Halloween Vince's dark delights!

Disney Store Halloween 2025

I was in London yesterday, visiting a gallery and going to the theatre, but the walk to and from, took me past various shops in Oxford Street with their Halloween fare out on display. Nice to see the Haunted Mansion merchandise.

Saturday 27th September 2025

Tesco 2025

When I visited my local Tesco store today I saw their main Halloween display. It's mainly the usual type of cheaper decorations and nothing outstandng regarding costumes and masks. There seems to be a trend for some larger cuddly toys made up for example with a mask or cape this year to cash in - I suppose the cuteness appeals to the toddler market, but for the more hardened halloween collectors, nothing to get excited about. I didn't take photos of the sweets and cakes as they are somewhat generic too. The fabric pumpkins billed as cushions at £10 each seemed the nicest items, but there were noticably less orange ones than the cream coloured options - so get them while they last.

Monday 24th September 2024

Sainsburys 2025

I visited Sainsburys on Saturday when very little had been put out and then on Monday when the main display shelves had been filled. Some of the Nightmare Before Christmas figures had some with some rather disproportionate heads which didn't work for me - the bodies were too stocky and squat for the heads. (I noticed this in Primark last year too.) Lilo & Stitch I wouldn't say are natural Halloween bedfellows - but this is Disney cashing in on a currently popular franchise which makes good business sense for them. The Mickey Mouse items looked rather uninspired though.

There were some tasteful hanging decorations and table platters. But I was a bit disappointed that the terracotta pumpkins were sealed with an LED light already in them. I prefer more the sturdier outdoor variety which you can put real tealights in. Interesting to see the bath bombs and soap dispensers added to the range this year.

Tuesday 23rd September 2025

Poundland 2025

As I have been collecting Halloween decorations for over three decades now, I am getting pickier as I get older and am shying more away from the cheaper shops. However it is always a pleasure to see what the pound shops have on offer to enable someone to very reasonably decorate a party and the pound-shops do often throw up some very tasteful buys that look more expensive than they cost.

This year it was good to see Poundland attempt some homewares e.g. oven gloves and the kind of felt or wooden decorations that somewhare like Sainsburys might be offering. I wasn't keen on the oven glove designs - they seemed to me that they were sparsely illustrated - but it is a welcome addition to their normal range of items.

The ceramic jars at £3 were good value; I liked the countdown calendar; the coffin trays were basic but someting I would have bought back in the day; and despite the skeleton being orange, I thought it a nice design that would work well if several were displayed.

Tuesday 23rd October 2025

Morrisons 2025

I visited the Folkestone store last Saturday to see what this year's offering is. Lots of the normal decorations which 20 or 30 years ago I would've wanted. However this year there was nothng that held my attention. There were some bowls at the end of the aisle and a pumpkin-shaped salt and pepper cruet set. But how many cruet sets does one need when one's been collecting for a few decades! There are some nice hanging decorations and this year I noticed some matching Nightmare Before Christmas pyjamas for men, women and kids. (Most of the major supermarkets seem to have been selling Nb4C nighties and pjs for a few years now.) It's just a shame Morrisons no longer has it's Halloween bottled beers and a themed Autumn/Halloween Beer section.

Tuesday 23rd September 2025

Tesco Home 2025

Popped into the nearest Tesco that would have some homewares in and noticed the Halloween mugs, plates and other items. The colour scheme is black and white this year, which doesn't fit in with the decor I've collected over the years, but if you like ghosts, spider's webs, and black cats then there are some items probably worth buying.