The Most Amazing Halloween Aisle Ever

This caused quite the stir on my Twitter page over the weekend. Of all the retail establishments I've been to so far this season, this one aisle at my local grocery store is by far the absolute best of all of them. As I said on Twitter, this aisle take me right back to a 1992, perhaps somewhere in a corner drug store. This particular grocery store looks like it hasn't been updated since then either, with outdated lettering atop all the different departments and old tile floors that seem to be the original floor. This was the only good picture I could get as the store was busy and I had to take this somewhat sneakily so the guy at the meat counter wouldn't give me a suspicious look. Anyway, let's take a look at some of the highlights of this ...

This is one of the best M&M displays I've ever seen with Red dressed as a vampire and surrounded by mountains and mountains of M&Ms. I would wager a guess that when the store is closed he swims in these bags like Scrooge McDuck swims in money. I mean, just look at the mounds and mounds of candy that surrounds him, wouldn't you be in heaven too? Also, not to be forgotten in this shot are the giant cauldrons, presumably to be used for some sort of witchcraft shenanigans or to be used as a Halloween candy bowl. The possibilities are endless!

Towards the back of the display, we have a scarecrow and a crazy tree sprouting all sorts of candy. The scarecrow is your typical cutesy fall fare for those who want to play it straight. That's not really my style. I like the crazy Halloween candy tree. Also, if you look very closely in the back you can see  part of an old school circular department store rack covered with costumes. Very 1980s-ish.

These look like they're supposed to be ghosts. I'm down with that. What is the white stuff they put on them, was it paint of some sort? This looks like a crazy high school arts and crafts project and I can so dig that.

It's the trick or treat monster and he's coming to steal all your candy! Not really, but this sign is really, really cool. The monster kind of that that reaction like Tweek on South Park does, like he's perpetually petrified. Also, what is that coming out of his left side? Is it a bolt? An arm?

You can't have a retail Halloween display without and inflatable graveyard scene that nearly touches the ceiling.

There are more inflatables and a lamp post that I very nearly bought as it was listed at 20% off the sticker price. Also, any store that has so much Halloween candy that they have to sort it into big bags and monster bags, is tops in my book.

The thing that makes it for me is while this aisle may look clean, it's also meant to be messy, which brings me back to my drug store analogy as all drug store Halloween aisles were always a bit unkempt. This one aisle takes everything that is awesome about the Halloween season and packages it neatly in one semi-neat ball that doesn't take itself too seriously.

Thank you grocery story Halloween aisle. Thank you for being you.

Five Cheap Trick Or Treat Bags

I'll come right out and say it, these bags are really cool, even cooler considering they were nearly a steal at 20 cents each. Yes, you read that right, they were 20 cents each from the local grocery store. Cheap Halloween goods like this were what the original Halloween videos my friends and I did were based upon (side note: those will be posted up come October) so this will be like going back to my roots as I review these. Quick aside, there were actually six different designs to choose from, however the sixth one contained a giant spider on the front of the bag. Since I want nothing to do with spiders in any form, be it cartoonish or otherwise, I opted to leave that one at the store.

Bag #1 - Jack O'Lantern: Here's the first bag, pretty simple if you ask me. Just nothing more than a jack-o-latern pattern with a generic orange background and a black bottom. These bags have the same feel and are about the same size of a small popcorn bag that you would pay about six dollars for at the movie theater with no refills. To be honest, there's not much else here to talk about aside from this bag serving as a good model to use when carving your pumpkin this fall.

Bag #2 - Haunted House: Someone really put some effort into this one. On the front alone, you've got a mummy, a giant jack-o-lantern, a ghost, a super creepy mansion, a dark sky, the outline of a creepy old tree and presumably bats flying above the mansion. Now if just looking at this bag doesn't get you in the Halloween spirit, I don't know what will. After I took the picture, I noticed the side of the bag has pumpkins running all along the side of it. I definitely give this one a top score for creativity.

Bag #3 - Happy Monsters: I have no idea on if "Happy Monsters" is the official title of this design or not, I'm simply calling it that because these creatures seem incredibly thrilled to be plastered on the front of this bag. It's just got this fun, happy, Monsters Inc. feel to it and I'm sure any elementary school kid would be proud to carry this around during trick or treat.

Bag #4: Party Favors: Need some cheap, generic Halloween party wallpaper or something funky to decorate your work cube with? Then go grab yourself some of these! This one definitely gives a vibe of a Halloween party with jack-o-lanterns, evil looking suckers, tiny bats, and generic candy in the form of Tootsie Pops. I'd say this one is probably my second favorite behind the haunted house bag.

Bag #5: Squiggles: Here's the last bag, a simple Happy Halloween graphic centered on top of some black, white, and orange squiggles. While not exactly the most inspiring design, it definitely has more character than it's cousin, the plain orange jack-o-latern bag we started things off with. Heck, even the pumpkin looks thrilled to be part of the proceedings.

Overall, I'd say for 20 cents a piece, you definitely can't go wrong here. I'm hoping I can find some other cheap goods to pick up during the season as these were great!

Project Halloween Begins .... NOW!!

Welcome to Project Halloween 2016!

Let's do this.

Project Halloween is born out of a love of the fall and Halloween season that I discovered about ten years ago. Back in 2007, a few friends and I came up with the idea to do a video reviewing Halloween candy, decorations, and the like and put it online the Friday before Halloween. While we were doing that, I was the main person going out to stores getting goofy candies, rubber masks, cheap props, etc that we could all review and talk about during the special. During that time, I discovered a love for the holiday and the season that I never knew I had. Those specials continued yearly and eventually made it onto YouTube until our last one in 2014. There wasn't one last year as everyone's schedules made it incredibly difficult to get together and film.

I know most, if not all, of you come here for the trading card content. Between now and November, that will be on the back burner in favor of Project Halloween. Come November, once we're all suffering from a Halloween hangover and I've blown through at least 100 cans of Mountain Dew and untold boxes of pumpkin flavored junk food, cards will be back in full force. Trading cards are around and available all year, while fall and Halloween only comes around once, so why not embrace it while I can. It is my favorite time of year after all.

So what is in store for Project Halloween? Anything and everything! The "Hallo-Switch" is in full effect where stores have started clearing out their beach chairs, grills, and school supplies and are replacing them with masks, candy, plastic weaponry, shrunken heads, costumes, etc. That, along with the amount of seasonal food already available (and judging by what's out there, it's going to be a very heavy year on the pumpkin spice), should make for a fun Halloween season. I can't guarantee a new post every day but there will be plenty to go around, don't worry.

Besides the Halloween standards like candy and decor, there will be all kinds of other stuff ... fall festivals, farm markets, horror films, trick-or-treat night, seasonal beers, and lots of other random junk that I'm sure hasn't even shown up yet but probably will between now and October 31st. Oh yeah, the blog got a little Halloween makeover just to make sure the spooky season is done right.

Since this is a kick-off to Halloween and in order to get you into the Halloween spirit there are a number of things you could do right now, but the biggest one of all is to get out and do some shopping! Call it a Halloween treasure hunt if you will. Sure most stores may not have a full-fledged display out yet but if you just look at little closer or go out of your way to look, you never know what you might find. Now is the time where each evening walk, each trip to the store, and a million, trillion mundane, routine items we do on a daily basis are now all out adventures and I encourage you to take advantage of it.

So come on in, boys and girls, sit down, and stay for a while, there's nothing to be scared of. My only hope is that you have as much fun reading my two month ode to this time of year as I do writing it. If it helps you embrace and rediscover the best time of the year, then I've done my job and far as making it fun. I hope you as readers enjoy it and I encourage you to leave comments and spread the word if you do.

For the next two months, we're going to go crazy folks. Enjoy it, savor it, make it your own. Halloween only comes around once a year, it's our duty to do it right. Now, do yourself a favor and kick back with some popcorn, your favorite drink, and Friday the 13th: Part 3.

We're gonna party until we're dead.