Home » Business & Finance » Marketplace Economics » IS HALLOWEEN JUST ANOTHER HALLMARK HOLIDAY?

IS HALLOWEEN JUST ANOTHER HALLMARK HOLIDAY?

© Beth Skinner

Halloween is the number one overall season for selling candy. As Americans we spent $950 million last year on candy. That equals 20 million pounds of the sweet stuff. You may be tempted to think that the only beneficiaries are those fat-cat CEOs at Hersheys. Yet these are not all who benefit. For instance, the store clerk who has been standing on her feet all day ringing up purchases - she has a job because we all buy things from her store. The people who stock the shelves that hold the things the clerk rings up, that we purchase. The truck drivers, who bring the things the stocker shelves, the cashier rings up, that we purchase. The confectioners who make the candy the truck drivers bring, the stocker shelves, the cashier rings up that we purchase. Now I could go on and talk about the people who build the trucks, and print the candy bar wrappers, and construct the store building but I think you get the picture.

These are all "first-hand" markets that I've mentioned. "Second-hand" stores also do a thriving business this time of year. Remember that ratty old housecoat you donated to Goodwill? Don't be surprised when the teenager, who lives down the street, shows up on your doorstep wearing it as a costume. These types of sales benefit the workers at Goodwill and the charities it supports.

The moral of this story is, next time you want to write off a holiday as a creation of Hallmark, remember that the multi-million dollar CEOs are not the only people who benefit.

So who else benefits?

Dentists

Can you imagine the cavities that must come out of this holiday? If I was a conspiracy theorist I might say that the candy manufacturers and the American Dental Association were in cahoots. I'll leave the investigation to Mulder & Scully.

Moms

If the kids are old enough to trick or treat alone, you get the house to yourself for awhile. Just think of what you can do with this time - talk on the phone that is eerily silent now that the kids are out of the house, take a bubble bath, have some free time with your honey, or best of all, dress up yourself and go trick or treating. I fondly remember the year my mother tried that. She borrowed a scary mask from my brother and wore her hooded bathrobe. She and her friend (I think they were spiking their serving of the apple cider) went out and had this plan to get down on their knees and ring the doorbell. At 5'4", however, my mother soon realized she was shorter than many of the "real" kids who were trick or treating. Although then there are the kid's cavities for which you'll need to pay. I keep telling you there are costs and benefits to everything!

The copyright of the article IS HALLOWEEN JUST ANOTHER HALLMARK HOLIDAY? in Marketplace Economics is owned by . Permission to republish IS HALLOWEEN JUST ANOTHER HALLMARK HOLIDAY? in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.