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September 2009
Spooky soaps keep things clean and smelling of fall
Bath & Body Works’ has “opened” their Halloween Shop, which they’ve dubbed the “Halloween Boo-tique.”
They don’t seem to have as big of a selection this year as they have in the past, but they do have a foaming, jack-o-lantern shaped soap dispenser this year in addition to the pumpkin “patch” shaped dispenser of their regular hand soap. Both are available in the Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin scent.
They’ve also got a pumpkin shaped bath sponge, soft Halloween socks in orange/black and purple/green and Wallflowers diffusers in pumpkin, haunted house and ghost designs.
Other scents for fall are: Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin, Leaves, Creamy Caramel, Pumpkin Patch, Spiced Cider and Vanilla Caramel.
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Halloween areas finally taking shape
Maybe it’s the economy — fewer employees, ordering less seasonal merchandise, trying to get the most out of the previous season — but it seems that many stores have been taking their sweet time getting out all of their Halloween merchandise.
Target, Wal-Mart, Dollar Tree and others are among some of the stores that I’ve seen drag out the set up for at least a few weeks leaving empty shelves just waiting for ghoulish delights.
But, at long last most of these sections are starting to take shape.
A recent visit to Target revealed a great selection of candy filling the aisles as well as the usual aisle of baking and other unique Halloween food and drink items including: spooky drink mixes, gummy eye balls and brains for your drinks, Halloween themed sodas (cans and glass bottled Jones sodas).
Target’s focus this year for Halloween seems to be the Skelanimals — animals with skeleton faces and limbs. They’ve got them featured in party supplies and decorations as well as clothing.
They’ve also got a good selection of monster-themed decorations and party supplies as well as their usual assortment of decorations, lights and party supplies.
At last check, Wal-Mart was still putting stuff out but they did have a good selection of Halloween party favors out including: pencil packs ($2 for a package of 24 pencils — this is a better deal than most dollar stores have on Halloween pencils), wide variety of glow sticks and necklaces in all colors, flashlights and more items that are $1-$2 each.
What cool Halloween items have you found (or purchased) so far?
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Kroger gets ready to scare up Halloween fun
The Kroger store in Fairborn has started to put out their Halloween merchandise for the season.
In the center/seasonal aisle they’ve got Halloween candy, decorations, a few costume items and party favors as well as general fall items.
I also noted a fun Halloween display near the beer aisle where they turned a pillar in the store into a spooky black tree and placed a life-size witch underneath it stirring a “burning” “cauldron.” The cauldron is actually a perfectly shaped and sized beer container and the flames are made from a variety of paper and metallic tissue paper sheets.
The shelf above the beer aisle has Halloween signs and artwork on display as well.
Has your Kroger store decorated or started to put out Halloween items?
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Lowes Halloween selection surprising, good
I have to admit, when I walked into the Beavercreek Lowes store on Thursday night, I was a little surprised by the amount of Halloween items they had on display.
I expected a few big items (some inflatables, maybe some lights) but I was pleased to find some unique inflatables, life-sized witches, skeletons and other figures, a good selection of lights and other fun items (shaking heads and Giggle Buddies among them).
Among the inflatables: An animated black cat and animated spider (the spider was catching a lot of attention from those walking by!), a “hot rod” hearse and others.
They did have one neat item that I haven’t seen elsewhere yet: A 5ft tall lighted skeleton. It’s indoor/outdoor and uses cool white lights making the clear coloring glow brightly.
The Lowes Web site has many of the items featured in the store, but not all.
I also ventured out to the area that houses the garden center in the warmer months and found that they are starting to put out Christmas lights and decorations.
Tip: If you’re wanting to buy purple or orange lights for Halloween use, I recommend heading to the holiday section at Lowes. They have boxes of 100 mini-lights in purple and golden yellow (closest thing to orange) for less than $3. Everywhere I’ve seen purple light strings marked as Halloween, they’ve been at least $3 and up to $6 or $7. They also have a few other color choices as well as the traditional multi-strands.
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QVC’s Halloween Spooktacular
QVC recently aired a special on Spirit Halloween items, but if you missed it, don’t worry. They’ve got a whole section of their Web site devoted to their Halloween Spooktacular.
Available items and collections include: kids and adult costumes, Spirit Halloween decorations and props, Jim Shore and Quacker Factory Home decor items and “boo-tiful décor” ranging from full-size figures and “greeters” to lanterns, windchimes and light sets.
If you enjoy the laughter more than the scares when it comes to Halloween, I recommend checking out their “Giggle Buddies.” I’ve seen these animated “people” in action and they are hilarious and inspire contagious laughter as they giggle and say funny things as you walk by. They are currently priced at $21.23 + S&H.
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2nd Beavercreek Halloween store open
*UPDATE: As of Wednesday night, Halloween USA was open for business.
The Halloween Express store in Beavercreek has opened for the season. As I noted recently, the Beavercreek store is once again located behind the Chili’s and next to Rex on the corner of N. Fairfield Rd. and New Germany Trebein.
But HE is not the only Halloween store opening in Beavercreek this year. While driving down N. Fairfield over the weekend I spotted that familiar neon orange on a shopping center sign and discovered that Halloween USA is opening a store in the former Circuit City building. It’s next to the Barnes and Noble store and behind the LongHorn Steakhouse. Last year, Halloween USA in Beavercreek was in the Walmart shopping center. *A sign in the window indicates that it’s “coming soon.”
Where have you spotted Halloween stores preparing to open?
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Ready to get scared out of your mind?
It may seem a little early for haunted houses, but if you’re ready to scream, you can start getting scared tonight if you head to Middletown.
Middletown’s Land of Illusion opens tonight at dark and features The Middletown Haunted Trail, Dr. Psycho’s Haunted Estate, 3-D Killer Klowns and the Temple of Terror.
It’ll cost you anywhere from $15-$40 a person depending on which “terrors” you wish to partake in, but the atmosphere, setup and scares are pretty good here. I haven’t been for a few years but the last time I was there I left sufficiently scared out of my wits.
>> Get a sneak peek at the Land of Illusion
If scares aren’t your thing, there are at least 5 area corn mazes open (or opening) this weekend as well. The beauty of a corn maze is that it usually takes place in broad daylight, free from ghouls, goblins and other creatures that go bump in the night — making it perfect for scaredy-cats (like me!), children and families alike.
If you’re looking for a particular haunt, you can check out our list of 2009 area haunted houses to find out when it will open.
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Halloween arrives at Target
This crisp air seems to be putting everyone in the mindset of fall and with that comes my favorite holiday of the year: Halloween.
The past few years I’ve heard lots of people remarking that it was “too early” when Halloween stuff started appearing in stores in August. It seems like stores might have taken note though for this year. September has arrived and with it the first batches of Halloween stuff in some discount stores. Specialty shops have put out things slowly over the last several months but aside from that, most stores seem to be waiting until at least September (that’s today!) to put stuff out. Another possibility? Stores are trying to get as much out of their back-to-school merchandise as possible. And that means keeping it out longer.
Last night (Monday) I went to the Beavercreek Target and discovered that the Halloween section (back corner of the store in the seasonal area) is starting to fill up with spooky Halloween items. Shelf tags were in place and some items were already out — including a set of color-changing skull lights that blink and change colors to the tune of the “Halloween” movie theme song, a “bleeding” skull candle, many talking skeletons and ghouls, trick-or-treat bags/buckets and more.
I was told at the Beavercreek Wal-Mart that their Halloween items should be out in early September and hopefully this week.
A fellow shopper said she saw Halloween candy being put out at Discount Drug Mart the other day.
Where have you spotted Halloween items being put on display?
