I’m guessing that you wouldn’t be reading this if you were one of those people that feel that Halloween is only an ugly money-grabbing American import that should be sent back whence it came. However to judge by the depressing Halloween display of the average British supermarket you might well be forced to give in and agree.
- Tesco. Cutest graphics yet, sadly products are destined for landfill -
Perhaps it’s too much to expect any quality from a supermarket? I don’t know, they bang on about it in all their adverts it just doesn’t extend to Halloween it would seem. Certainly they want the sales hence the embarrassed, half-arsed attempts every October. Is it too unreasonable to want objects and decorations that you can get out year after year? Sadly you’d be hard pressed to find much in the U.K that will stand the test of repeated use let alone survive eleven months battling real spiders in the loft.
- Morrisons. It's for the kids. Just don't let them near a naked flame -
If I haven’t killed off your Halloween spirit, here’s a brief round-up of the standard of what’s out there:
Asda - Aisles worth but 99% tacky. Do have adult sized skeleton tights so a plus point for that.
Tesco - Middling amount but high on 1st Nov landfill unfortunately.
Sainsbury’s - Uninspiring design work on various pieces of plastic tat.
Morrisons - Halloween - like Christmas - is for ‘the kids’ here so the majority is naked flame avoiding costumes. To be fair, that’s all supermarkets. Boo.
Co-Op - Dismal. Looks like last years leftovers. And again, pretty much landfill. Surely we could expect a little more quality from such an ethical company?
M&S - Huge plus for their strong and appealing graphic design (several items I’ve seen in the shops are from last years range which was awesome) still the creepy side of cute. I would like to see more of a reusable element utilising the graphics - say biscuit tins. Hey M&S, you could at least do that, you do for everything else!
Poundland (Purely for investigative purposes) - Polyester and plastic as far as the eye can see. Static shocks waiting to happen.
- Marks and Spencers 2012. Good but could do better -
And in a slight aside but still relevant to this rant:
T.K Maxx - Not a supermarket but in years gone by - perhaps because of it’s American parent company - cool stuff could be found from around the beginning of October so I always looked forward to a rummage. Sadly no sweetly spooky ornaments, kitchenware or guest bathroom hand-towels this year, only kiddie-sized, felt treat bags with questionable edible contents. Is this decline Countrywide, I wonder....?
I am willing to be proved wrong. If you have unearthed a gem amongst the dross, let me know.
