I’m getting really excited for Halloween. The stores are starting to fill up with all sorts of fabulous and spooky goodies.
This article is a continuation of the shopping guide I started a few weeks ago.
Here are some creepy items that you might not find at your average Target. (That said, the Angry Chef and I are loving Target’s Halloween loot this season. Their spread seems to get better year after year.)
1. The Hungry Mouse Halloween Boutique
I set up my Amazon Halloween Boutique last week and sifted through what seemed like hundreds of pages of gear to pull out the coolest stuff I could find. Go have a nibble!
(We appreciate your support. Each time you make a purchase through The Hungry Mouse, Amazon rewards us with a little piece of cheese.)
2. Poisonous Bottle Labels
What better way to trick out your bar for Halloween? Your guests can get seasonally schnockered on cocktails made with “Doctor Rotgut’s Famous Embalming Juice” and “Ghoul-Ail Ectoplasmic Extract.”
Get a set of 24 Halloween Bottle Labels for $24 from Grandin Road. Available for order after October 3, 2008.
3. Spooky Floating Illusion Table
Wooooooo. Zoinks, it’s a ghost! No wait, I mean, ooooooh, it’s a table! Forget cheesy Halloween tablecloths. The Illusion Side Table by Danish designer Essey is an elegant�and otherworldly�way to prop up drinks and treats at an autumn cocktail party.
Get your very own floating table for about $280 from Grand. (Grand is run by the fabulously talented Wendy Friedman, one of The Hungry Mouse’s dear friends and partners in crime. Grand sells a fabulous assortment of modern housewares, furniture, and clothing.)
4. Yummy-Smelling Pumpkin Soaps
Etsy shopkeeper Sweet & Tranquil Bath and Body only makes her Pumpkin Spice Soap around Halloween, so get it while it lasts. Two 2-oz. soaps are $3.
5. Coffin-Shaped Flask
Carry your favorite poison wherever you go with a pewter Coffin Flask from Gothic Plus. Get yours for $65.
If you want one in time for Halloween, order soon. They’re imported from the UK, and take about 2 weeks to ship. Gothic Plus also sells a ton of gothic & renaissance items.
6. Edible Bats and Cats
Chocolate bats! Peanut butter cats! Packaged in a shaker-style wooden box, these critter-shaped cookies make a nice gift.
Each box has two 6-oz. mixed bags of bats and cats. (That’s about 28 cookies.) Order the Halloween Cats & Bats Gift Collection for $24.95 from Dancing Deer Baking Company.
A Little Halloween Mouse Love
The Hungry Mouse is a Dancing Deer affiliate. Get 15% off at Dancing Deer Baking Co. with code AF807.
7. Spidey Cupcake Wrappers
This is by far the coolest cupcake wrapper I’ve seen in a while. Made strictly for display (not baking), the laser-cut Spider Web Cupcake Wrapper is an extra-creepy finishing touch for any Halloween cupcake. Fits standard-size cupcakes. Get a package of 12 from Kitchen Krafts for $12.95.
8. Pumpkin-Colored Dessert Plates
Serve your treats on these Halloween Ceramic Plates. A set of four (one each of spider, cat, witch, and pumpkin) is $20 from Sur La Table.
9. Alien Gummy Sushi
While not strictly Halloween-y, these Invasion of the Saucer Men gummies are definitely freaky. Get yours from Nostalgic Candy for $2. They have a wide range of other ghoulish sweets as well.
10. Squid Plate with Tentacles
This handmade, 5-inch Squid Plate with Tentacles is just one of several fantastically monstrous clay creations by artist Skeletal Dropkick. Get yours at her Etsy shop for $10.
11. Pumpkin Truffles
Not nearly as frightful as the alien sushi above, these Pumpkin Truffles from Dean & DeLuca would be an elegant accompaniment to any seasonal soiree. At 20 pieces for $36, a box isn’t cheap. That said, white chocolate pumpkin ganache dipped in dark chocolate sounds too good to pass up.
If you don’t have time to fire up the oven, Dean & DeLuca has an assortment of other equally yummy-looking seasonal baked goods, like pumpkin whoopie pies and chocolate-dipped caramel apples.
12. Scrumpy’s Hard Cider
I’m a big fan of hard cider�especially around Halloween. While Cider Jack is an old standby at this point, a lot of folks are starting to produce what I guess are artisan ciders. I’m dying to try J.K. Scrumpy’s Hard Cider.
I will admit that it’s half because I have heard good things about it (that it’s full-bodied and tastes like cider, not spikey apple juice), and half because I like saying “Scrumpy’s.” According to the good folks at Almar Orchards who make it, a “scrumpy” is a style of farmhouse cider popular in Southern England.
A 22-oz. bottle is $5.79 at Liquor Outlet Wine Cellers.
13. Spooky Bats Cinespinner
This Spooky Bats Cinespinner, designed by Boston-based Rufus Butler Seder, is near the top of my list for neat and creepy bat-inspired decor. Just string it up in front of a window and watch the bats fly as it spins.
Buy yours, get tips for hanging, and see other designs at his company, Eye Think, Inc. The bat is 5.5 inches in diameter and sells for $19.75.
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Copyright 2008 The Hungry Mouse�/Jessica B. Konopa. All rights reserved.
