Get into the Halloween spirit with flower-inspired costumes.
According to recent Google searches, Halloween 2018 will see a lot of superheroes, princesses, pirates, dinosaurs and unicorns. Want to stand out from the crowd, charm customers — and advertise your business? Check out some clever costume ideas from Rick Canale of Exotic Flowers in Boston, Massachusetts.
“Halloween is a holiday for all of us (not just the kiddos),” Canale wrote in a recent blog post. “Perhaps you’ve been invited to a party or maybe an office celebration where friends and coworkers will be whipping up wardrobe creations and you just haven’t found the inspiration yet to make your own? For those who love to garden or have a fancy for florals, I have just the ideas for you and most of the materials needed can be found already at home.”
Canale pitched two cute and easy ideas that put flowers in the spotlight:
- A Bouquet: Wrap yourself in an extra-large piece of paper. Tie with a ribbon. Cut large blossoms out of construction paper and glue to paper or attach to sticks and insert inside the cone.
“If you own a flower shop and have an employee who is willing, have them put on this on Oct. 31 to greet customers at the door,” Canale said. “Patrons will get a kick out of the company’s holiday spirit, as well as attract others who might be passing by.”
- “Flower dude”: Canale’s second suggestion, aimed at consumers, included some humor florists accustomed to working long hours will appreciate.
Grab a smock, clipboard and small arrangement or bouquet to hold. “Simple jeans and a t-shirt are the best pieces to wear and letting a little stubble grow will add to the effect,” Canale wrote. “Florists are typically not glamorous people sporting fancy jackets, pants or expensive will draw away from the authenticity.” To really nail the look, “hold a Dixie cup and tell people it’s coffee,” Canale said. “I haven’t met a florist yet who isn’t addicted to the stuff!”
Here are some more Halloween marketing ideas:
The payoff for getting into the spooky spirit can be real: Americans love Halloween. According to the National Retail Federation, total spending for Halloween is expected to reach $9 billion this year. That’s the second highest number in the survey’s 14-year history. Americans are planning to spend an average of $86.79, up from last year’s $86.13, with more than 175 million people planning to partake in Halloween festivities this year.
Katie Hendrick Vincent is the senior contributing editor for the Society of American Florists.
