The After Halloween Haul ~ 2019

Time for the After Halloween Haul! Did you guys have a difficult time finding Halloween stuff after the holiday this year? I guess there was something about it appearing in August and being discounted right away that really got people buying. Anyway, I'm happy with what I got!

Starting with Michaels, I had some really good timing with that store. I went a couple days after Halloween and they'd just marked everything down 80%. And what was lucky for me was that they didn't have the 80% off signs up! So people may not have known how big the discount was yet. An employee came over to tell me Halloween was 80% off and that she didn't know where her sign was.

So, one of the first things I grabbed was an item that I'd had my eye on before Halloween. You might remember this dapper skeleton pick from my Michaels blog post before Halloween. He cost $1.20.

I immediately put him in a floral arrangement when I got home.

These pumpkins would go nicely with him. They had these picks in orange and black too, but I really liked the black and white. I thought they had a sort of harlequin look. I must not have been alone in liking these best, because there was only this one pick left. There were a bunch of the orange and black ones on the shelf still.

Only 80¢ 

Check out these pretty realistic candy corn scatters! I'm not one to eat candy corn, but I like the look of it.

These are covered in a sugary looking glitter. I picked up two containers of them. They were only $1.20 per container. I have already had a blast scattering them around other decorations.

I was excited to find these incredibly tiny pumpkins. The largest of them is about an inch wide. I'd actually been looking for super tiny pumpkins all season, without luck. You'll see why I was looking for them in an upcoming blog post.

I think these were a good deal at $1.60. Miniatures can get expensive!

At first I only saw one of these skeleton arms and I quickly snatched it up. I noticed it had a hinged wrist, so the hand moves up and down. I just fell in love with it immediately, probably because it reminds me of something from Pirates of the Caribbean.

After wandering around the store about three times, a second arm emerged! Someone must have changed their mind on it or maybe an employee found another one. It was like that throughout my trip to the store; I'd change my mind and put stuff back, other people would do the same. The Halloween shelves kept changing.

Only $1.20 for each of these life-size arms!

I've had a lot of fun playing with these arms. I like how they look reaching in through a door, especially at night:

I found this pick for my mom, because I remembered she liked it. I was happy to find the last one of these just stuffed in a box in the corner of the store, with Christmas stuff.

Speaking of Christmas stuff, I had to suffer through many Michael Bublé Christmas songs while shopping. I must have been pretty determined to find Halloween stuff. ;) Nothing against Michael Bublé, it's just that his music is pretty hardcore emotional Christmas stuff, and I was not at all ready for that on November 2.

I got two sticker books, which were 30¢ a book.

I might use this one year-round, because there are some goofy everyday things going on. Like that pineapple. I'm not sure why that's there. Is there a "Halloween Pineapple" I don't know about?

Now, here is one of those items you realize looks even better at home than it did in the store. This little cat sign is probably 5-6" tall and it could also be kind of a shallow box if you flip it over. For some reason, I can imagine this being much larger and part of some old advertisement. I can picture it painted on a wall or an entire wood pallet, some time between the 1920s and 1950s.

This was the priciest item at $2.00

Speaking of vintage cats, it's hard to know if this should go in the After Halloween Haul, because it was purchased a day or two before Halloween. But it was 50% off already. Either way, it's too cool not to share.

As you can see, this is a countdown sign. These are a familiar sight for Christmas, but this was the first year I'd seen them sold for Halloween.

You move two parts on the sides to get the numbers to move.

It's always fun to look over my Michaels receipt after an After Halloween Haul! We can't factor the cat calendar into this since that was bought before Halloween. But combining every other Michaels purchase above, I saved $45.99!

Now, onto the few after Halloween purchases from Target. You might recognize these two ladies from my last blog post, because they were sitting behind my mini Ofrenda.

Aren't they cute? You can remove the images from these frames, although I like the skeleton ladies in there. We'll see...

I love this little guy! And this photo - it looks like he's saying "Ta-Da!" or reaching out for a hug. I think he is just adorable. You've probably seen some real pumpkins with those arm and leg attachments they sell now.

With his big brother:

There were a few tiny details to be had at JoAnns for 70% off. One was this adorable velvet pumpkin, which came as a pick. I would guess it is about 3".

And these miniature foam pumpkins were all once white. Six of them came wired on a card. So now they're just tiny pumpkins in the back of my tiny truck, with a miniature gnome. :)

Pick 'n Save had some lights left for $1.50, which I think is pretty good for 70 lights. I thought they might look kind of candy corn colored when lit.

Oooooh, look how bright! I actually prefer how these look lit up to how I thought they'd look.

And lastly, Dollar Tree had three of these pumpkins for $1.00. Yeah, this was after Halloween but they were still $1.00. They're cool if you can find them. Maybe you still can, since they could be viewed as "harvest". Each pumpkin has a clip on the back.

So, there ya go! It was a pretty good year for a haul, especially given how things have been flying off the shelves this year. I'll be interested to hear how you guys did with the After Halloween sales!

The After Halloween Haul! 2018

It's that very exciting time of year again! Time for the After Halloween Haul! I'll start by showing you what I found at Target. This was one of my more exciting finds, because I'd been wanting one of these mini vampire pumpkins for years. They just always seem to sell out. This year, I had to climb a shelf and dig in the back of it to find this last one!

Here he is at night. As you can see, he's a very bright pumpkin. There's probably a little led light in there. When this pumpkin is lit up I think it looks like an old-time cartoon cat.

This skull and tray are not one unit, although they look like they could be! I was very lucky to get the last of these skulls. It has this mercury glass look to it and really catches light nicely. The tray reminds me of something fun, maybe an old plastic toy of some kind or jello? I think Target should make some similar trays in other bright colors! They had orange and black trays this year.

The skull already became part of a little Day of the Dead display, surrounded by marigold heads on a tray. And now, it's sitting in front of my computer in sort of an autumn mix of decorations.

This little can was the only Halloween can left at Target and it was only 50¢!

It has some adorable and funny details, like this pretzel saying "BOO!"

How cute is this pillow? I like the little pom-poms on it. I think this was one of the better deals at $1.50. And I was lucky to find the last one!

I bet I tricked you guys into thinking these were real for a second! They look more real on the windowsill. They are the size of regular mini pumpkins. I picked them because I thought they'd make fine donuts with a repaint, but once they were home, I don't know. I'm now thinking I'd have a hard time painting these because I like them so much as natural pumpkins.

These were also seen as potential donuts. They're super tiny. I just don't know. On second glance, with the glitter, they might not be the best to repaint. Plus, they're looking cute stashed here and there with other decorations.

These next deals were just outstanding. I went back when things were marked 70% off at Target, but they were truly down to 90% off. I really hit that right! First off is this giant tote. This is seriously massive and was only 30¢. It has already been put to use holding Halloween gift wrap materials.

And I love this slinky cat!

A bunch of plastic cauldrons for 30¢

I think the next several items ranged from 10 to 25¢

Nail decals

The other side of the nail decals. Cute little foxes!

And yet more nail decals. These are pretty hard to pass up at 10¢.

These are the super strong and skinny Wilton sticks. These are probably intended to work with cake pops, but I think they're good for crafting.

10¢ twine

I'm trying to decide how to use this box for storage. I have a few different ideas for it. I was lucky to score the last of these. I liked that black and metallic purple line of decorations Target had this year.

Speaking of that line... I scored the last 31 and for only 80¢! If you've seen this in person, you know how cool it is.

Look at that purple metallic edge! It reminds me of gold leaf, except it's purple.

Speaking of pretty, shiny objects, check out this mercury glass candle holder. It's super fun to find the general fall stuff at 90% off because you can put it out right away. I think this will also look nice at Christmas. I only realized after leaving the store that the candle inside has a pear scent. Another item for 30¢.

On to the rest of the 90% off general autumn finds. I got the last of these garlands. I was getting better floral deals today at Target than at Dollar Tree! This garland cost 50¢.

It looks fairly real up close, doesn't it? It looks like a vine that should be climbing up a wall.

Here's another item I got the last of. Check out these beautiful gold leaves! (30¢) They're already in a vase.

And these pretty realistic looking little apples (30¢):

I put all three of the last items together to show you how pretty and fall-like they look in a group. You're looking at $1.10 of stuff here!

This very solid wood leaf was 10¢! The edges are painted gold. I'm thinking I'm going to paint it to look stained in a kind of ombré way, from red to orange to yellow.

This was one of the more exciting finds: real gourds! And what a selection. I picked up two bags of these. Each cost 50¢. They came in these purple net bags.

And here's what they look like after being released! How pretty and what a selection. $1.00 for all these gourds! They've already been made into a Thanksgiving display and will no doubt be moved from place to place.

The cashier and I were talking about what a great deal I got on all this stuff and how another woman who'd come through that day saved $50 on a bunch of 90% off computer accessories. She told me I could see how much I saved on my receipt. So here's my total: $5.92 ($6.20 with tax)

And here are my savings: $53.55!!!!!! I read that to the cashier as my mouth dropped open. That felt pretty awesome.

So that's all from Target this year. Onto Walgreens...

The only after Halloween finds from Walgreens this year are actually everyday finds for me. It so happened that I needed a pearly white eyeliner stick and they had some half price ones with their Halloween makeup. I liked this eyeliner so much that I went back and bought a second one. Sometimes I've found some great makeup deals after Halloween. There's nothing especially Halloweeny about some of it either!

Onto Michaels... Check out this adorable bat bucket! These are great for holding makeup brushes or pencils and pens. If you don't know the trick for holding these supplies in little can, it's coffee beans. They not only hold things in place but they smell great.

These urns and berry garlands were separate. And the candles aren't from this year, but they are from Michaels! I just thought all these pieces looked cool together. Michaels has a lot of stuff at 80% off that they're calling autumn, but it's everyday in my opinion. These urns fit with that everyday theme. Some of the "autumn" stuff is pretty large and if you have the space to put it in, you could score an amazing deal now.

And lastly, this wood house kit came from Jo-Ann's today:

It was extremely easy to piece together. There are slots in a piece of wood and you slide each piece into those. Then you get this! I can't wait to paint it.

So that is this year's After Halloween Haul! As usual, there are things in here that I never saw during October. I don't know if they were hiding under a shelf or in a storage room or what. There are always fun surprises during these after holiday sales. So, did you guys find any great deals? I hope you all manage to score some of this 90% off stuff at Target. It's a real thrill!