Tag Archives: merchandise

2017 Halloween Merchandise Review: Home Depot

I had the pleasure today to go to the clear front-runner in this year’s Halloween merchandise race.

Home Depot is just killing it again this year with their stuff.  Just look at this spread:

See that?  I couldn’t even get it all in one pic.

Of course they had your normal stuff: pumpkins, silly dancing toys, skeleton dogs, cats, and dinosaurs.

*Record Scratch*  Dinosaurs, you say?

How cool is that?  You can also see from the pic that they have a skeletal pony.  What you can’t see (because they didn’t have it in the store) is that they are also selling an 8-foot-tall T-Rex to go with the babies.  Yes, you can see them in museums, but now you can have one in your home.  That’s pretty sweet.

They also had this cool gargoyle:

These hanging ghouls:

And this creepy, thin, animatronic werewolf:

For value, I think this 3-pack of skulls for $9.98 is a steal.  Less than 4 dollars for a realistic-looking, good-sized skull is too good to pass up.

And this full-sized poseable skeleton for $29.98 is an excellent deal, too.

 

I also have to give Home Depot props (no pun intended) for bringing back the peeper decorations.  There were a few angry, easily-offended people that called from these to be removed from the shelf this year, and Home Depot decided to bring back – not only the original – but a few different versions.

They also had quite a few great animatronics.  Just check out the videos below:

Pretty cool, huh?

So there’s my rundown of what Home Depot has to offer this year.  I feel like it’s got a definite lead over the other home improvement store this year, which I’ll go over tomorrow.  Be sure to check back then!

2016 Halloween Merchandise Review: Michaels

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.

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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.

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.