Halloween Shop Haul

For weeks now, I've been watching bloggers post photographs upon photographs of the Halloween items in their locals stores. Eagerly I have awaited the appearance of such magical mass-produced goodies in my local stores. I knew that as I live in Australia, I would have to wait a bit longer. "Give it a few weeks," I told myself. "Just you wait, a three weeks to go and it'll be everywhere!"

I was wrong.

Australia has come quite a way in embracing Halloween. They play last year's Simpson Halloween special on the 31st. Channels dedicate their weekend movie spot to movies of the horror genre. Occasionally small children come a-knocking. But sadly we're still incredibly resistant to the holiday. For you see, yesterday I went shopping.

I like shopping. It's something I've become quite skilled at in my seventeen and a bit years on this planet. But yesterday was possibly the most depressing, and least fruitful shopping trip I've been on. Maybe I wasn't looking in the right places. Maybe I just wasn't trying hard enough. Maybe my expectations were to high. For as I left the house, in my mind I pictured aisles bedecked with Halloween goodies. Sugary treats and horrible polyester costumes. I wasn't expecting anything more than what was on offer last year and even then I was let down. For what holiday's decorations did I see in the 'seasonal' displays?

Christmas.
Yes, that's right, Christmas.
IN OCTOBER!

I should have seen it coming. It's a wonderfully marketable holiday and why start stocking shelves a month before when you can start two months before? Generally, I'm quite the fan of Christmas displays - all the colours and textures and shiny things. I am, afterall, nothing if not a simple creature. But this was just... sad.

Two stores did their best (sort of) to pervade against the gloom - craft store Spotlight and bargain store The Reject Shop.

Spotlight have had bits and pieces up for a few weeks now. I'd check in on them every now and then under the pretense of buying fabric for some thing or another. It never seemed to really change at all. However when I arrived yesterday morning I discovered the display above behind the counter. There wasn't a great deal of thought or effort put into it, but I appreciated the gesture. And wanted the clear plastic skeleton window cover thing on the back wall. However it was the last of its kind and Spotlight's assistants are notoriously unhelpful so I left empty handed. There were two shelves of Halloween related goodness that I could find, however the ever ominous Christmastime seemed to have begun its descent upon their shelf space.

 

The Reject Shop was perhaps both the biggest disappointment and the best overall. The crooked photo at the top of the post is one of three that appeared overnight outside their shop-front. I never remembered them advertising before and I thought that perhaps this year I'd gotten lucky. I contemplated taking down one of the posters late at night to keep all for myself but the idea of possible security cameras got the better of me and I walked on past. Admittedly I built it up too much. This year was much the same as last year - the ends of two aisles. Cute and bright but not exactly amazing, but I was drawn in none the less. (For some reason I only have photos of one of them. You're not missing much)

I ended up spending $16 dollars in The Reject Shop on my mini haul. Two pairs of skeleton gloves to one day replace my current ones, a packet of "candy basket" jack o' laterns (yes, really), two bracelets featuring some nice beads, and two imitation Pez machines which actually shoot out candy. My brother and I took it upon ourselves to test the candy. It was awful. They do however, make great projectiles and the carpet in the hall was littered with them before we were finished. Also on a fun note, the top part of their heads moves from side to side, and it makes their eyes and tongue move. Cute. The jewellery I immediately took apart and used the pumpkin and black cat beads to make necklaces from.

Also worth a note, the candy shop had a small display (really really small. Almost didn't see it small) out the front, and I was surprised upon returning home today to find two bags of "Severed Fingers & Eerie Eyeballs" which my brother and I are testing as I type this. So far the graphics are good, the chocolate not so much.

And the Halloween tree is enjoying it's new company.