I wrote about Halfway to Halloween, or Halfoween last year with a tongue-in-cheek belief that the trend was just another shameless attempt by corporate America to creep the holidays ever closer.
I thought perhaps and that consumers would widely reject having their pitchers of margaritas and cheeful tropical decor overshadowed by Dracula and Pumpkin Spice Lattes … turned out I was wrong.
But as it turns out, the more stressed we become as a society, the more the darkness of Halloween appeals to us according to psychologists. In our unpredictable world, safe scares like a haunted house or a walk through a cemetery at night allow our brains to experience fear and then quickly resolve it with a sense of safety and accomplishment. Leaning into darkness offers those of us with pent-up anxiety a much needed form of release.
Many of us have embraced a year round persona of Goth or spooky chic. That’s nothing new, we’ve been wearing black clothing and lipstick for decades, but why is it different now?
Increasingly many consumers view their adult lives as frightening due to economic pressures like debt and rent. Halloween provides a controlled adrenaline rush where the scares are safe and predictable, unlike real-world stressors.
Whether we’re using Halfoween as a stress management strategy or just a bit of fun, it has become a massive financial movement. Projections for 2026 suggest total U.S. Halloween spending could reach or exceed $13.1 billion.
That’s a big number indeed, but here is a breakdown of spending by holiday for comparison:
Winter Holidays (Christmas/Hanukkah) = $1.01 – $1.02 Trillion
Mother's Day = $38.0 Billion
Valentine's Day = $29.1 Billion
Easter = $24.9 Billion
Father's Day = $22.4 Billion
Halloween = $13.1 Billion
Put Some Spooky Into Your Summer Marketing: Ideas for Small Brands
Your founder led or smaller brand can dovetail Halloween with the beginning of summer by blending spooky aesthetics with seasonal sun and scream vibes:
Summer-Spooky Fusion Products: Launch limited-edition items that mix summer and horror, such as Haunted Luau apparel, black-colored tropical treats (e.g., black lattes or dark fruit smoothies), or watermelon carving kits instead of pumpkins.
Trick or Treat Yourself Flash Sales: Run surprise 24-hour sales at the end of April. Use digital mystery boxes or mystery discount buttons in emails where customers reveal their deal (e.g., 13% or 31% off).
Summer-Ween Social Challenges: Engage your audience with a #HalfwayToHalloween challenge. Encourage followers to post photos of their summer-ween setups—like beach-themed costumes or spooky picnic spreads—using a branded hashtag.
Sneak Peek Teasers: Use the hype to tease your upcoming fall collections. Offer early-bird access or exclusive Halfoween pre-orders for your most anticipated October items.
Local Summer-Spooky Events: Partner with other local businesses to host a Spooky Spring Market or a Haunted Happy Hour featuring themed cocktails and appetizers.
May 26 is World Dracula Day and you can turn this into your sleeper hit. Focus on dark romance with velvet, candlelight and moody textures on your website, social media, and instore displays.
May 31 Blue Micromoon - this is the second full moon in the month of May. The opposite of a Supermoon, it will be smaller and dimmer with an eerie look and feel. Use this for evening events like in store shopping, girls night out events, cocktail tastings, and walking tours.
Other Things to Jump on in May
Wedding & Honeymoon Season starts: now! Just about every business has a hand in this industry.
Last Day of School: mid May to late June
Teacher Gifts: mid May to late July
Teacher Appreciation Day: Tue, May 5, 2026
Teacher Appreciation Week: May 4–8, 2026
Asian Pacific American Heritage Month: A Legacy of Leadership and Resilience
Small Business Week: May 3-9, 2026
Cinco de Mayo: Tuesday, May 5 ~ recipes and bright colors please! See this as a warm up for Memorial Day.
World Cocktail Day: Wednesday, May 13, 2026 ~ You may feel like someone desperately wants to get you drunk this month with all the boozy celebration days (see below), but never fear teetotalers, these days offer amazing opps for mocktail recipes.
Memorial Day: Mon, May 25, 2026 ~ Summer is here!
Cannes Film Festival: May 12, 2026 – Sat, May 23, 2026 ~ put out your best ideas for super luxurious hotel rooms, food and fashion.
Fair Trade Day: Sat, May 9, 2026 ~ now more than ever this is more than a trend.
World Bee Day: Wednesday, May 20, 2026 ~ this is a core conservation day.
Also interesting:
Talk Like Yoda Day: May 21, 2026 ~ “Do or do not. There is no try,” “Fear is the path to the dark side,” and “Pass on what you have learned”
National Bike to Work Day: May 15, 2026
World Whiskey Day: Sat, May 16th - did you know that Whiskey with an “e” is from Ireland while “whisky” is from Scotland?
Preakness: Sat, May 16, 2026 ~ second jewel in the Triple Crown
World Baking Day: Sun, May 17th ~ I never need an excuse to bake
World Turtle Day: Saturday, May 23, 2026
Bob Dillon’s Birthday: May 24, 1941 ~ Like a Complete Unknown
National Wine Day: Monday, May 25, 2026
Amnesty International Day: Thu, May 28, 2026
JFK Birthday: May 29, 1917
Pitch to Media:
Summer related stories and posts
Father’s Day Gift Guides
Travel Season Related Stories
Pitch National Lipstick, Self Care and Clean Beauty Days (July)
National Wellness Month tips (August)
Get ready, Back to School pitching starts next month
Carolyn Delacorte is the founder of Boxwood Co — a trailblazing PR + marketing firm that’s served lifestyle brands in the food, beauty, decor, and baby industries for more than 27 years.
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