For the sixth consecutive year, princess costumes will be the No. 1 costume for children this Halloween, according to a survey by the National Retail Federation. The NRF’s 2010 Top Costumes survey, conducted by BIGresearch, reports that 4.3 million children will celebrate Halloween dressed as a princess. According to the survey, witches are the preferred adult costume for this year (11.4 percent) and the No. 1 costume for pets is expected to be pumpkins (10.3 percent).
New to the Top Costumes for Children list is Buzz Lightyear (648,000) and Harry Potter characters (459,000). Nearly 1.8 million children will dress as Spider-Man (No. 2), and 1.7 million children will dress as a witch (No. 3).
For adults, vampires will take the No. 2 spot with 2.6 million adults dressing as the characters. Pirates are next on the list at No. 3 with 1.9 million adults. Nurse costumes returned this year at No. 4.
For pets, traditional costumes will reign such as a devil (9.7 percent), a witch (5.1 percent), a hot dog (3.9 percent), and a bee (3.6 percent).
The Top 10 costume lists for adults, children, and pets are below:
Top Adult Costumes
1. Witch
2. Vampire
3. Pirate
4. Nurse
5. Wench/Tart/Vixen
6. Cat
7. Zombie
8. Fairy
9. Athlete/Batman (Tie)
10. Dracula
Top Children’s Costumes
1. Princess
2. Spider-Man
3. Witch
4. Pirate
5. Disney Princess
6. Action/Super Hero
7. Ghost
8. Pumpkin/Vampire (Tie)
9. Batman
10. Star Wars Character
Top Pet Costumes
1. Pumpkin
2. Devil
3. Witch
4. Hot Dog
5 Bee/Cat (Tie)
6. Dog
7. Superdog/Supercat
8. Ghost
9. Pirate
10. Bowties/Fancy Collar/Bandana
Photo Credit: Rubie’s Costume Co.