The National Retail Federation will soon release its annual list of top Halloween costumes for 2011. In anticipation of that release, let's look back the NRF's list of top costumes from 2010.

As usual, classic costumes continued to top the list: witches were the No. 1 pick of costume for adults, while princess costumes topped the children’s list for the sixth year in a row. And the growing number of people who dress their animals in costume are also choosing to remain traditional: the top pet costume was a pumpkin.

A few, not terribly significant additions to the lineup: Buzz Lightyear and Harry Potter both made their first appearance on the top Halloween costumes for kids list, the NRF said. And for adults, Alice in Wonderland costumes made their debut last year, and nurse costumes came back after falling off the radar for a bit.

“Aiming to attract shoppers of all ages, retailers have already begun stocking their shelves with a wide variety of costumes, from classic favorites to pop-culture icons,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said last year. “With more people than ever planning to dress up this Halloween, partygoers should not wait until last minute to buy their costumes.”

Here were the top ten lists from 2010:

Adult Costumes

• 1. Witch
• 2. Vampire
• 3. Pirate
• 4. Nurse
• 5. Wench/Tart/Vixen
• 6. Cat
• 7. Zombie
• 8. Fairy
• 9. Tie between athlete and Batman
• 10. Dracula

Children’s Costumes

• 1. Princess
• 2. Spiderman
• 3. Witch
• 4. Pirate
• 5. Disney Princess
• 6. Action/Superhero
• 7. Ghost
• 8. tie between pumpkin and vampire
• 9. Batman
• 10. Star Wars character

Pet Costumes

• 1. Pumpkin
• 2. Devil
• 3. Witch
• 4. Hot dog
• 5. tie between bee and cat
• 6. Dog (?)
• 7. Superdog/supercat
• 8. Ghost
• 9. Pirate
• 10. Bowties/fancy collar/bandana

Allison Ross contributes to the Malled blog on PalmBeachPost.com.