- Retailers are pausing or cancelling orders for Halloween and Christmas decorations. Surcharges from tariffs are causing the action, which could result in a tremendous price spike as the holidays approach. Costumes that sold for $20 last year will likely be double that amount in 2025, industry officials warn.
While Donald Trump has hinted a tariff deal with China could be in the works, manufacturers are warning that if the duties remain in place, it could make the end of year holidays a lot less joyful.
The Halloween and Costume Association warns tariffs could double the price of costumes. Toy companies, meanwhile, are growing worried about the possible price of toys for Christmas, and Christmas decorations could see price increases along the same lines as Halloween costumes.
“This is an existential moment for our industry,” said Robert Berman, Halloween & Costume Association Board Member and President of Rasta Impasta/Imposta Costumes. “Halloween isn’t like other holidays. If products don’t land on time or become too expensive for families, Halloween simply doesn’t happen. There is no backup plan.”
Sounding an alarm about holidays in the fourth quarter might seem a bit premature, but retailers are already locking in orders for Halloween. Home Depot, last month, launched sales of select spooky decorations, such as its iconic 12-foot skeleton and a 15-foot animated scarecrow.
Many of those products, like the costumes kids wear when they go trick or treating come from China.
“These are goods that are weeks from shipping — not months,” says Berman. And many retailers are cancelling orders or cutting volumes, the industry group says.
Thanksgiving is less China dependent, since it’s largely a food holiday, but Chinese manufacturers who specialize in Christmas decorations are seeing a slowdown in orders as well. One manufacturer told CNN eight out of 10 U.S. customers have canceled their contracts this year, even after they were offered discounts to help cover the tariffs.
Chinese companies are the source of 87% of the Christmas decorations sold in the U.S., making up a $4 billion market. That also included artificial trees, which U.S. retail customers are also pausing orders on.
“My peers and I rely on U.S. orders to survive,” one business owner in China told Reuters. “This will inevitably affect a lot of people. No one can escape.”
