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Home Decor

2021 Halloween Shopping

2021 Halloween Shopping

The 2021 Halloween Shopping season has been unlike any other. Firstly, we are still in a pandemic (closer to the tail end than last year, but it is still complicating things).

Secondly, there have been severe shipping delays on merchandise. Retailers such as Spirit Halloween, Target, and more are seeing increased delays on products due to port closures and slow container processing times. These port delays due to issues surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic have a ripple effect and are compounded by ground-shipping logistics once the items have arrived in the U.S. This has resulted in items hitting store shelves sometimes much later than expected. Affected items include animatronics, decor, and fog machines. 

Lastly, due to many people being unable to celebrate Halloween to the fullest last year, there is an increased demand to participate in the holiday this year. Poll after poll have shown that a majority of Americans plan to celebrate Halloween 2021 – and they want to buy more decor, candy, and other supplies. More shoppers are competing to buy the few items that made it to shelves!

Despite all the issues, I still managed to find a few items worth trying to snag before they disappear!

2021 Halloween Shopping Highlights

While many items from last year have returned for 2021, here are some new highlights for this season:

1. Skull Welcome Sign (Michaels $29.99)

Images from Michaels.com

The green and off-white colors of this skull welcome sign are a wonderful change of pace from the normal black and orange Halloween color scheme. The vine-like pattern behind the skull adds a touch of whimsy. This sign will be the perfect addition to my home! The only detail to note is that the sign is a little large at 28” x 15.4”, so it may not fit easily above a doorway if you have lower ceilings.

2. 12”x12” Scrapbook Paper (Joann $14.99)

DCWV makes some of the best Halloween scrapbook paper designs currently on the market. This year’s lineup at Joann is another smash hit. “Halloween Town” is a fun and bright pack with bold colors. “Haunted Harvest” features floral prints rich burgundy and moss colors. “VoooDooo” mixes purples, blacks, off-whites, golds, and greys with skulls, spiders, and voodoo occult images. “Halloween Party” is the perfect fit for a light and girly project – with its peach colors, flowers, and cutesy images.

3. Nite Nite by Munki Munki Halloween Pajamas (Kohls $54.00)

Image from Kohls.com

As an owner of these pajamas in a different style from last year, I can say that they are in fact extremely comfortable. I love the new designs available for 2021 – Halloween characters in frames on a black background; pumpkins and fluffy black cats; and ghosts, cats, and pumpkins. Each set includes a top and matching pants with an elastic waistband.

4. Sam Rules of Halloween Journal (Spirit Halloween $14.99)

Image from SpiritHalloween.com

Ever since I was a kid, I have loved buying new journals to write stories, poems, and ideas in. Absolutely anything one can imagine can be put to the blank pages. This Trick ‘R Treat journal looks so cute and would be a great way to flaunt my love for Halloween & horror. I also like that it has the built-in strap to keep the pages closed when not in use.

5. Owl Double Old-Fashioned Glasses (Williams Sonoma $59.95)

These glasses may be a little more fall themed than Halloween, but you have to admit, their cold, black eyes are pretty creepy! Each double old-fashioned glass has a unique owl design that is cut and polished by hand and then hand-painted by Turkish artisans. They have a 3” diameter and are 3.75” high with a 10.5-oz capacity.

If you like these, Williams Sonoma also sells hand towels, plates, and a tablecloth to match.

While the pickings were a little slimmer this year, it is still fun to go out and hunt for cool items. What did you find?

Share your haul pictures with me on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram!

57 Ghosts

February 16, 2024 No Comments

Take part in a spirited séance aboard the historic – and haunted – Queen Mary with 57 Ghosts. From Master Magician and Apparitionist Aiden Sinclair, this 90-minute immersive experience takes

Read More »

Spookala

February 6, 2024 No Comments

Central Florida’s Horror & Pop Culture Convention. Features a vendor floor, celebrity signings, and more.

Read More »
Categories
Attractions News

Haunted Attraction Network’s Annual Hauntathon

Haunted Attraction Network’s Annual Hauntathon

Countdown to Halloween with daily podcasts from the Haunted Attraction Network’s annual Hauntathon. September 1st through October 31st, this daily programming will help haunters navigate the unique challenges of this upcoming Halloween season.  

“This year’s Halloween is critical for the industry, and we’ll be there every day to help. While we’re producing serious segments on emerging issues, we also need some room to enjoy the holiday; I’m thrilled with the balance of informative and entertaining content that we have lined up. I’m grateful to all the partners that have stepped up to help this year,” – Philip Hernandez, Publisher at the Haunted Attraction Network and CEO of Gantom Lighting.

As a contributor to the Haunted Attraction Network, I am proud to be a part of this 61-Day Hauntathon. Keep an ear out for my interviews with various haunters and some on-location audio from haunts around California! As usual, I will also help create the weekly newsletters to keep you  up-to-date with all the haunt industry news from around the globe. 

Follow the Haunted Attraction Network for daily podcasts, available on: iTunes, Spotify, Soundcoud, RSS, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

Programming Details

The Haunted Attraction Network’s Annual Hauntathon has gathered a gang of ghouls to provide a wide range of informative and entertaining content, including:

  • State of The Industry updates from the Haunted Attraction Association Board Members.
  • Trip Reports from The ScareFactor, The Hauntline, and ScareTrack.
  • Hack Hacks, implementable tricks to provide haunt professionals helpful information in small packages, from Scott Swenson.
  • Industry News from Green Tagged, Haunter’s Toolbox, and Socalloween909.
  • Foam Carving and decorating from Victoria Lohman of Hot Wire Foam Factory.
  • Various poems and short stories of the dark and witchy sort from Whispers of a Witch.
  • Guerrilla Marketing from Scary Good Marketing.
  • Last Minute Haunt Lighting from Gantom Lighting & Controls.
  • Haunt owner check-ins from around the world.

About the Haunted Attraction Network

The Haunted Attraction Network connects and educates the Global Haunted Attraction Industry through weekly podcasts and newsletters. In 2021 they’re celebrating their 7th year, 500th episode, and over 2 million downloads!

Follow the Haunted Attraction Network for daily podcasts, available on: iTunes, Spotify, Soundcloud, RSS, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

Haunted Attraction Network's Annual Hauntathon Partners

Gantom illuminates attractions worldwide with the world’s smallest award-winning intelligent spotlights.

ScareTrack is the UK’s first podcast dedicated to the Scare Attraction & Haunted House Industry. We bring listeners in depth interviews with some of the biggest names in the UK scare scene, discussion & debate episodes as well on on-location review episodes from scream parks, zombie chases, immersive theatre and much more.

For over 30 years, Scott Swenson has been bringing stories to life as a Producer, Director, Writer and Performer. His work in Theme Park, Consumer Events, Live Theater and Television has given him a broad spectrum of experiences. After 21 years working with SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment, Scott has now formed Scott Swenson Creative Development LLC and is working with various clients developing shows, events, festivals and training classes.

The Hauntline is a YouTube show and Podcast dedicated to SoCal Haunts & Events! Follow for Haunt Reviews, Rumors, & Behind the Screams!

SoCalloween909 is the 909’s LOCAL INDEPENDENT NEWS Source On All Things Horror, Haunts, Halloween, & Everything In Between in SoCal, 365.

The Haunted Attraction Association, the only official association in the haunt industry, serves as the voice of the haunted attraction industry. Their mission is to promote their worldwide network of haunted attractions including Haunted Houses, Haunted Hayrides, Scream Parks, Mega-Haunts, Halloween Festivals, Haunted Outdoor Trails, Corn Mazes, and Amusement Park Halloween Events.

“Our board members are a wealth of knowledge and we’re excited for this opportunity to share solutions to the challenges for this season. It’s also in alignment with our goal of connecting more with our members,” – Spencer Terry, Board President of the Haunted Attraction Association.

The Scare Factor provides Haunted House and Halloween lovers with the most professional and accurate info possible. They are not the oldest or the newest, but they are BY FAR the most complete and up-to-date website of our kind in the haunted attraction industry.

Do you have questions about starting your own haunted attraction or keeping the doors open at your current one? The Haunter’s Toolbox is the place to get those answers. Monthly online masterclasses with professionals in the haunt industry, access to the exclusive toolbox media library, and a private community to get instant feedback. Get the tools you need at HauntersToolbox.com

Created by actress and voice over artist Jennifer Anne Scott this weekly podcast provides something of a different sort to listen to and enjoy – a dark escape if you will. If you love spooky stories, you will love Whispers of a Witch!

Hot Wire Foam Factory offers a wide range of foam cutting and shaping tools, foam coating products, instructional DVDs and patterns for the hobbyist, home crafter and professional artist.

At Scary Good Marketing, they take the fear out of marketing and advertising your business using battle-tested strategies and creativity to bring you a better ROI.

I hope you give these podcasts a listen! Happy haunting!

57 Ghosts

February 16, 2024 No Comments

Take part in a spirited séance aboard the historic – and haunted – Queen Mary with 57 Ghosts. From Master Magician and Apparitionist Aiden Sinclair, this 90-minute immersive experience takes

Read More »

Spookala

February 6, 2024 No Comments

Central Florida’s Horror & Pop Culture Convention. Features a vendor floor, celebrity signings, and more.

Read More »

Haunters Against Hate: The Event

Haunters Against Hate is a non-profit corporation that gives LGBTQ haunters a voice to express themselves and the challenges they face in life and the haunt community. Premiering in 2021, Haunters Against Hate: The Event is a weekend horror & Halloween event mixed with an LGBTQ festival. Participants will celebrate price, horror, and scaring in an accepting and welcoming environment.

Profits will be donated to various LGBTQ youth organizations.

The event features vendor booths, celebrity guests, seminars, and workshops. A Saturday night Awards Ceremony will present the HAH Legacy Award HAH Haunter of the Year Award, and the Jesse McDonald HAH Memorial Award.

Categories
Food

5 Ways to Make Spooky Meals

5 Ways to Make Spooky Meals

If you spend any time searching for Halloween food on Instagram or Pinterest, you will find a cornucopia of ideas for spooky meals. Sometimes, however, these recipes and designs require far more skill than the average person possesses. Or, they at least take a lot more time and effort than makes sense for an every day meal.

Custom Wedding Cake by Dessert Deli. Photography by Knight Studio. This took hours to make and years of practice to get it to look (and taste) that good.

Not all of us can be Martha Stewarts or Christine McConnells, but there are many easy ways to transform ordinary breakfasts, lunches, and dinners into spooky meals the whole family will enjoy.

Here are some of my favorite easy techniques to add some Halloween-flair to your foods:

1. Use Skull Baking Pans

Skull-shaped Cornbread.

One way to add some spookiness to your meals is to use pans with Halloween shapes. Since you have to use pans to make cakes, cornbread, cupcakes, muffins, etc., it is quite easy to switch out a plain square or circular pan for a skull-shaped pan. There are different sizes of pans you can use, from mini skulls to larger ones (like pictured above). Other common Halloween shapes include ghosts, tombstones, and pumpkins. Have fun shopping around during the Halloween season and you can pick up great tools to use all year long!

I used the NordicWare “Haunted Skull Cakelet Pan” for the above-pictured cornbread. Be sure to generously spray or grease the pan and the bread pops out quite easily.

2. Add Halloween Sprinkles

Aside from flour, rice, and sugar, one staple of my pantry is Halloween sprinkles. I am a sprinkle addict and can’t help but to add these sugary toppers to all my desserts and sweet foods. Whether you choose traditional sprinkles in orange and black or specialty shapes like leaves, bats, bones, or pumpkins, sprinkles can add a touch of Halloween to any dessert. I also use them for hot cocoa and smoothie toppers (along with ample amounts of whipped cream).

3. Turn Your Mushrooms into Skulls

I'll never be able to eat plain ramen noodles again!

Mushrooms have the perfect shape to carve out some Tim Burton-esque skulls. All it takes to do this is a knife and two fondant tools. I use the “Large Ball” and “Flower Leaf Shaper” fondant tools to carve the face.

HOW TO CARVE A MUSHROOM SKULL
  • Cut the mushrooms in half. Lay the mushrooms flat on a cutting board. Use the knife to cut 3-4 vertical strips on the stems (it is fine if the knife goes all the way through here). Gently make a thin slit horizontally across the vertical strips – do not cut all the way through, only cut halfway or less. These lines are the teeth.
  • Using a flower leaf fondant shaper, dig two little holes for the nostrils. Just pressing down lightly with the tip of the tool generally will suffice.
  • Using a large ball fondant tool press down on the head of the mushroom to create the eyes. Push down very gently. Sometimes you have to press then release a few times to get the proper indent. If you press too hard, the mushroom will split. Split mushrooms are still salvageable, but they look more like decomposing skulls instead of fresh ones!

These mushrooms can be used in soups, pizzas, salads, and more.

4. Use Cookie Cutters to Create Spooky Shaped Foods

Despite the name, cookie cutters are not just for cookies! If you have a variety of cookie cutters in various sizes and shapes, you can easily cut your food into spooky designs for your meals.

Pumpkin-shaped biscuits are my go-to for breakfast sandwiches or dinner roll sides. Mini cutters on sour dough bread make cute toppers for chili or chowder soups. You can even get creative with pizza and combine cookie cut-out pepperoni and mushroom skulls.

Combining these two easy techniques make a unique and fun Halloween-themed pizza. Just make sure not to include garlic if you have any vampires over for dinner!

5. Carve a Design

Bat Bread

Like most people stuck at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, I too jumped aboard the bread-making bandwagon. From plain white bread to herbaceous stuffing loaf bread, I baked many loaves. Although they turned out well (after my first few tries), they just didn’t feel spooky enough. One day when I was about to score the top of the loaf, I got the idea to carve a spooky image instead of just scoring in a straight line. I enjoy making bat bread, but you can also design a smiling jack-o-lantern or other Halloween image.

This makes for a fun presentation and adds spooky Halloween fun to an otherwise completely normal dish.

Tell Me About Your Spooky Meals

 

That’s it for my 5 simple ways to add a little spookiness to your daily meals. I look forward to sharing more tips in future posts.

Now I want to hear from you! How do you add touches of Halloween to your meals? Let me know on Instagram & Twitter @EmilyIsHorror

 

Want to try some Halloween-inspired recipes? Try:

57 Ghosts

February 16, 2024 No Comments

Take part in a spirited séance aboard the historic – and haunted – Queen Mary with 57 Ghosts. From Master Magician and Apparitionist Aiden Sinclair, this 90-minute immersive experience takes

Read More »

Spookala

February 6, 2024 No Comments

Central Florida’s Horror & Pop Culture Convention. Features a vendor floor, celebrity signings, and more.

Read More »

Creep It Real OC

Creep It Real OC celebrates the start of the Halloween season with vendors, haunt experiences, music, food, and fun.

Spooky Empire

Spooky Empire bills itself as the “dark side of comic con”. The convention caters to rock ‘n roll, horror, Halloween, and Tattoo enthusiasts and features a vendor floor, celebrity guests, film festival, costume contests, and more.

Spooky Empire

Spooky Empire bills itself as the “dark side of comic con”. The convention caters to rock ‘n roll, horror, Halloween, and Tattoo enthusiasts and features a vendor floor, celebrity guests, film festival, costume contests, and more.

Texas Haunters Convention

Texas Haunters Conventions is a Halloween convention with over 35,000 square feet of family-friendly vendors, events, demonstrations, and classes for Halloween and cosplay enthusiasts.

Midwest Haunters Convention

Midwest Haunters Convention is a haunt industry trade show that is open to the public. The event is known for its networking opportunities, haunt tours, and party. There is a tradeshow floor with a variety of vendors – many of which offer cash & carry options – and an education program led by industry leaders. While the event is smaller than the flagship Transworld event, this is a fantastic opportunity to meet other haunters and strengthen your haunt skills.

HauntX

HauntX is a Haunter’s and Halloween DIY Trade Expo for haunters and Halloween enthusiasts. The event features hands-on workshops, presentations from industry experts, and Halloween supply vendors. This is a wonderful networking opportunity for SoCal haunters & Halloween enthusiasts and highlights local Halloween groups.

About My Blog

Welcome to my home of all things horror & Halloween! The Horror of Being Emily showcases resources, creative projects, small businesses, and more related to my weird and wonderful Halloween & horror obsession.

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