2016 Halloween Merchandise Review: Walmart

Anyone else out there have a love/hate relationship with Walmart?  It sucks you in with the promise of low prices and everything in one place.  I go in for one thing and come out with 20.  Every. Damn. Time.

I live in Walmart country very close to the main office, so I have about 3 dozen or so of these stores within driving distance.  That’s a lot.  And that means it’s way easy for me to go any time I need something, including Halloween supplies.

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They, of course, have a lot to choose from with dozens of options for lighting, hanging creatures, tombstones, skulls, pumpkins, etc…

And, might I add, their inflatable  game is particularly on point this year.  This threatening tree is pretty cool.  There’s a witch with a cauldron, and if you look really closely, you’ll notice a Halloween Minion (God, why won’t those things die?) and Frankenstein’s monster in the back.

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And you had to have notice good ol’ Jack, the Pumpkin King himself.

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I really liked their spider’s web display.  That pirate skeleton is toast.  Not sure how much nutrition the spider’s going to get out of him, though.

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They had many, many more inflatable decorations, including tombstones, ghouls, a cat that moves it’s head, and a skeleton in camo holding a skeletonized fish.

Walmart even got in on the IDK DIY crafty market with “homemade” wreaths you can buy yourself.  I’ve seen these mainly at craft stores, so I was a little surprised to see them here.

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Like everyone and their mom this year, Walmart also had a selection of skeleton animals.  Their display is a lacking, but they’ve got vultures and dogs for a good price.

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And what yard is complete without a cool, tacky skeleton-flamingo?

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Their food decorating section is quite extensive, and their prices aren’t bad for this kind of stuff.  BUT you might want to just catch these kinds of things on sale at Joann or Michaels to get them cheaper.

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The costume selection is pretty good this year.  The pic below is of the children’s costume aisle, so they have even more to choose from than what is shown.

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I’m loving these masks.  I believe I’ll pick up a few this year on sale for a new round of easy props next year.

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So is Walmart the best Halloween store?  It really depends on what you’re looking for.  I think you can piece together a pretty decent and cheap costume with Walmart’s supplies, and their decorations, although not totally original, are classic and can meet most of your Halloween needs.

If you’re looking for animatronics and larger props, Walmart has those, but you’ll have to look and buy them on their website.  I don’t know about you, but I like to examine stuff before I buy it, especially expensive items like animatronics.  So I’ll probably hold off on buying any of those unless they go on huge clearance.

As of right now, Walmart is where I’ll go to make my costume this year, and I’m sure I’ll be visiting at least one or two of my local stores the day after the big day to score some deals.  I suggest you do the same.

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