Halloween can’t get here fast enough and if you are like me you have been looking at stores in your area to see if anyone has jumped the gun and started to put out Halloween items. I’ve started seeing some Halloween candy in some stores but with back to school still going strong it’s going to be a few weeks until we start seeing signs that Halloween is getting closer in box stores.
Here is a break down on what I’m finding in stores.
Walgreens
I talked to a manager in Walgreens yesterday and I was told that they are knee deep in back to school and they won’t begin stocking Halloween until late August or early September.
CVS
According to my local CVS manager they will not start setting Halloween items out until Sept 1. She told me they had some items in the back but with summer and back to school items they wouldn’t be putting them out early.
Rite-Aid
Rite-Aid has already begun to put out Halloween candy. I talked to the manager and she told me that they had already put the candy out and wouldn’t begin to put out anything else Halloween related until after the back to school rush was over in a few weeks. But if you love the mellowcreme pumpkins and candy corn as much as I do, Rite-Aid has your fix.
Home Depot
Home Depot isn’t in the middle of back to school but they are pushing their storage totes right now. With kids moving into dorms I’m guessing the totes are a good idea since Home Depot doesn’t sell paper and notebooks for back to school. The manager I talked to told me that they wouldn’t begin putting out Halloween items in the store until late August at the earliest. HomeDepot.com, on the other hand is selling Halloween stuff.
Lowes
Lowes is in the same boat as Home Depot. They are stuck with a lot of patio furniture from summer and the emphasis in my local store is still pushing out summer items. The manager I asked about Halloween told me it was still too early for that and to check back in a month.
Big Lots
I had heard from a friend in the midwest that they had seen some Halloween stuff popping up in their Big Lots. I stopped in mine and was told that they still have too much summer merchandise to put the Halloween items out just yet. I was told they might gradually start putting it out in the coming weeks and to check back then.
Dollar Tree
I was surprised to walk into Dollar Tree and see some Halloween stuff out. It wasn’t much but I’m sure after the back to school rush is over we will start to see a lot more. Dollar Tree is usually ahead of the curve when it comes to seasons and I actually saw some Christmas stuff in the back they were about to put out.
Dollar General
My local Dollar General had just changed out their summer items to Halloween candy when I was in the store yesterday. One of the cashiers joked with me about how he couldn’t believe how early it was in the year to be putting out Halloween candy. I would celebrate Halloween year-round if I could but I was glad to see that Dollar General was starting to get ready. The cashier told me that they had received some Halloween items from their warehouse but the candy was the first priority and then they would put the other items out after back to school was over.
Michaels
Michaels has already put out quite a bit of Halloween stuff for 2017 in my local store. Not only did they have crafts and decorations they had some nice props like headstones as well. Michaels is similar to Dollar Tree, in the fact that they usually are early to set out new season merchandise.
Bargain Hunt
Bargain Hunt is a great place to get Halloween props. I found an animatronic Wicked Witch of the West for $25 last year. Unfortunately, they hadn’t set out their Halloween stuff out just yet. They still have a lot of summer merchandise to go through before they put out Halloween.
Target
Target is swamped with back to school right now. I was told to check back in the coming weeks when school started back. They told me candy would likely get put out first then as the back to school sold down they would put out the other Halloween props and decorations. Target.com has already updated their site with their offerings for Halloween 2017 in case you wanted to know what they would have this year.
Spirit Halloween
Spirit Halloween hasn’t opened yet. In fact, the location near me only has not really set anything up just yet and you can only see boxes strown about the building through the window. I’m guessing the coming weeks they will begin to set up their stores and open in a month or so. According to their site they will announce on August 15 where their new stores will be for 2017. Spirit stores don’t often stay in the same location from year to year as they move around to locations that are empty where landlords are eager to sign a month to month lease so they can get the best deal. Halloween stores are typically open in September and close down on November 1.
If you have to find something now and can’t wait a few more weeks. Amazon.com always has Halloween stuff available. I found these cool blood bags this week on their site.
Halloween is almost here. If you can wait until Labor Day you will start to see tombstones decorations and animatronics everywhere.
