Tag Archives: Halloween decorations

2016 Halloween Merchandise Review: Home Depot

September 8, 2016 thefrightowl Leave a comment

Well, I had the pleasure of going to Home Depot yesterday, and yet again, they have KNOCKED IT OUT OF THE FREAKIN’ PARK.

Last year was the first time I really took notice of Home Depot’s Halloween decorations, and I think that’s because they had just seriously upped their Halloween game. I’d been looking forward to this year’s display, and I wasn’t disappointed.

They have a wide selection of prop items from fake lanterns and jack o’ lanterns to bone animals and animatronics. And everything is priced pretty reasonably, too.

Check out this cool Frankenstein’s monster:

He wasn’t plugged in, but he lights up and says a few phrases.

They, of course, had a great display of animatronics. My favorite was the dragon. She flaps her wings and just looks pretty badass in general.

As you can see in the second picture of the post, there were a lot of smaller prop items. My favorite was this guy just because he’s pretty unique:

That would be a great prank to pull on someone, too. Imagine if you were to go to someone’s house to watch horror movies and secretly placed that outside their window until the perfect moment where you say you heard something outside the window and they go to check, move back the curtain, and promptly piss their pants.

You can tell that I’ve thought about this.

I really liked their hanging items. A few lit up and talked, and they were only $19.98. That’s pretty awesome.

This cool trio of witches wasn’t lit up when I went, but I thought they were fun.

I also liked this guy:

Home Depot also has more light show items this year. If you don’t know what those are, they are light stakes that project creepy shapes or lights on any surface you choose. They’re great to supplement a sparse spot of your yard or house.

So should you go to Home Depot to check out their Halloween stuff? Yes. You should run there.

Halloween, Product Review

2016 Halloween Merchandise Review: Pottery Barn

September 6, 2016 thefrightowl Leave a comment

Pottery Barn is not a place I frequent simply because the prices for most things they sell are too high for me. I just can’t justify spending $35 for a wine glass. BUT I love the stuff they carry. I just have to wait to get it on a very, very big discount.

So needless to say, I probably won’t get to purchase any of the Halloween decorations I’m reviewing in this post, but I hope that some of you out there with a larger disposable income might benefit.

They really didn’t have a whole heck of a lot of stuff, but the items they did have were pretty awesome. There was a really cool table layout they had set up. Just look at this creepy, elegant thing:

I just loved everything on it. The center platter held one of my favorite items:

The glass skull decanter was beautiful in person. I loved it. Sadly, it’s priced at $39.50, and without any vodka in it, I just can’t justify spending that much on it. Maybe when it’s half off.

I also really liked the skeleton wine glasses:

There’s also a really cool condiment set. I didn’t get a picture of it while I was there, but you can see it here. It’s fantastic, but again, it’s too pricy for my blood.

They also had a selection of pumpkins ranging from about $24.50 to $39.50. I liked some of the mirrored ones they had, and the larger metallic pumpkins caught my eye as well.

So while I actually love their merchandise, I probably won’t get to enjoy any of their items this year due to the high prices. I could get a few things, but I’m cheap and just can’t spend that much on some of that stuff. But I hope you are able to get something. I’ll just be envious of your purchases.

Halloween, Product Review

2016 Halloween Merchandise Review: Kirkland’s

September 2, 2016 thefrightowl Leave a comment

I’m not that big of a fan of Kirkland’s just because I don’t like looking at the type of decorative items the stores carry, but I thought I’d venture inside one a few weeks ago to see what their Halloween selection looked like.

They are definitely lower on my list for Halloween merchandise providers, but I admit that they had some fun stuff. I’m going to apologize in advance for the picture quality. This store was worse than Bath and Body Works regarding the VERY fragrant aroma in the air as I walked in. I felt like I was slapped in the face hard by 15 different air fresheners. That being said, I was in a hurry to get out of there, and my pictures suffered.

Here’s blurry pic of some cute ghosts and pumpkins along with a cool Day of the Dead platter at the bottom:

Here’s another of the back of the same shelf. Their stuff is definitely more on the cutesy side of the Halloween merchandise spectrum, but I think everyone could find at least one thing they liked out of their selection.

For instance, I really liked this metal guy:

They also had some pretty cool canvas pictures, including this one of trick-or-treaters out on Halloween night and the one below of a cool haunted house.

Right before I fled to save my nostrils and avoid a headache from the overpowering smell, I saw this:

I think the pillows at the bottom were adorable, and I’m always game for anything skull related. The little nutcracker-like dolls on the top shelf were pretty cool, too.

So would I go back to Kirkland’s for their Halloween stuff? Probably not, but I can see where their items would appeal to certain types of Halloween decorators. If you’re looking for scariness or gore, this ain’t it, but if you want cute and accessible, try it out.

Halloween, Product Review

2016 Halloween Merchandise Review: Michaels

August 25, 2016 thefrightowl Leave a comment

I. Love. Michaels. Every year, I look forward to their Halloween merchandise, and I’m happy to say that I wasn’t disappointed this time.

Unfortunately for me, my town doesn’t have a Michaels, so I have to settle on going to the one near my parents. Fortunately for you, I was due for a visit this past weekend, so I was able to go look at all of their wonderful, creepy goodies.

First of all, let’s talk about Spooky Town. I love miniatures, so of course I’m going to love a little town of mini creepy houses and creatures.

They had some really cute new miniatures, including my two favorites:

Ain’t they adorable?

As always, Michaels has a great mixture of creepy props, fun decorations, and craft supplies. They’re definitely my favorite of the craft stores when it comes to Halloween.

This guy right here will be mine at the end of the season. I should have used a banana for scale, but I didn’t think about it at the time, but he’s pretty big. He’d look great next to a witch’s cauldron.

This animated prop was pretty awesome, too. A tad overpriced in my opinion at $69.99, but still cool. Again, I screwed up, this time by not getting a video of the guy in action, but he basically just moves back and forth with his hands while shouting profanity and racial slurs.

Just kidding. I wanted to make sure you were paying attention. He moves around and groans. No offensive language for Michaels.

And I don’t know what it is about these ceramic heads, but I freaking adore them. They have skulls, Frankenstein’s monster, jack o’lanterns, mini skulls, and skeleton hands. You can paint these to fit your decor, or just leave them as is and pair with anything you want.

I would totally recommend going to Michaels if you’re lucky enough to have one in your area. The items aren’t overpriced, and if you’re a cheapo like me, you can always use a coupon or just catch them on sale.

Halloween, Product Review

2016 Halloween Merchandise Review: TJ Maxx

August 15, 2016 thefrightowl Leave a comment

As I’ve been saying, Halloween is approaching fast, and with the swift approach of our favorite holiday comes the arrival of Halloween merchandise.

As usual, TJ Maxx is one of the first to put out their Halloween products for the year, and since I went there this weekend, I thought I’d snap a few pics. Just look at all the goodies!

One thing I really like at TJ Maxx is their selection of metal jack o’lanterns. These always look classy, and I like that you can use them with whatever theme you want. Just dress them up with flowers for a cutesy Halloween (not my preference, but whatever) or just put them with your creepy stuff. They’ll fit right in.

They also had a few cute Day of the Dead skulls in the mix. They’re just so festive.

There was also a selection of orange and pumpkin-themed decorations found at another part of the store.

This was probably my favorite item. You can’t see from this pic, but the jack o’lantern’s head is actually a candleholder. I’ll probably be picking up this guy before all is said and done.

This was also one of my favorites. It’s two skeletons carrying a plate. I think it’s meant to be used as a candleholder, but I thought it would be cool to put a few treats on it for your Halloween party food spread. The large faux-stone skull to the right of it is pretty awesome, and I also love the skull and crossbones candleholder to the left.

I thought TJ Maxx had a pretty good selection this year. They always have a large amount of skull-themed items, so I enjoy looking at their stuff each Halloween. If you’re looking for actual props, they probably won’t fulfill your needs, but if you’re looking for purely decorative items, you should check TJ Maxx out.

One last thing I’ll talk about is this fun little phone I played around with for awhile. I’m worse than a kid with this stuff. (Sorry for the weird video format!)

The Fright Owl

Tag Archives: Halloween decorations

2016 Halloween Merchandise Review: Home Depot

2016 Halloween Merchandise Review: Pottery Barn

2016 Halloween Merchandise Review: Kirkland’s

2016 Halloween Merchandise Review: Michaels

2016 Halloween Merchandise Review: TJ Maxx

For those who prefer a little fright in their day