My First Halloween Shopping Trip of the Season

 

Hello everyone! I hope you are getting back into the post-summer groove easily and smoothly.

October is less than two weeks away, and I'm sure you are already prepping for Halloween. I'm a late bloomer compared to most out there, as I don't start celebrating Halloween hardcore until October 1st. I'm a slacker, I know! But I did make a couple of shopping excursions for the big night, only one of which bore any fruit, but I'm happy with what I bought.

First up, a family-size box of Carmella Creeper (Walmart, $3). I still have plenty of Monster Cereal I didn't eat from last year, but I couldn't pass up the first new Monster Cereal character since Fruity Yummy Mummy in the 80s. I've heard mixed reviews on the cereal, but I enjoy caramel apple flavor, so I'm looking forward to trying this next month. Until then, I need to eat last year's cereal!

Next up, a 3-DVD collection of Beetlejuice, Gremlins, and Gremlins 2: The New Batch in a new glow-in-the-dark slipcase (Walmart, $9.96). Even though I already have Gremlins on a VHS tape my wife bought me 20 years ago, and I have Beetlejuice on a not-so-great dubbed VHS tape from the late 80s, I thought the DVD upgrade was worth it, especially since I don't have Gremlins 2 in any format. Plus, the entire collection was less than $10. The new slipcase was just a fun bonus!

Next, a pair of skeleton gloves (Dollar General, $2). My wife bought a skeleton costume from Target on clearance last year, and I thought these gloves would complement it. They're a bit snug, but they'll do.

Finally, the pièce de résistance: a very cheap, off-model Michael Myers mask (Dollar General, $8). It's made of vinyl, it's only a half mask, and the hair is also vinyl, but considering how many bad Michael Myers masks there are out there, if I'm going to buy one, I'd rather pay $8 than $20 or more for one.

In a separate outing, and without even looking for it, I found a bottle of Fanta's foray into the "mystery soda flavor" gimmick, What The Fanta? (Wawa, 2 20 oz bottles for $4). I got the zero sugar version, and the artificial sweetener seemed to throw off what the intended taste should be, so I have no guesses, just something fruity. I want to try the sugar version for a better taste test.

So, what do you think? Is this a decent Halloween haul for my first trip of the season? It's still early, so I plan on doing more scary shopping in the coming weeks. If I find more good stuff, I'll share it with you.

And remember, the Countdown to Halloween starts here at the blog on Sunday, October 1st!

Thanks!