Consumers plan to spend 15.4% less on Halloween

Halloween could be a lot spookier for retailers this year.

Fewer people plan to celebrate the October holiday -- even though it falls on a Saturday this year -- and the average consumer is expected to spend 15.4% less on Halloween compared with last year, according to a survey released today by the National Retail Federation.

Consumers are expected to spend an average of $56.31 on Halloween, compared with $66.54 in 2008.

Of the nearly one-third of respondents who said the economy would affect their Halloween plans, 88% said they would spend less overall, 46.5% said they would buy less candy, 16.8% said they would make their own costumes instead of buying new ones and 5.3% said they wouldn’t hand out candy.

The findings contrast sharply with the retail group’s 2008 survey, which found that more consumers were planning to participate in Halloween festivities as an inexpensive way to have fun during the recession.

“The economy has caught up to Halloween this year,” said Tracy Mullin, president of the retail trade group. “Since retailers know that Americans will be looking to celebrate on a budget, there’s no doubt we will see creative costume and decorating ideas in every price point imaginable.”

The Halloween survey polled 8,526 consumers from Sept. 1 through Sept. 9 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1%.

The survey also found that consumers plan to spend an average of $20.75 on costumes, $17.99 on candy, $14.54 on decorations and $3.02 on greeting cards.

-- Andrea Chang

Campbell's lowers salt in popular tomato soup

The red and white can of Campbell's condensed tomato soup is one of the most popular items sold in a grocery story, trailing only chicken noodle on the soup aisle.

So you can be sure that the executives at Campbell Soup Co. were both careful and nervous about reformulating this bestseller to remove salt.

"If we don't meet people's taste expectations, no one would buy it," said Juli Mandel Sloves, the company's spokeswoman.

Campbell's rolled out the new tomato soup this week, promising that extensive research and testing found that it tastes very much like the old version.

The difference? The new soup has 480 milligrams of sodium per serving, compared with 710 milligrams in the previous formulation. The reduction is part of a drive by the company to follow the advice of health and nutrition advocates and lower the sodium content of its products.

"We have lowered the sodium in our soups, beverages, sauces, pastas and breads," Mandel Sloves said.

Doctors recommend against eating more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium a day. So that one serving of soup -- there are 2.5 in each can -- contains 21% of the suggested daily allowance, and even more for older people and individuals who are especially sensitive to salt. Consuming the entire can puts you at more than half of the daily allowance.

"We have clear and convincing evidence that sodium is associated with high blood pressure, and high blood pressure is a major risk factor for stroke -- and it is pretty consistent across populations and ethnic groups," said Dr. David Katz, a preventive medicine specialist at Yale University's Medical School. 

Was the reduction in tomato soup big enough?
 
"Campbell certainly deserves credit for sharply cutting the sodium of its most popular soup, as well as others," said Michael Jacobson, executive director of  the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a nonprofit group active in nutrition and food safety issues.

But Jacobson, a vocal critic of restaurant chains and food manufacturers that sell salt-laden foods, said, "480 mg from a cup of soup is still a lot," and suggested that "health-conscious people should consider cutting back" on soups with high sodium levels.

Mandel Sloves said that "what's important is that we are reducing sodium. This is a journey."

-- Jerry Hirsch

Photo credit: Campbell Soup Co.

Lakers gear aplenty, mostly knockoff, along parade route

The Los Angeles Lakers' 15th NBA championship has led to record-setting sales of official team merchandise. It's also resulted in lots of happy bootleggers.

Swarms of vendors selling unlicensed Lakers T-shirts, caps, flags, horns, posters and other merchandise cashed in today as 150,000 fans came out to cheer on the "Lake Show" during their victory parade from the Staples Center to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. 

Many used the city's sidewalks and public benches to hawk their wares.Others set up shop in retail parking lots, trying to attract the surging purple-and-gold-clad crowd.

Stan Davis of Long Beach was among the dozens peddling unauthorized Lakers items in Exposition Park -- a popular spot for bootleggers near the stadium today.

"The Lakers have enough money to pay for half of this parade, I think they're doing just fine," Davis said. "But I'll do anything to make a buck in this economy."

Davis sold T-shirts, at $10 a pop, featuring a graphic of Kobe Bryant on the front. Davis said he knew the merchandise he was selling wasn't officially licensed.

"I'm a delivery driver for a printing company and I got the shirts from a guy I know through that," he said. "This is my first time doing this."

Despite a fairly heavy presence of police surrounding the Coliseum and parade route, Davis said law enforcement officials appeared to be leaving vendors alone.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa estimated Tuesday that the parade would provide a $15-million economic benefit for the city.

-- Andrea Chang, Nathan Olivarez-Giles and Tiffany Hsu

Photos: Vendors try to cash in on Lakers mania. Credit: Andrea Chang / Los Angeles Times

If you're looking for unique, it has to be handmade

Crafters, artists and fans of handmade goods were out in full force at Unique Los Angeles during its debut at the California Market Center. About 6,000 people showed up to peruse goods made by some 200 vendors (most of them local) offering lithographs, jewelry, hair clips, letterpress stationery, T-shirts, clothing, leather goods, stuffed animals, children’s clothes and much more.

The setting — the unfinished top floor of the center — gave the show a loft-like, airy feel, perfect for the fun and funky items displayed in booths. Letterpress cards and stationery at the Tiselle booth caught our eye, the delicate graphics and lush colors standing out. Owner and designer Tianyi Wang, an Art Center graduate, said she draws some of the designs by hand before turning them into polymer letterpress plates. "My background is in oil painting," she said, "so I love mixing inks."

Next stop was the Purrr booth, where designer Junko showed us her one-of-a-kind clothes made from recycled vintage items: youthful mini-dresses fashioned from oversized men’s sweaters, embellished with little bows, and men’s shirts crafted into feminine blouses, complete with ruffles.

DIY gifts for people good with their hands (or think they are)

Are you short on cash this year? Or have waaay too much time on your hands? Or maybe have a lot of bacon lying around? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you might want to check out Popular Mechanics' list of 10 DIY gifts, which include a marshmallow gun, knife holder and bacon soap (not recommended for eating).

You can probably make these gadgets if "you're the type of person who likes getting his hands dirty fixing, servicing, and building your home, car, and garage hobbies," according to Popular Mechanics. Sure, that sentence doesn't make much sense, but hey, you like "building garage hobbies." Grammar is not your specialty.

Even those of you who don't like building garage hobbies might want to check out the DIY gifts, which include perfume, noise-canceling headphones and crooked knives. And it should probably be noted, if you're the type of person who thinks you excel at fixing/building things but your endeavors usually end with an emergency call to the plumber/electrician/poison-control hotline, maybe you should not DIY.

-- Alana Semuels

Photo: Bacon is endlessly popular. Credit: scurzuzu via Flickr

Local merchants hold "Avoid the Mall" sales

Not to be outdone by price slashing and sale racks at area shopping centers, local independent merchants are trying to woo shoppers from malls this holiday by offering their own discounts. 

Artisans have designs on consumers' consciences, offering bargains on goods that usually are local artisan-made, sweatshop-free and eco-friendly. 

Here are a few upcoming sales:

• The UNIQUE Los Angeles sale features items from more than 200 independent designers, artists and merchants, with proceeds going to CREATE NOW, a charity connecting high-risk youth with art; 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Dec. 13 and 14 at Penthouse at California Market Center, 11 E. 9th St., Los Angeles 90079. $5 donation at the door.
• Cactus Gallery is holding its third annual Tiny Treasures Cash and Carry Holiday Show, with original miniature art pieces starting at about $15 from more than 40 artists; 5 to 10 p.m. on Dec. 13 at Cactus Gallery, 4534 Eagle Rock Blvd., Eagle Rock 90041.
• Peach Tree Pottery has already launched its third annual Holiday Extravaganza, featuring handmade items starting at $5; 4 to 8 p.m. on Dec. 11 and 1 to 5 p.m. from Dec. 12 through 14 at Peach Tree Pottery Studio and Gallery, 3795 Boise Ave., Mar Vista 90066.
• Revolution Glass has its weekend studio sale featuring a daily raffle prize and handmade gifts like glass tumblers, paperweights, ornaments, vases and bowls; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Dec. 13 and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Dec. 14 at Revolution Glass Studio, 108 Arena St., El Segundo 90245.

--Tiffany Hsu   

50 ways to save money this holiday season

Considering everybody on your holiday gift list -- friends, family, co-workers, neighbors, your kids' teachers -- you might be needing a stimulus package before you even get to the big-ticket items this year. So why not take a page from your grandmother's playbook and make the smaller gifts yourself?

Not only are homemade gifts less expensive, they also capture the spirit of holiday giving in a way that purchased gifts simply can't. And if you consider the ubiquitous traffic and holiday crowds, a leisurely morning spent baking breadsticks or whipping up a batch of homemade marshmallows seems positively Zen-like by comparison.

Gifts you make yourself can triangulate personal taste with both economy and invention. Make a stack of shortbread cookies spiced with your neighbor's favorite lavender, then tie them up in cellophane the color of her kitchen. Or wrap up a tin of brownies in the sports page for a friend who's a rabid Lakers fan (maybe the standings -- an idea you might need to finesse if your friend is a Clippers fan).

Use antique bottles found at flea markets (sterilize them first) to show off a rich caramel sauce spiked with Cognac or a batch of vinegar you've infused with thyme and peppercorns. Just tie the tops with velvet ribbon and thread on greeting cards and you have terrific gifts, at once pretty and practical.

These are just a few of many possible ideas. If you have more than 50 people on your list, riff on some of these, invent your own -- or e-mail your Facebook friends pictures of gifts instead. Read more here....

-- Amy Scattergood

Photo: Homemade marshmallows. Credit: Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times

Arts & Crafty: Budget-minded gifts at Etsy

If you think of calendars as gifts that shout "I didn't know what to get you," check out these ideas from artisans at www.etsy.com.

Satsumalynn has a wall calendar inspired by Japanese textiles perfect for fans of letterpress. It's $44, and you can see a photo below. Another, CecilyInk had a $14 printed calendar, whose modern graphics in pumpkin, chartreuse and raspberry, sure to brighten the desk and mood of a co-worker. (Photo at right.)

Scouting around for deals on Etsy, you'll also find personalized teacher gift sets by saratams; a calendar that doubles as postcards by SureAsBlue; calendars with reminder lists by pixelimpress; and a letterpress calendar by SycamoreStreetPress that benefits orphans in Ethiopia.  Also worth a look are artistscs28, InkspotWorkshop, pistachiopress and TurtlePapers (search for them under "sellers: usernames").

And if your list is bigger than your budget, try littlebrownpen, AnaPapeterie and bluetricycle. For $5, you get a PDF file that lets you print as many calendars as you need. They're perfect as party favors, too.

Santa's Little Helper: Have a green Christmas

It would be hard to find a list of more mundane gifts, but these humble household items have two huge benefits: They’re cheap to buy, and they keep on giving . . . and giving . . . and giving, because they save so much money and precious resources.

Be sure to wrap them in a reused gift bag or old newspaper!

1) .5 Gallons Per Minute Faucet Aerator

Instead of allowing 2.2 gallons of water to flow out of your kitchen or bathroom faucet head each minute, this chrome-plated aerator restricts the flow to a meager 0.5 -- and does it with an even spray. Price: $1.95. Info: www.e3living.com/5-gallons-minute-aerator

2) Dishpan

If you throw a plastic bin in the sink and hand-wash your dishes, you can collect excess water and, rather than send it down the sewer, throw it on your plants. Price: About $1 and up

3) Water heater blanket

If your water heater has a tank and you don’t have the cash or willingness to go tankless, at least wrap it with a blanket. It will keep the water warmer longer and cut down on the energy needed to heat it in the first place. Price: About $10 

The Scout: Lawn furniture, a new twist on X-max trees, and more

Pot-ted, the garden furniture and accessories specialist, offers a 20% discount on all merchandise on Black Friday. If you miss out, don't worry. You can still find discontinued pots and other older merchandise for up to 50% off, plus deep discounts on classic Fermob patio furniture.

The power-coated aluminum lounge chairs, regularly $495, and side table, regularly $225, are 30% off through December when purchased separately. Purchase two chairs and the table, and you'll get a 40% discount. More from The Scout.