Boo! It's Time for Witches, Sponges and Cheerleaders

A sponge that lives in the bottom of the ocean will be the Number One Halloween costume this year, according to iParty (West Roxbury, Mass.), a 35-unit party retailing chain.

SpongeBob SquarePants — the Nickelodeon TV character that lives in a pineapple with his pet snail, in the subterranean city of Bikini Bottom, and works as a fry cook — will outdistance Spiderman and Spy Kids in the annual $6 billion Halloween sweepstakes.

“The month of October accounts for 20 percent of our business,” said iParty ceo Sal Perisano. “Between the black and orange balloons, accessories like fangs and nails, wigs, plastic pumpkins and costumes, Halloween is huge business for those of us in the party industry.”

Citing statistics from The Halloween Association, Perisano notes that Halloween has become the second- largest holiday in terms of dollars spent, after Christmas; and it is the third-largest party day, right behind New Year's and Super Bowl Sunday. The holiday's retail sales and advertising figures topped $6 billion in the year 2001 And candy is the Number One Halloween retail category in terms of sales. Costumes are second and pumpkins, decorations, crafts and greeting cards comprise the third segment.

Following SpongeBob, Spidey and Spy Kids in this year's Top Ten costumes list are Divas, Bob the Builder, Austin Powers and associated characters, Scream, cultural decades (Hippies, 70s and 80s), the perennial Gothic and the customary top sellers (witches, cheerleaders and ghouls).