Temperatures are going up. Pools are opening. Lemonade glasses are sweating. Tis the season for Halloween shopping!
This post was originally published in June 2021 and was updated in June 2023.
Most people look forward to summer for things like vacations, beach trips, and cool cocktails.
But not this ghoul. In the summer, you can find me lurking around the season aisles of every big box and craft store in my area, anxiously awaiting the moment their shelves turn black and orange.
Halloween hunting season is my favorite, and over the years I’ve gotten pretty good at knowing right when every store is going to stock their shelves. It’s not an exact science—sometimes things like a global pandemic really throw a wrench into the mix—but I have a blast waiting for that magical moment each Halloween season.
In the past, I’ve put together a short shopping guide in my summer Halloween zine. But in 2021, we took things up a level, and I created this guide. Every year since, I’ve done an annual refresh on…
The Ultimate Halloween Hunting Guide!
And you can download it for free right here:
If you’ve ever wondered when Target’s presale goes online (mid-July) or when Halloween creeps into HomeGoods (early to mid-August), you’ll want to download this guide!
It also includes:
- A monthly list of when Halloween typically hits store shelves at major retailers in the U.S.
- Links to as many seasonal or Halloween sections of these retailers’ websites as possible
- Notes on which stores carry items in-store versus online-only (spoiler alert: At Home, HomeGoods, TJ Maxx, AND Marshalls ALL sell online now!)
- My personal Halloween shopping tips
- My favorite year-round Halloween small businesses to shop
- Five spooky small business picks for my international friend
As you Halloween hunt this year, I hope you find this guide useful!
And just a note: I do my best to be accurate with listings and include as many national (not regional) chains as possible. This is also a labor of love, created by a fellow Halloween lover FOR others like me. Please keep in mind my knowledge is based on my experience, access to stores, and geographic area. It may differ from yours!
Shopping second-hand for Halloween?
I have one more treat you NEED to check out. My friend That Halloween Bro put together an amazing guide for Halloween hunting in thrift stores. You can download the free digital version in this post.
