Category Archives: Product Review

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.

2016 Halloween Merchandise Review: Dollar Tree

Oh, Dollar Tree, what would I do without you?

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.

2016 Halloween Merchadise Review: Gordman’s

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.

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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.

2016 Halloween Merchandise Review: Big Lots

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:

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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?

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They also have a wide variety of lighting, including rope lights, strobes, pathway markers, and various bulbs:

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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.

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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.

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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.

2016 Halloween Merchandise Review: Home Goods

Home Goods always has a great Halloween selection, and they didn’t disappoint this year.  If you’re not familiar with Home Goods, it’s basically a bigger, fancier home section of TJ Maxx.  They even carry some of the same stuff, which makes sense because they have the same parent company. And like TJ Maxx, their prices are pretty sweet.

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When I first walked in, I was greeted by this cool display:

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I especially loved this tall grim reaper figure.  Most of their items are more decorative in nature, so they don’t have many things that could be used as props in a haunted house or yard.  But this handsome guy here  would look right at home in any cemetery scene.

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As you can see in the pic below, they had a wide variety of decorations, from the cool and creepy to the glam and cute.

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These skulls were also some of my favorites.  Yeah.  I know.  Surprise, surprise.  I liked the skulls.

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Of course, they had pumpkins of all types and colors for those that want to steer their decorating to the fall side of things.

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One thing I thought was really cool at Home Goods was the types of decorative skulls they had (again with the skulls!).  Just look at some of the different kinds in the photos below:

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There was also one that was copper instead of silver and one that was completely jewel encrusted.  I tried taking a picture of the jeweled skull, but my camera turned it into a sparkly blob.

And this little guy with his Burton-esque vibe had me almost getting out my debit card…but I stayed strong.  I can’t go spending all my Halloween moneys this early in the game.

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I would definitely check out Home Goods for your Halloween decorating needs, especially if you’re looking for more decorative items instead of actual props.  They had quite a few unique items that I truly liked.

Plus, if you’re throwing a Halloween party and want to stay away from paper goods, they have a ton of plates, cups, and food serving items to choose from.  Just check out the selection in the pics below:

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I’m pretty sure I’ll end up with that cheese plate at some point.

Make sure to check out my other Halloween merchandise reviews to know exactly where to shop to fulfill your needs.  Also, make sure to follow me on Facebook for blog updates and additional pictures of Halloween products.

2016 Halloween Merchandise Review: Home Depot

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

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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.

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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.

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Check out this cool Frankenstein’s monster:

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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.

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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:

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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.

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

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I also liked this guy:

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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.

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

2016 Halloween Merchandise Review: Pottery Barn

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.

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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.

2016 Halloween Merchandise Review: Kirkland’s

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.

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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:

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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.

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For instance, I really liked this metal guy:

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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.

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

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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.

2016 Halloween Merchandise Review: Lowe’s

Lowe’s is a regular weekend trip for my husband and me, so I was very pleasantly surprised last weekend to see that they’ve finally put out their Halloween item.  I have to say, last year’s Lowe’s Halloween merchandise was lacking.  I think they upped their game this year.

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Just check out the lovely display they have as you walk into the indoor garden section:

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Doesn’t it just get you in the mood?  For Halloween, that is.

And they had another cute display pretty close by featuring some light-up decorations:

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One thing they had over other places is a large selection of blow-up yard decorations, including the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man from Ghostbusters, a pumpkin, a spider, minions, a dragon, and – my favorite – a grim reaper shown below.

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I thought these metal and wicker pumpkin decorations were pretty cute.  If you’re going for a folksy theme, these would be perfect.

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They had two animatronic props: a witch and a ghost.  Unfortunately, my video is too large to post right now, but I’ve shared them on Facebook if you want to see them.  And you do.  They’re pretty cool.  And while you’re there, follow my page.  Just do it.

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.