An elaborate Halloween display is lit up in the Brocklehurst community of Kamloops.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Shannon Moore

What used to be a single night for kids to dress up and go trick-or-treating appears to be turning into a full-blown festive holiday in Kamloops and the Okanagan with some spirited residents spending thousands of dollars and weeks of time creating elaborate Halloween displays.

“I can’t even tell you how much money I’ve spent on Halloween so far this year, it’s in the thousands,” said Kamloops resident Shannon Moore. She has spent the past six weeks decorating her property and creating a haunted house.

Christmas still reigns as the biggest holiday of the year for Canadians, who spend a rough average of $1,347 on it every year while forking over much less for Halloween, but the enthusiasm, duration and cost of Halloween is growing.

Moore said she doesn’t spend very much money at Christmas.

“It seems the kids have everything they need already, and even with decorating, it has become more of a monopolized holiday,” she said. “Decorating for Christmas isn’t as fun for me, it’s snowing, it’s colder and darker and gloomier.

“You’re always going to have your Christmas folk, but it seems people who are into Halloween are a bit different, they want to get more extreme with decorating while Christmas is a bit more of cookie cutter holiday.”

Skeletons with lights are part of a Halloween display in the Brocklehurst neighbourhood of Kamloops.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Shannon Moore

Moore got the Halloween bug just two years ago when she started compiling a map of the best Halloween displays in the Brocklehurst neighbourhood in Kamloops. Prior to that she had been slowly adding decorations every year.

She has met a lot of other people who are just as crazy about Halloween as she is in Kamloops and surrounding towns.

“More people are getting into it and once people start, well, you get hooked,” Moore said. “There’s a property in Logan Lake that really outdoes themselves, bringing custom props and taking multiple trips to the states each year to get decorations.”

READ MORE: Vernon poet John Lent immortalized in poetry collection 'Molecular Cathedral'

After building her first display in 2022, roughly 70 trick-or-treaters came by up from a small handful the year before. She's adding a haunted house to her display this year and isn’t deterred by the extra expense. She's hoping to double the number of children trick-or-treating at her house this year, and will be handing out pre-packaged Pez dispensers and rubber ducks.

“Halloween is about getting people in the community out to have fun, where families are spending time together," Moore said. "There are families going all out decorating, it’s fun.”

Kelowna resident Glenda Schwandt has been creating elaborate Halloween displays for a little over a decade and in a previous interview with iNFOnews.ca estimated she has spent $500 on decorations and candy every year.

Some of her budget goes toward the batteries and zip ties needed to keep her display intact and running for the big night. Although pricey, Schwandt doesn’t mind as long as everyone who comes to her house is having fun.

READ MORE: iN PHOTOS: Imaginative Halloween displays popping up in Okanagan, Kamloops

Like Moore, Schwandt finds the occasion is a fun way to for people to express themselves and connect with their communities.

According to a 2023 Leger Report on Halloween Habits among Canadians, roughly half the country planned to hand out candy that year and 37% would decorate their houses. The average expenditure on costumes, candy and decorations was estimated at $64.20 with an increase to $115.80 among parents.

In BC, 41% of those asked said they would spend less than $20 on candy and treats for Halloween, 32% said they would spend $50, 11% said they would spend $75, 2% said $100 and 3% planned to spend more than $100. BC residents polled said said they would be spending more money on Halloween than in 2022.

The poll also found 32% of BC residents ages 18 and up celebrate Halloween, and almost 80% of children go trick-or-treating.

READ MORE: iN PHOTOS: Retiring Kelowna ballerina has one last dance

“I’m not sure what it is about Halloween I love so much,” Moore said. “Maybe because it’s a day everyone can let out their inner child and not worry what anyone thinks, and I’m definitely a child at heart.”

To contact a reporter for this story, email Shannon Ainslie or call 250-819-6089 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. SUBSCRIBE to our awesome newsletter here.

News from © iNFOnews, 2024