Halloween 2021 is looking a little pale. Yes, it is only early September, but that is the point. Shelves, normally stuffed with decorative tricks and treats, have been slow to fill. Candy, of course, always the true king of Halloween, is popping up, but even it seems reluctant to do so.
My recent trip to Walgreens showed a lot less candy and much less spirited shelves for Halloweeny fun. Much of the action has been online as people buy up the cool ghoulie items from Target and Michael's, carefully avoiding any pandemic woes; and with distribution of merchandise at a crawl (where did all the truck drivers go?), I do not expect much in the way of wow and pizzaz for Halloween in the stores. But time will tell.
I did see the usually large and groovy gruesome at Home Depot, although Lowe's seemed anemic with their showing, so far, in comparison. Michaels had a pallbearer's worth of items, but certainly nothing compared to last year at this time. And there was no signature Lemax Spooky Town display set up, though I vainly looked for it. I had to purchase the Web of Terror ferris wheel from their online website. Certainly not the ghost of Michael's past when it comes to Halloween that I have come to expect.
Perhaps this year will be the Halloween that almost wasn't or perhaps I am being too worrisome. With limited supply and high demand, I still expect little creatures to crawl through the streets come Halloween day, but how many will dare to scare remains to be seen. The suspense is killing me. Here is some of this year's Halloween cheer to scream the year for you.
Home Depot always kills with the large lawn decorations and creepy smaller children of the night to deaden any party. Of note is the gondola with Charon. I'd take a ride in that myself; just not one way.
