It’s here! ITāS HERE!! Oh, wait. Actually, itās THERE. As evidenced by these photos from America’s At Home Stores, generously provided by my spookalicious Insta-friendĀ Miranda.
Itās no secret that when it comes to Halloween, Iād like to up sticks and move to America.
Or at least shop there.
Even though Halloween dates back to the Celtic fire festival ofĀ SamhainĀ that hails from here in the British Isles, we Brits definitely get the raw end of the Halloween decorating deal. Itās why last year; I launched a campaign to Bring Halloween Back to Britain.
Not only do our Halloween-loving cousins across the pond have way better decorations than us (OK, aside from HomeSense and TK Maxx, but then they ARE part of a US-company), America also gets them early.
Like NOW early!
Last July, I all but hyperventilated at discovering 8 aisles of Hallow-goodness in Michaelās.
And the perfect pumpkins of Jo-Annās.
Not to mention THOSE skulls at Pier 1 Imports that spawned the birth of my own jewelled creations.
And who could forget Poeās typewriter that I almost cried over in TJ Maxx?
There was no fitting THAT into my suitcase.
Then cried over again when Beloved found not one but TWO sizes in Homesense.
That now live in the OneandSeventy Dining Room.
All. Year. Round.
I BLOODY LOVE HOMESENSE!!
Beloved ain’t bad, either.
But if I thought Halloween in July was amazing, some of my Insta-Hallowbuddies started posting their 2018 finds in May!
MAY, I tell ya!
OK, I get that Britain is like a zillionth the size of America with more customers to please and of course, everything Stateside is bigger including Halloween but Jeez Louise! Without Homesense and TK Maxx feeding our addiction maybe in early September, UK Halloween lovers will be lucky to see anything more spooky than a pumpkin well into witching season.
Itās bad enough if you only do magic on October 31st. But if youāre a Halloween decorator like me who makes magical mischief all year, it can be seriously soul-destroying.
And so it is that I live vicariously through my Stateside Insta-witches.
Youāve already been introduced to the Ć¼ber stylish Alex at Me and Annabelle Lee ā my Dark Crafting Soul Sister.
Then thereās Miranda Enzor, Halloween Hunting Guru and primary source of this yearās early finds.Ā Miranda blogs over at Spooky Little Halloween and also runs The Samhain Society ā a group of like-minded Halloween-obsessed bloggers.
Like Yours Truly.
Last, but certainly not least, is my dear Insta-friend and Hallow-decor Sister Jillian at @Trick_ThirtyOne, whose home is quite possibly even more chock full of year-round Halloween than OneandSeventy and whose positive comments and support on both Instagram and Pinterest have been influential in my Halloween journey.
Oh! And Jillian reliably informs us that Pier 1 is doing THAT SKULL in black this year.
Youāre welcome.
I hope one day to get the chance to meet these fabulous ladies for some spooktacular Stateside shopping. Mind youā¦ I suspect if that were ever to happen, I might need a considerably larger baggage allowance!
A hui hou,
Awww…. Thanks for the honorable mention!! Can you imagine the 4 of us going on a shopping trip?!?! That would be amazing… we’d probably clear the store shelves!! One day we will finally meet my friend… when the stars align!!
You are so welcome my lovely. I already have it all planned out… at least in my head! LOL
I used to do a lot of Halloween decorations but since my sister passed away I donāt enjoy the holidays like I used to. This year Iām gonna try and at least make an effort. I used to make a lot of my own stuff but I just donāt have it in me anymore. So this year Iāve been addicted to Pinterest for ideas and Etsy is my new best friend. Iāve gone wreath crazy. I think so far Iāve bought 4-5 Fall / Halloween wreaths and a few centerpieces. If you havenāt checked these places out you need too.
I love Autumn and Halloween wreaths, Gary and you get some amazing ones across the pond. Pinterest is a fantastic source of inspiration especially if you fancy making your own, but it would be lovely to see more amazing creations here in Britain.
I’m so glad I found your site! I used to celebrate Halloween all the time when I lived in Scotland but moving to London means it kind of got forgotten about (although I always watch Hocus Pocus on Halloween). But now we moved to an area in SE London that really really goes for it at Halloween. We didn’t know and last year just hung some bat decorations up at the window. We had such a lovely evening walking about the streets seeing all the effort people made and how excited the children were (and they were SO polite, only taking one sweetie each even after I encouraged them to take more). So now I am planning my decorations WAY in advance and your site is really helping. I’m going for a Witches Garden theme. Not too scary though. Will be trying the smoking cauldron and the potion bottles too. Can’t wait! Just hope the weather is good like it was last year x
Hey Lydia, that’s fantastic! Most people generally look at me like I’m nuts when I talk Halloween all year long, so it’s fantastic to know there are other regular people out there who enjoy what I do. Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know, it’s very much appreciated. Looking forward to hearing more about your celebrations! Sue x