Ghosts of Spirit Halloween past have apparently visited Spirit Christmas, charging the recently launched pop-up retail concept with expanding its footprint this holiday season.
At the stroke of midnight on Halloween, 44 locations across 15 states will trade flowing dark grim reaper robes for jolly, oversized red suits as Spirit Christmas continues to build on its 2024 pilot program.
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Spirit unveiled its winter-themed offshoot two years ago in a test of its reach beyond Halloween, starting with an initial run of 10 stores. The company expanded its Christmas footprint in 2025 with 30 locations across the Northeast and Great Lakes.
In November, Spirit will open locations in Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.
"Building on decades of knowledge creating unforgettable seasonal experiences through Spirit Halloween, Spirit Christmas locations will transform from spooky to merry in just a blink of an eye," the company said in a release.
It is unclear how large the Spirit Christmas locations will be, but Spirit Halloween's preferred floor plates range from 5K SF to 50K SF.
Spirit Halloween gobbles up a sizable amount of vacant retail every year — in 2026, it opened more than 1,550 locations, a record number of stores.
Colliers Senior Manager of National Retail Research Nicole Larson told Bisnow last month that competition around Christmastime is stouter, with a greater number of retailers selling products for the holiday rush.
In September, Toys R Us announced it would temporarily quadruple its retail footprint before the winter holidays as it attempts a comeback to its former heights.
"I think they still have some work to do there, but I mean, they've proven it for Halloween, so I don't see why they couldn't continue to do this for Christmas," Larson said.
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