Tag: holidays

It’s not a secret that I’m a Halloween fanatic.  I think it stems from a combination of my mom’s propensity to out-decorate everyone on our street (suck it, not-to-be-named neighbor) for any holiday, and my love for scary movies. 

Now that I’m a bonafide grown-up (i.e. not living with roommates – DAMN YOU TIM) I’m thrilled to follow in mom’s footsteps and start collecting pieces for my own holiday decorating stash.

That’s why I’m embarrassingly admitting to all of you that I spent a lot of late September scouring Richmond’s major discount retailers to scout their goods and make a list of what I would purchase from where.

Here’s the skinny:

1. Target

Pros:  Target really stepped up its game this year and is a fantastic source for hanging ghouls, window/wall decals, tablecloths, tableware, baking items, serving pieces, and Halloween themed food.  I picked up the black tablecloth with neon pumpkins, black plastic “claws” salad servers, paper plates, a hanging ghoul for my front porch, and 3D “bats” that are proudly stuck to my living room wall above the tv.  All of these items were less than $10.

Cons: Avoid buying Phillips Halloween string lights unless you have a dispensable income.  They’re a great brand, but pricey.  You can buy equally good Sylvania lights from Garden ridge for $3 – $4 less per box.  I can’t speak for the $3.50 Target brand lights, but I do plan to pick up a box of the multi-colored string lights this weekend.

2. HomeGoods

Pros:  HomeGoods had an epic Halloween stock in 2011, but last year and this year’s crop featured far less inventory.  Still, HomeGoods is THE place to go for decorative accents like potion bottles, candelabras and other candle holders, glittery skulls, floral arrangements, and table runners.  I picked up a spiderweb table runner, a set of 4 poison potion bottles, and two super cute, silver witch hat luminaries. The most expensive item was $12.

Cons: Not as much stuff as years past, so things you may want to buy but wait for a later date will surely be gone when you check back.

3. Garden Ridge

Pros: Garden Ridge has a fantastic selection of yard signs, battery operated lights, lighted window decorations such as creepy eyes, skulls, etc, string lights, hanging ghouls, and, if you’re into them (I’m not) – inflatables.  I picked up three boxes of 100 count Sylvania string lights for $5.99 each (Target’s Phillips lights are $8.99 or more a pop), lighted creepy eyes for my front window, and a mesh-wire ghost that sticks in the yard.  All less than $10.  My mom scored a sweet lighted skeleton fence, creepy eyes for the bushes, and black lighted gauze for the mantel.

Cons: Navigating the tidal wave of tchotchkes in Garden Ride’s gigantic warehouse.  How many varieties of ceramic garden frogs could there possibly be?!

4. The Dollar Tree

Pros:  Oh my gosh. I am in true love with the Dollar Tree during any holiday.  They have amazing finds and you cannot beat the price.  This year, they have great pieces like black creepy cloth to drape over curtains or lamps, battery-operated, light-up, glittery, black and orange pumpkins (so many adjectives),  classic pull-apart spiderweb, and cutesy pumpkin chair covers.  I bought all of those and was angry that Dollar Tree was displaying the same exact candy corn cotton candy that I had purchased for $2 at the Fresh Market (damn you specialty grocery!)  It also looked like they had some pretty good costume accessories, especially for kids, and since you only wear them for one night who cares if the quality isn’t the best?

Cons: Do not – I repeat – do not ever purchase off-brand candy from the Dollar Store.  Stick to the name-brand stuff there.

Hobby Lobby:

Pros:  You can purchase decent sized hay bales that are 40% off from their original price of $4.99.  They have a wonderful selection of less scary, more harvest related fall decor.  Great centerpieces, table cloths, decorative pumpkins, platters, yard signs, and just about any other tchotchke (favorite word apparently) you could think of.  Their spookier Halloween decor is good if you’re like my mom and you love displaying decorative plates in your kitchen or just can’t live without that Frankenstein themed punch bowl (I’ll be that way one day… just wait).  But I only walked out of Hobby Lobby with a couple of hay barrels and some clay pots that I turned into chalkboard planters with some Krylon Chalkboard spray paint.

Cons: It’s Hobby Lobby so you’re inevitably spending an hour with people who are way better at crafts than you and probably live in a cute, cozy farm house, can make amazing apple pies, and are laughing at you for paying over $1 for a bale of hay.   Also, crafts are tempting and it’s so hard not to browse aisle after aisle of ModPodge, wreath supplies, and other shit you don’t need.

I could post more, but I’m frankly mortified to know so much about this and studies show that internet users only read 3/4 of a post’s content before getting bored. So you probably didn’t even read this.

It’s all for you, Damien,

Katie