especially in such a safe manner as decorating. Or, perhaps they chose to
decorate in lieu of other more social group activities.
When asked
what their plans for the Halloween night was, the answer "None" was the fourth
most popular answer, compared to last year, when it was the second-to-last most
common response. For obvious reasons, trick-or-treating will also be down this
year: Last year, 27 percent of U.S. residents went trick-or-treating, while only
19 percent of residents plan to do so this year. Similarly, in 2019, the
percentage of American residents who went to a Halloween event was 22 percent,
but this year, that percent has dropped to 17 percent of residents who intend
to go to a Halloween event. However, in Louisiana, both the percentage of
people with no plans, those going to a Halloween event, and "other" plans did
not increase or decrease from last year to this year. Even though the
percentage of people without plans stayed at 17 percent, this was more popular
than going trick-or-treating this Halloween, which decreased from 22 percent to
16.7 percent.
Out of the
16.7 percent of U.S. residents who do intend to go to a Halloween event, 64
percent plan to attend a family or friend's Halloween party, 45 percent will be
going to a haunted house, 39 percent want to engage in a community event, and
33 percent of people will be visiting a corn maze. Last year, only 30 percent of
people who attended a Halloween event went to corn maze. It is surprising that
the percentage increased this year, considering that a corn maze can be
considered a "moderate-risk activity." Only six percentage of respondents are
planning to celebrate Halloween virtually, but they have come up with some
creative ideas. Some plan to host an online Halloween movie marathon, and some
will throw a virtual costume contest. Louisiana residents will be attending
community events and Halloween parties this year as much as they did last year.
In 2019, corn mazes were at the bottom of the list of things to do for
Halloween, but this year, they were not. This Halloween, Louisiana residents chose
to go to a haunted house, unlike last year. Even with the CDC's
recommendations, the changes from last year are minimal.
Trick-or-treating
is one of the main events of Halloween, and sadly, it will not be the same as usual.
With the pandemic, only 52 percent of parents plan to let their kid
trick-or-treat this year. And of the parents taking their kids
trick-or-treating, 63.5 percent said that they are making their kids wear a
mask, while 22.5 percent of parents said they are not. The remaining 14 percent
was unsure about what they would do yet. As for the 25 percent of parents
saying that they will not be taking their children trick-or-treating, there are
three main reasons why. Approximately 52 percent
of them said that they won't be going because of COVID, 18 percent said that
they won't go because of the local social distancing guidelines, and 13 percent
simply have no interest. Only two percent said that they were not going due to local mask-wearing
policies. In Louisiana, the entire 100 percent of respondents with kids said
that they will be taking their child trick-or-treating this year. When
asked if they will be requiring their child to wear a mask, 86 percent said yes
while 14 percent said no.
This year,
only 30 percent of American residents plan to pass out candy to
trick-or-treaters. Almost half of the U.S. residents will not be handing out
candy this year (48 percent), and the remaining 22 percent are still unsure. For
those who are handing out candy, 63.5 percent will be personally handing out
candy, while 32.5 percent will be leaving a bowl of candy outside for people to
grab from. Louisiana residents are close to being evenly split when it comes to
whether or not they plan to hand out candy to trick-or-treaters: 44 percent
will not be handing out candy, while 39 percent will be. The remaining 16.7
percent are unsure. Of those candy-giving Louisianans, 71 percent will be
personally handing out the candy while 29 percent will be leaving a bowl of
candy out. The most popular candy this year is Reese's Peanut Butter Cups,
voted by 15 percent of respondents. Almond Joy, Baby Ruth, Blow Pops, and
Butterfingers were also voted among the favorites of this year.
Whatever you
plan to do, be sure to enjoy a safe Halloween.
