Halloween increasingly popular in Netherlands; Nearly as big for party shops as Carnival

Halloween is becoming increasingly popular in the Netherlands, and party shops see it in their revenues. A decade ago, party shops sold a few capes at Halloween. Now, the holiday is quickly catching up to carnival in terms of sales, RTL Nieuws reports.

Halloween blew over from the United States and Canada. On October 31, children dress up in costumes and go door-to-door to collect candy. In the Netherlands, the holiday is gaining quick ground. Schools organize parties, entire streets decorate for the occasion, and there is at least one parade in almost every municipality, according to the broadcaster.

“Ten years ago, we sold a few capes at Halloween. That was all,” Dennis Sep of SEP Feestartikelen in Roosendaal told RTL. “Now, people are going big. The crowds are increasing. We not only sell costumes but also decorations for houses. Two-meter-high dolls that move are popular. They place them in front of the door. That is copied from America. And anything with blood and severed hands sells well.”

Carnival is still Sep’s biggest time of the year. “But Halloween comes close behind. The weekend before Halloween is just as busy in the store as the weekend before Carnival. As an entrepreneur, I am thrilled with this horror trend.”

Wendy Giphart from Dam Feestartikelen in Amsterdam told the broadcaster the same thing. Halloween is slowly becoming the biggest party of the year in turnover. “It’s still a bit busier during Carinal. Then we sell a lot to people going to celebrate carnival in the south.”

Wednesday Adams and surgeon outfits are the most popular costumes in the Netherlands this year. “Killer clowns are also popular, and vampire teeth that you can put on your own teeth. Scary latex masks also go well,” Giphart said.