Halloween/Fall Ideas for ECON/PFL 2023 – Resource List
U.S. Government Resources
“Halloween Fun Facts (handout and teaching guide)”, U.S. Census, https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/sis/resources/fun-facts/halloween.html NOTE that they have 5 different years of Halloween handouts – don’t just look at the newest one for 2023!
“CPSC Offers Safety Tips to Keep Hazards from Haunting Your Halloween”, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Oct 2022, https://www.cpsc.gov/Newsroom/News-Releases/2023/CPSC-Offers-Safety-Tips-to-Keep-Hazards-from-Haunting-Your-Halloween NOTE the infographic link at the bottom
Wall Street Journal, articles on the economic issues around Halloween:
“Halloween Dilemma: To Be (or Not to Be) a Big Candy Car Home”, https://drive.google.com/file/d/195XFSdFSWOnMHAZbuQSXFYZj-KqbW3ud/view?usp=sharing
“How Do You Make a Hit Halloween Costume?”, https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ONVpQMIfFPgCrXHmDa7l9ibdULu-tDPv/view?usp=sharing
“How Spirit Halloween Became a Titan of the $10 Billion Halloween Industry | WSJ The Economics”, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BW_bQJAucbE&list=PLqQNt9DP_BNBKa8ss5ROk2wLYl9JUdeYS&index=21
“In Search of a 12-Foot Home Depot Skeleton: A Halloween Shopping Spree Gone Wrong”, https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EdpUuBWwGbDUrRYfk3i7bSC8uki1lFwl/view?usp=sharing
“Soaring Inflation Pushes Halloween Candy Prices Scary High”, https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RI1f77yQmEkFwXZj2J5PkwwIIgGOmt9d/view?usp=sharing
“Thanks to Disney Magic, Halloween Now Starts 11 Weeks Early”, https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XU_9R4eg4yF0oJ_ZUn1HmcTcWm08kg54/view?usp=sharing
NGPF Resources (mostly financial literacy)
NGPF – “Escape from the Haunted Mansion: A New Halloween PFL Escape Room Activity”, https://www.ngpf.org/blog/activities/escape-from-the-haunted-mansion-a-new-halloween-activity/
NGPF – “FinCap Friday: Tricks on Treats”, https://www.ngpf.org/blog/fincap-friday/fincap-friday-tricks-on-treats/ (blog article) or https://youtu.be/ffWHavPlbek (just the video)
NGPF – “PLAY: Guess How Much Is In The Jar”, https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kr_z8QnLVobQgJbn6SITiXsfCOjZKQylWVxEY6DbFvA/edit
NGPF – “Questions of the Day” related to Halloween:
Budgeting Question of the Day #69: Which Halloween item do consumers expect to spend the most on in 2022: Decorations, Candy or Costumes?” - https://www.ngpf.org/blog/question-of-the-day/question-of-the-day-updated-which-halloween-item-do-consumers-expect-to-spend-the-most-on-in-2020-decorations-candy-or-costumes/
Question of the Day: How much money do Americans waste on uneaten candy for Halloween? - https://www.ngpf.org/blog/question-of-the-day/question-of-the-day-how-much-money-do-americans-waste-on-uneaten-candy-for-halloween/
Question of the Day: What are the top 3 most popular Halloween candies? - https://www.ngpf.org/blog/question-of-the-day/question-of-the-day-what-are-the-top-3-most-popular-halloween-candies/
Question of the Day: What is the #1 way consumers plan to celebrate Halloween? - https://www.ngpf.org/blog/question-of-the-day/question-of-the-day-what-is-the-1-way-consumers-plan-to-celebrate-halloween/
Question of the Day: What percent of Americans say Halloween is worth going into debt for? - https://www.ngpf.org/blog/question-of-the-day/question-of-the-day-what-percent-of-americans-say-halloween-is-worth-going-into-debt-for/
Econlife blog articles on Halloween:
“All We Need To Know About Pumpkin Slingshots and Fall Farm Festivals”, Oct 2022, https://econlife.com/2022/10/farm-festival-prices/
“All You Could Ever Want to Know About a Pumpkin Slingshot”, Nov 2021, https://econlife.com/2021/11/pumpkin-purchases-and-pumpkin-slingshot/
“Where Red and Blue Agree”, Oct 2022, https://econlife.com/2022/10/halloween-candy/
“The Red and Blue States That Select the Same Halloween Candy”, Nov 2020, https://econlife.com/2020/11/halloween-candy-favorites-2/
“Why We Like the Pumpkin Spice Latte”, Sep 2022, https://econlife.com/2022/08/all-you-want-to-know-about-the-pumpkin-spice-latte/
Other general ECON/PFL/Social Studies articles on Halloween:
“Costume Clownery” (talking about historic costumes in Colorado), History Colorado, Oct 2023, https://www.historycolorado.org/story/2023/10/12/costume-clownery
“Economic expert explains why Halloween has already invaded retail stores”, Virginia Tech News, Aug 2023, https://news.vt.edu/articles/2023/08/Early_Halloween_expert.html
“Forget tainted candy: The scariest thing on Halloween is parked in your driveway”, VOX.com, Oct 2022, https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2022/10/31/23427256/halloween-children-car-deaths-pedestrian-safety
“Halloween costume spillover: The shutdown that went ‘Boo!’”, CNBC, Oct 2023, https://www.cnbc.com/2013/10/11/halloween-costume-spillover-the-shutdown-that-went-boo.html
“Halloween Retail Holiday and Seasonal Trends”, National Retail Federation, Oct 2023, https://nrf.com/research-insights/holiday-data-and-trends/halloween
“Halloween Shopping Statistics”, Capital One Shopping Research, Sep 2023, https://capitaloneshopping.com/research/halloween-sales-spending-statistics/
“How You’d Survive (or not) in a Horror Movie, Based On Your Myers-Briggs® Personality Type”, Psychology Junkie, Oct 2023, https://www.psychologyjunkie.com/how-youd-survive-or-not-in-a-horror-movie-based-on-your-myers-briggs-personality-type/
“How Will Inflation Impact Your Halloween Spending in 2023?”, GO Banking Rates, Oct 2023, https://www.gobankingrates.com/money/economy/how-will-inflation-impact-your-halloween-spending/
Kahoot Ready-Made Resources for Halloween (NOTE: some are free, some are paywalled) - https://create.kahoot.it/hub/premium_Halloween
“The Scary Truth: Inflation Impacting Halloween Plans”, The Food Institute, Sep 2023, https://foodinstitute.com/focus/the-scary-truth-inflation-impacting-halloween-plans/
“The scariest part of Halloween: supply chains” (article or podcast episode), Marketplace, Oct 2023, https://www.marketplace.org/2023/10/02/the-scariest-part-of-halloween-supply-chains/
“The spookiest thing about Halloween? The waste” (article or podcast episode), Marketplace, Oct 2021, https://www.marketplace.org/2021/10/29/the-spookiest-thing-about-halloween-the-waste/
“Vacant real estate: Spirit Halloween’s favorite haunt” (article or podcast episode), Marketplace, Oct 2021, https://www.marketplace.org/2021/10/29/vacant-real-estate-spirit-halloweens-favorite-haunt/
“Cool Tools and Hot Topics” series website - https://econlitco.org/cool-tools-and-hot-topics
Fall 2023 ELC accredited classes - https://econlitco.org/all-programs