John Lewis

Snapped up the last of these little ceramic bonbon dishes from John Lewis Bluewater yesterday.

Monday 11th October 2021

John Lewis 2019

A brief visit to John Lewis, and as always beautifully presented, however nothing new of personal interest for me. Some of the bigger decorations were the same designs as last year, and their confectionery is always on the pricey side. However they did have some nice looking wire crows - such a shame they are coated with that horrible black glitter.

Friday 25th October 2019

John Lewis Halloween 2018

John Lewis always manage to have something of a little better quality, albeit at a higher price. And in a charming way the most interesting item was a metal witch and ghost standing by a streetlamp which could house a tealight. A simple and child-friendly design, but very well made.

The Hotel Chocolat confectionery is always overpriced in my opinion but then John Lewis is aiming for a wealthier pocket! The push bats and cats looked and felt nice but at £20 for what is essentially a small cuddly toy, the cat didn't find its way into my basket.

If I hadn't already got a glass skull bottle, I would've taken one of these.

The metal hanging bat and pumpkin light looked great too and for a tenner I was considering it. The central section was glass and not a cheap plastic, but I was dissuaded in the end by the fact that the battery operated light looked as if it would not be replaceable once used up.

Tuesday 9th October 2018

John Lewis Halloween 2017

Was passing by the Ashford store today so popped in. It is a smaller store and only selling homeware but still had a display by the door, nicely presented. Again with the amount of decorations I have there was nothing in particular I needed. However the chilli chocolate looked good with its skull design packaging (but with a not so tempting £3.50 price tag for 1 bar!). Otherwise for a more reasonable £12 was a nice looking pumpkin design table runner.

Tuesday 17th October 2017

John Lewis 2016

Again the normal fare you would expect from John Lewis. Mainly higher end confectionary and table decorations - there was a very big gingerbread house on sale! But for me the star of the display was the metal pumpkin cauldron. Rustic looking with a lid, and if I didn't have something similar I might've bought one. However my heavier and better quality on from TKMaxx about 10 years ago takes some beating. It's a shame too that the illuminated haunted houses are made of plastic and glittery - again the ones produced by John Lewis about 5 or 6 years ago were twice the size, made of metal and not covered in glitter which gets everywhere.

Saturday 24th September 2016

John Lewis Halloween decorations

Almost certainly not the full range but below gives you an idea of what John Lewis has on offer this year. 

About five years ago John Lewis sold an excellent metal haunted house to be lit up by tea-lights placed inside. The house had a matt black finish and although a little pricey, was a fair size. I debated whether to buy one and regretted my inaction afterwards. The following year they had a similar house, slightly smaller, in black - but covered with some godawful glitter. Not a patch on its predecessor - so I didn't buy it either.

This year upon spying the display my hopes were raised at seeing a nicely designed haunted house with pumpkin outside... and then dashed when I realised it was made of plastic with a battery powered light inside.

The best thing I saw in this year's display was the tea-light holders in the shape of spiders webs.

Sunday 25th October 2015

Halloween at Waitrose and Aldi

Was in Hythe yesterday primarily to get a ceramic pumpkin shaped plate advertised for sale in Aldi. Managed to get the last couple... and also a halloween themed dark ale that I hadn't tried before - 'Dunkel Fester.'

Also popped into Waitrose. They had the usual partyware. Slightly more expensive than some other shops. Nothing there that stole my fancy. However if you have young children, there were a selection of pre-school Halloween storybooks. So if your kids are into Peter Rabbit, Peppa Pig or Mr. Men...

Friday 2nd October 2015

John Lewis Halloween 2014

Again, the usual fare you'd expect from John Lewis. A bit more tasteful than other outlets, but this comes at a price. The tea-lights that hang from metal spiders' web holders are nice, but I picked up something similar from Clintons last year with hanging pumpkins. The terracotta pumpkin is probably the best item on offer, but commands a price tag of £15! There is a metal haunted house again into which you put tea-lights... but again it is smaller that the really good one sold 3 or 4 years ago - and again it is covered in that horrible glittery paint. The rest of the items range from sweets to partyware.

Sunday 21st September 2014

Clintons, John Lewis & TK Maxx

Just a quick run through of some more of the halloween decorations hitting the shelves in the UK. As with the last few years now, most are party decorations for once only use (e.g. paper plates or bunting), or edible gifts... but amongst all this there are a few interesting reuseable goodies.

John Lewis can usually be relied upon to put some quality items out, although I noted on their website that the metal haunted house in which one puts tealights did not light up as well as those for sale in previous years. I must say that I am personally not much of a fan of any decoration that is covered in black glitter that seems only too readily to rub off and make a mess. So for me this year the interesting items were two of the simplest and cheapest - the two tin cans into which one could put tealights - one orange with a pumpkin silhoutte and the other black with a bat design - £2.50 each. (I didn't really get a good shot of these - they are in the third picture to the right of the Halloween sign.)

 

 

TK Maxx for years were a good bet for interesting and unusual decorations but in the past two years I haven't a clue what's been happening as some of their stores have gone from stacked high of the good stuff to practically nothing. This year they have scented candles but little else - apart from some confectionery - although the Dracula tin of jellied sweets is a nice design.

 

 

 

And then a shop that has been quite poor with its selection in recent years comes in trumps with some quality decorations rather than just the cheaper end of the fancy dress market. So hats off to Clintons! I like the Halloween tree of 3 glass pumpkins in which one can put tealights for £11.99. The black ceramic cat is also, if a tad expensive, quite classy. And the small tealight holders which are painted black but have etched pumpkin designs and are reflective on the inside are also not available every year. Interestingly I saw some similar orange glass pumpkin tealight holders similar to those hanging from the Clintons 'tree' in Waitrose and very reasonably priced at £2 each, however on close inspection the Waitrose ones didn't even come close in quality and the faces were very poorly painted and didn't keep to the design.

 

 

 

Happy hunting!

 

 

Monday 7th October 2013

 

 

Update * Saturday 12th October 2013*

 

Found this other photo of Clintons Cards' Folkestone store which shows off their range a bit better.

 

 



 



This year's first Halloween decorations & sweets...

Well, TKMaxx in Ashford who have for the past few years put their Halloween decorations out late August have still to fill their shelves with interesting, if sometimes broken goods. Likewise the supermarkets are a few weeks off yet too. However Poundland and the 99pStore have their usual clabby stock out.

Marks & Spencers have a few Halloween sweets out at the end of their aisles however on a more positive note, John Lewis in Oxford Street have several displays out. Usual stuff... paper plates, party goods, napkins, metal haunted house tea light holders and really expensive chocolates. Yet slightly different was a metal orange house-shaped tea light holder containing fudge with silhouetted pumpkins and bats cut into it. Also I picked up a big bag of pumpkin spiced Hersheys Kisses from Cyber Candy near Covent Garden.

Saturday 22nd September 2012