Spirit Halloween to Open 10 'Spirit Christmas' Locations — Is One Coming Near You?

Spirit Halloween is well-known for its business model that uses vacant retail space on short-term leases that typically last 60–90 days between August and early November. The store focuses solely on seasonal Halloween items — or at least they did until now. 

The brand will expand this year to include Christmas, opening 10 retail locations. 

The move is considered a trial to see if customers will hold the same enthusiasm and attention for the winter holidays and will offer more than just retail shopping.

Plans include interactive experiences to appeal to customers looking for more than just the best shopping deals. 

Find out what we know so far about Spirit Christmas.  

Spirit Halloween was founded in 1983 in California. By 1999, it had been acquired by Spencer Gifts and has since grown to encompass 1,400 locations across North America each autumn. 

The Halloween consumer market spends an estimated $8.4 billion annually at the seasonal pop-up retailer. 

Spirit Christmas is meant to capture a new concept for the typically Halloween-themed store, including interactive experiences beyond traditional retail shopping. 

Stores will have varying activities between locations, but some planned options for all stores include photographs with Santa, writing letters to the North Pole, and wandering through a life-sized gingerbread village. 

The flagship store will be the first to open on Oct. 18 in May’s Landing, New Jersey, with 10 other locations following in early November — presumably just after the Halloween locations close for the season. 

Pennsylvania will see only one location opening in Erie, while the Garden State will see stores in Brick Township, Hamilton, Marlton, and Woodbridge Township, and New York will have locations in Albany, Poughkeepsie, and Bohemia. 

Connecticut will only get a single location, which will pop up in Waterford. Massachusetts is also scheduled to receive only one store, which will be in North Dartmouth.

Spirit Christmas locations seem to be focused on the Northeast, which is a good place to launch a Christmas-themed test. Fans of Hallmark Christmas movies will definitely want to add a Spirit Christmas location to their holiday festivities this year. 

A life-size gingerbread village could be a unique holiday experience to draw in consumers, especially if it's well done. 

The series of themed-event catastrophes ranging from "Willy Wonka" to "Bridgerton" makes the public skeptical that what is promised will be delivered. 

Still, Spirit Halloween's brand recognition may lend credibility. We imagine a gingerbread village in the style of a corn maze, with labyrinthine passages leading to the other interactive activities. 

Savvy shoppers may not see the potential for saving money, but the added experiential value may outweigh the retail prices.