Halloween is a time to be creative – to bring people together with crazy costumes, elaborate decorations, and over-the-top community events. But, like almost anything, great ideas get even better when they’re shared, discussed and improved. In our never-ending quest to make Halloween even better, below is our top 10 countdown of trends we see this season.
10. Balloon-Animals You Can Wear. Everyone recognizes the neighbors who roll-out the inflatable Halloween decorations each year – perhaps that person is you! Thanks to Pop! Designs & Creations, now you can make your Halloween costume inflatable too. Think balloon animals you can wear. The company creates an imaginative display of balloon decorations and costumes – unicorns, lobsters and more!
9. Smell the Fear. Our friends at Frightprops remind us that your sense of smell can evoke incredible emotions, memories – and fears. To that end, they provide more than 50 different scented cologne sprays, ranging from Circus Animal to Electric Chair to Raw Sewage. Mmmm. Apply them just like you would perfume or cologne. When you smell the unmistakeable scent of a zombie at your door, ask yourself: Is that cologne, or is it the real thing?
8. Animals with Long Necks! Pinterest and Lyst have joined forces this season to analyze more than 180 million searches, pins and saves across their combined websites — all to determine the most popular costumes this Halloween. Of the top 10, you could guess many: Pennywise from IT, Wonder Woman, characters from “Stranger Things.” But number eight was a total surprise: Giraffes! What a stretch! Is your costume on the list?
7. Supernatural Surveillance. Do you feel like you’re being watched? This unnerving notion affects all of us. AtmosFX seeks to further that sensation with Eerie Eyes – one of three new digital decorations for the 2017 Halloween season. Using only a projector or a TV screen you can create one, two, even multiple eyes that gaze through windows onto the unwary.
6. Poison Toffee Apples. As kids, we all heard frightening stories about compromised candy apples in our treat bag, so we love how these traditional Halloween treats playfully acknowledge those fears. With a few drops of black food color gel and light corn syrup, these toffee apples are as black as a moonless Halloween night.
5. Crafty Cocktails. It should be no surprise that the tastemakers at Esquire are suggesting some tasty Halloween-themed drinks. Mostly selected for their names – "Blood and Sand", "The Zombie", etc. – the list is still a great way to stay on-message when hosting a Halloween party. We found one glaring omission, however: what about the many variants of the “Corpse Reviver?” Perhaps that’s reserved for the day after the party?
4. Frightening Fire Pits. Sure, this little find on Gizmodo can be used in both gas and wood-fire fire pits, but it still leaves us with chills. These hearty ceramic human-size skulls can be placed right into your fire – with unsettling results.
3. Life-size Dragons. If you want to take your creepiness to the next level – consider the life-life characters created by Ed and Marsha Edmunds at Distortions Unlimited. Their props and animatronics are incredibly realistic, gory – and often bloody. But what really excites us? The eight-foot tall winged dragon, complete with simulated fire, moving wings and a fog machine.
2. Last-Minute Masquerade. For good reason, the men’s style magazine Esquire knows that sometimes men, uh, can get a little lazy when it comes to Halloween costumes. They’ve banged-out a picture gallery of costumes that can likely be pulled out of any closet to approximate J.J. Gittes (overcoat plus nose bandage), Marty McFly (jeans jacket, red puffy vest), The Dude (v-neck t-shirt, sweater) and others.
1. Stranger Things? Cuter Things! We remember that all-things-Halloween aren’t necessarily all-things-terrifying. They can also be pretty darned cute. That’s clearly the case for Gourdy, the six-inch plushie created by the company that’s otherwise known for some pretty killer digital effects. Nothing digital about Gourdy, though - 100% pure cuddly polyester.
There you have it: our top ten countdown for the biggest Halloween trends in 2017. Watch this blog for more insights from out Celebration Census where we report on our survey findings. We'll look at who is dressing up, how much Americans spend on costumes, as well as how many of your friends and neighbors will be decorating this year.
