Although Halloween is not a traditional celebration in Vietnam, many well-to-do families nevertheless spent big money on Halloween decorations and costumes, letting a variety of services pop up on this spooky occasion.

According to the observations of Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reporters on Sunday, there was just one giant pumpkin left at the An Nam Market's Halloween decorating stall on Thao Dien Street in Thu Duc City, under Ho Chi Minh City, and it was priced at VND1.3 million (US$52).

The same thing was seen at another nearby An Nam Market, where there was only one remaining pumpkin weighing 7.6 kilograms.

With prices starting at VND1 million ($40) per pumpkin, An Nam Market began selling this kind of pumpkin at the beginning of October, drawing a significant number of buyers.

Customers buy Halloween decoration products at Treats & Sweets store on Thao Dien Street, Thu Duc City, under Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Nhat Xuan / Tuoi Tre

As the festival draws, the market has stopped importing extra pumpkins.

According to a staff at Dear Rainy store in District 3, Ho Chi Minh City, all of the giant pumpkin products imported from the Netherlands have been sold out since last week.

The Netherlands pumpkin, which is larger, tougher, and comes in a greater range of shapes than the Da Lat pumpkin, sells for VND300,000 ($12) per kilogram.

Customers purchased the Dutch-imported pumpkin early due to its long expiration date and will discard it after Halloween to begin decorating for the Christmas theme.

Some wealthy families didn't think twice about shelling out a large amount of money to adorn their homes with scarecrows for Halloween in order to boost the eerie atmosphere. 

Nguyen Tu Uyen, owner of Treats & Sweets store on Thao Dien Street, Thu Duc City, under Ho Chi Minh City, stated that some of her store's more expensive decorations, such as a big spider priced at VND4 million ($161), had sold out.

In addition, creepy candies, ghouls, and large ghosts that can move to frighten others when activated by touch are highly sought-after.

A makeup artist does Halloween makeup for a customer at her house. Photo: M.L. / Tuoi Tre

Halloween costumes are also marketed on e-commerce platforms in a range of designs, with many sophisticated costumes costing millions of dong, such as the European plague doctor costume, ghost bride, or goddess of the sea - Amphitrite.

Besides Halloween decorations and toys, several services, such as Halloween makeup or office, cafe, and house decoration services, yield large profits during this holiday.

My Linh, a makeup artist with seven years of experience, claimed that the price of her services varies from VND1.2 to VND1.5 million ($48-60) per face based on the sophistication of the character chosen by the customer.

In comparison to last year, Linh claimed that her customer base has significantly risen this year. Customers started getting in touch with her to schedule a makeup appointment two months ago. 

From October 26 to 31, when demand was at its highest, Linh received roughly 20 calls to make an appointment, but she only dared to take four to five clients each day to maintain quality.

“I typically spend one to one and a half hours on each face, doing numerous steps including skincare, makeup, and hair styling. 

“Some more sophisticated makeup will require more time. 

“Because of this, I am hesitant to accept more customers in order to maintain quality and satisfy customer needs,” Linh said.

In comparison with makeup, house, cafe, and office décor services are in high demand and profitable during Halloween. The cost increases as the decoration becomes more intricate.

Shop Cung Decor offers packages of office, coffee shop, and home Halloween decorations for anything between VND2.5 to 5.5 million ($100-221) each setting, depending on the level of detail. 

After the customer confirms the order, the company will come up with design and decoration concepts for the desired space.

Similarly, TP Event decoration's price packages for apartments, businesses, schools, supermarkets, and restaurants fetch from VND1.5 million ($60) per design.

Along with conceptualizing and designing, this organization also planned a tea party with a Halloween theme, featuring frightening dishes including human body parts, skeletons, ghosts, and the devil.

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