Five Popular Halloween Costumes for 2011

When I saw this list of top-ranked Halloween costumes, I was a little surprised.

The survey, which was conducted by the National Retail Federation earlier this month, outlines the favored Halloween costume trends of 2011. I was surprised because only a couple of superheroes made the list, and because Harry Potter was nowhere to be found. 

Read on to find out what the favorite adult and children's costumes are for 2011!

1. Topping the list for adult costumes is the Witch, which implies to me that more women dress up for Halloween than men. Yet this seems kind of like laziness to me -- the witch is such an easy costume. Pointy hat, long black gown, grab a broom from the kitchen and you’ve got yourself a costume.

Numero uno for children is, funny enough, the opposite of the witch -- the Princess. Again, not shocking. My nieces have so many frilly dresses they could be a princess every day of the week if they wanted to be... which they do.

2. The next spot on the adult list belongs to the Pirate. Walk into any Halloween store and you’ll see a thousand different pirate costumes for both men and women. And, since Disney won’t stop making movies about pirates, it’s not much of a leap to believe that pirates are still prevalent.

The second spot on the children’s list is also the top-ranked adult costume, the Witch. See number one for my complaints.

3. I would have expected the Vampire to be a little higher on this list, considering how big they are in pop culture, what with all the movies and TV shows and books. Not to mention that all you really need is a pair of plastic fangs, which sell for what, like three bucks? Nevertheless, vampires are number three for adults.

The same rank on the children’s side is my personal favorite superhero, Spiderman. The famous webcrawler is just plain awesome, and has a fourth movie coming out next year.

4. You have to respect the Zombie. Not only has the shuffling, moaning monster made its way onto television and continues to thrive in movies, but it’s not the easiest costume. Being a zombie requires makeup, fake blood, tattered clothes and a practiced loping gait. Perhaps that’s why it’s down at number four.

The Pirate reappears as the number four place for children’s costumes. Again, blame Disney. It’s also the first children’s costume on the list to give kids an excuse to wield a sword -- or a cutlass, to use the pirate terminology.

5. Finally, the number five position for adults belongs to the Dark Knight, Batman. Blockbuster movies, an awesome utility belt, all-black costume… yeah, Batman is where it’s at. Oh, and don’t forget the cape.

Doesn’t any kid want to be a cowboy anymore? The top-five for children is rounded out by none other than the Pumpkin. Which I get -- it’s cute, it’s festive, and it doesn’t involve swinging around a toy weapon.

Some others that made the list include the cat, ghost, vixen and Star Wars characters… check out the link at the top for the entire top 10, not just for adults and kids, but for pets, too!