Spiderman, Snickers & Skittles this Halloween
By BARRY HALVORSON bhalvorson@journal-spectator.com

The countdown is complete and the ghosts and goblins are ready to play with the arrival of Halloween.

And while there might be a shortage of some of the traditional monsters roaming the streets, there will be plenty of superheroes as well as some more modern variations.

At the Wharton Boys & Girls Club, Cameron Scarlett, 8, said he plans on being Batman while Jordan Fortenberry, 6, was planning on being the Red Power Ranger because "he's the group's leader."

Both boys said several of their friends were planning on being Spiderman, both in the traditional red and blue as well as the black suit from the movie Spiderman 3.

Less traditional is Evan Stavena, 8, who was going to be a wizard or a Goth.

While the boys were following popular movie trends, some girls are sticking with more traditional costumes with Tayler Bennetsen planning on being a princess while Camry Knight, 9, was going to be a witch for the second straight year.

"I really scared my cousin last year and plan on doing it again," she said.

Camry added a number of her friends are also dressing as Hanna Montana, the teen star who sold out the Houston Rodeo earlier this year.

In discussing costume assortment this year, Wharton HE B drugstore manager Alfred Estrada said what is offered is picked by the company in advance in anticipation of what is going to be popular.

"A lot of what is ordered is based on new movies," Estrada said.

"We try to predict where the demand is so we had a lot of Spiderman and pirates. For girls, the Disney (princesses) are popular."

Wal-Mart Store Manager Travis Grasha said Spiderman was easily the big seller. He added costumes for children still outpace parents dressing up.

"Parents usually buy their kids costumes early," he said. "We don't sell as many adult costumes which is why we generally have a number of them left over.

"But for last minute sales, we sell more adult costumes because they wait and then decided to dress up to take the kids out."

Another noticeable arrival sign of the big day is a signifi- cant increase in candy sales.

"Families have a tendency to pick out costumes and decorations early," Estrada said.

"This past weekend, most people had their Halloween parties so they had to be ready. But for big candy sales, this will be the day. It will just fly out of here."

Grasha said candy sales will be higher than normal with a few last day buyers, but said a lot of people have already stocked up.

He added the store has alternatives to regular candy, but that you might have to look for them.

"Some people like to give apples or other fruit as an alternative to candy and we obviously keep produce in another part of the store," Grasha said.

"This year, we actually did place some sugarless candy with the regular Halloween candy so it was easier for people to find. Personally, I don't think that is going to be a big trend in the future because we're talking about a special holiday."

Estrada said the idea of sugarless treats has been discussed at the corporate level.

"I've asked about it," Estrada said.

"And we had a corporate meeting in San Antonio and sugar-free candy was discussed, but it was too late for this year.

"Hopefully next year we'll have some alternatives."

For the children, though it appears to all be about the sugar rush.

All interviewed said fruit or other healthy alternatives were not acceptable treats.

Among the favorites are Snickers, M&Ms and Skittles.

And as anticipated as Halloween is, when its over, its over.

"I'd say that we'll have 90 to 95 percent of our Halloween displays converted to Christmas by 7 a.m. the next morning," Grasha said.

"In fact, we've already started putting up some of the decorations."

For his part, Estrada said the transition will start the next morning and be complete by Monday.

Both men said that for several days following Halloween, the candy, costumes and other novelties will be discounted and placed in baskets and bins for those looking to get a head start on next year's celebration.

In discussing shifting quickly from Halloween to Christmas, both men said their respective stores will have some Thanksgiving decorations or sales but indicated the holiday doesn't have the selling power.

"Thanksgiving is more of a food holiday than a buying holiday," Grasha said.