It’s a big day, everyone. We have a Friday the 13th in October, and I’d hate for anyone to waste it. It’s been 11 years since we’ve been able to celebrate one of these bad boys in the month of Halloween, and we won’t have another one until 2023. Let’s make the most of it.
So what should you do? Let me give you some options:
1. Carve a jack o’ lantern (or at least buy your pumpkin if you haven’t already).
2. Go to a haunted house. Yes, the lines might be long tonight, but they’re only going to get longer the closer you get to THE BIG DAY, so why not go on Friday the 13th.
3. Watch a scary movie. Happy Death Day is in theaters today, and it’s getting pretty good reviews, I might go tonight to see this one myself. Or if you don’t want to go out to watch a movie, just watch the original Friday the 13th in the comfort of your own home. You own it, right? Of course, you do.
I’ve gone over the fun Halloween merchandise to be found at Home Depot and Lowe’s this year, so let’s move on to the next store on my list: Walmart.
Love it or hate it, I’m sure you have a Walmart near you, and I’m pretty sure you spend a buck or two here each week. I, myself, spend many bucks, but that’s beside the point.
I might not love the place, but it still makes me happy to walk in and see their display.
No. It’s not spectacular or anything, but just look! There are costumes, big bags of candy, decorations, orange, and black everywhere! Really, anything Halloween gives me the warm fuzzies.
Walmart’s decorations are pretty run-of-the-mill, but they’d still be enough to really spookify your house inside and out. Hanging ghosts, skeletons, tombstones, lighting, cobwebs – you’ve got all you need right here.
And they did have these two little skeletal garden gnomes that I was quite taken with. I haven’t seen these anywhere else, so Walmart definitely wins the Halloween garden gnome race. That should be a thing if it isn’t already. Just look at these cool, little things.
They have a small selection of skeletons and skeleton animals. Because who doesn’t these days?
Walmart also has a great selection of Halloween-themed hats to keep your ears warm when you’re trick-or-treating. You know. If you’re lucky, and it’s not still 80 degrees by the end of the month. Cross your fingers, folks.
And Walmart also has a nice selection of non-costume Halloween makeup and nail art. Here’s some of my favorites.
So, no, Walmart might not be crazy innovative in the Halloween department, but if you’re looking for crazy animatronics, go to Spirit Halloween or Halloween Express.
Next up on my review is Target, so check back soon.
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.
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.
If you’re looking to decorate your whole house for Halloween and throw a party from scratch, I beg you to go to Dollar Tree to check out their awesome merchandise. As the name implies, everything is $1, and you would be amazed at how good their Halloween selection is.
Just check out this awesomeness:
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They’ve got tombstones, cemetery fences, signs, holographic pictures, candy dishes, party plates, costumes, door hangers, napkins, treats, props, and so much more.
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If you’re looking for some fun party favors or treat bags, go here first.
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They have some great skeleton and skull merchandise. No, they don’t have a full-size skeleton prop like some of the bigger stores, but they do have skulls, bone hands, and other items. C’mon. It’s all $1.
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Also, if you need to get creepy cloth, they have different colors to choose from. It’s usually $3-$5 at most stores, so it’s definitely a deal here.
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I was also pretty impressed by their spider, rat, and bat selection this year. Quite lovely.
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I’ll end my short review of my favorite cheap store by talking a little bit about the tongs below. I bought a pair of these last year. Target was selling something similar for $15, so these are a damn good deal. Buy them. Buy five.
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If you didn’t get it already, I’m kinda in love with Dollar Tree’s Halloween stuff. Another cool thing about this store is that the items can be dressed up or repurposed in Halloween crafts or other props since everything is so cheap. I’ll even be doing a few posts about using Dollar Tree stuff in your Halloween decor.
So if you’re wondering where to go to start your decorating, run to Dollar Tree as fast as your little legs can take you.
Gordman’s has never been a big draw for me for Halloween merchandise because it usually only has the cutesier items just for decoration. If you’re looking for just home decor items, you should check them out because they have a pretty good selection. I was pleasantly surprised that they had an actual prop this year – even if it was a little overpriced.
It seems like there was more of a limited selection this year than for previous Halloweens, but they still had a pretty good mix of items:
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They had some pretty cool pumpkins and jack o’ lanterns for general fall decorating. I especially liked the black/white and gold variety two pics below:
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A few items were less cute and more scary. Check out these zombie and ghoul stand ups in the pic below. They stood about 2 feet tall each, so they wouldn’t be considered a real prop, but they’re pretty cool.
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As always, skeleton and skull items get my attention faster than anything else, so you can imagine that I kinda fell in love with this little guy. I might catch him when I do my post-Halloween discount shopping.
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Although I don’t like cute Halloween items as a general rule, I do love me a good countdown clock. This one was pretty cool:
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And as I said before, they actually had a full-size prop this year. Check out this bad boy:
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I got up close and personal with him to get a good pic of his face. I really like the detail.
With the exception of the prop, everything was reasonably priced. I’d compare the prices to TJ Maxx and Home Goods. The prop itself was priced at a little over $200, which for a prop that only lights up and doesn’t move, is a little too much.
Big Lots is one of my favorite places for budget Halloween merchandise. They always have a few things that I just love for a great price. Just check out this witch:
I also love their small home decor items. They’re kinda going with a royal golden crown thing this year. Note the kingly crows and skulls on the top shelf. There were also some dapper skeletons sporting cool little top hats. Who doesn’t like a skeleton in a top hat?
They also have a wide variety of lighting, including rope lights, strobes, pathway markers, and various bulbs:
This guy was one of my favorites. He’s like one of your basic butler greeter, but he has a ton to say. I recorded him for a full minute, and he never repeated himself. Check out the video on Facebook.
And I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but everyone this year has hopped on board the animal skeleton train. Check out all these awesome guys. These are extra special because they’re all animated. I’ll upload a pic and video or two on Facebook, too.
I hope everyone’s Halloween shopping is going well. Mine’s on a bit of a hiatus because of a few home improvement projects in the works, but I’m almost finished. I’m way past due to focus on my favorite holiday.
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:
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I just loved everything on it. The center platter held one of my favorite items:
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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:
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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.
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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.
