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 2022.
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 the greater Houston 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. This year, we’re taking things up a level.
Rather than keeping that info in a seasonal zine, I’ve expanded it into a seven-page guide.
The Ultimate Halloween Shopping Guide.
And you can download it for free right here:
If you’ve ever wondered when Target’s presale goes online (mid to late 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
- My personal Halloween shopping tips
- My favorite year-round Halloween small businesses to shop
- Five small businesses for my international friends
- How to get in touch and request a store be added to the list
As you Halloween hunt this year, I hope you find this guide useful!
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.
Happy haunting,
