About a month earlier than normal

At a local Giant Eagle grocery store

Halloween Retail

Here's an assessment of local retail stores' Halloween displays:

Giant Eagle (grocery store)- This year's display is more sparse compared to last year. It's mainly a bunch of candy, a few decorations, and a few seasonal ales. Disappointing.

Meijer- A pretty good collection of costumes, candy, and decorations. Fun to peruse.

Home Goods- Very disappointing this year. Only a small collection of stuff and situated at the back of the store.

Michaels- Excellent collection this year. Lots of costumes, decorations, and crafts. My favorite holiday store.

Party City- A surprising amount of Halloween stuff out already, with more to come. Not my style, as much of it is gory and macabre, but a lot of Halloween to look at.

JoAnn's- A slightly below average showing, with much more generic Fall/Autumn & Thanksgiving stuff out this year.

Lowe's & Home Depot- Each year, these stores feature less and less Halloween. At Lowe's, there was already more Christmas stuff out compared to Halloween.

Tuesday Morning- Very disappointing. Hardly anything this year.

Final Tally:  6 Below Average showings, 3 Above Average Showings

Halloween is the second biggest retail holiday in America. And while the stock market is at a record high, I've read several articles lately pointing to the fact that while the top 1-5% of America is enjoying significant financial gains, the other 95-99% of America continues to reside in recession territory. Could this be why this year's Halloween showing is a bit weak?

Candy sighting

While Baby Holidays and I were doing some grocery shopping at Giant Eagle, we noticed a brand new stand sporting an array of Halloween candy. Tombstones were mixed in the piles. Didn't expect to see the candy out this early. Exciting!