It's fun too look at products - whether it is holiday decor, makeup, whatever. But just because the items are are pretty that doesn't mean we have to buy them. It's ok to appreciate something and say "oh, that's really pretty, cute, fun or cool, but I don't need or want to own it myself." I do that ALL the time. 😉
The easiest way to keep temptation away is to stay out of those stores. Simple as that. Usually those home decor stores don’t really have anything that you “NEED”. It’s usually all the extra stuff. And all the extra is what puts me over the edge on debt and amount of junk in my house.
Yes! Being able to admire and appreciate something without feeling a need to own it is such a powerful thing. When I was a kid my mom would say "you can't have everything and there will always be something you want". I think this kind of goes along with the same mentality that comes with being able to look but not feel the constant urge to buy.
A low cost tradition for my wife and I is driving around and looking at other peoples Halloween decorations! we make some coffee at home, or hot cocoa, and put it in travel mugs and drive around with a Halloween playlist and enjoy the vibes.
I used to do the same thing with my family for Halloween and Christmas! It’s a great time! Sometimes we’d also get ourselves some pastries from our local bakery to snack on while we’re driving. We made our own private playlists with our favorite spooky songs to listen to as well. If you have young kids, a fun activity for them during these drives is to let them pick out a specific type of decoration/character and let them keep track of how many they can find like a scavenger hunt. When I was a kid, I’d play this with my brother to see who could find the most ghosts, or skeletons, or spiders - and we still do these little competitions as full gown adults lol.
One way I myself started getting control over my spontanious spending was to give myself a "only one treasure per shop"-limit. When you are forced to pick only one single thing you end up properly scrutinice everything you fancy. And more often then not I end up not getting anything because nothing meets the new standards I've laid down.
I use something similar to this when I go grocery shopping, because I'm always tempted to bring home a bunch of chips and gummy candy that don't meet my nutrition/health goals. Sometimes my treat will be a smaller sized package of junk food, but sometimes it will be something like yogurt that I hadn't originally intended to buy.
The tree thing. I knew someone who had a mini tree and decorated it for different holidays. I LOVED the idea and one year got a clearance mini tree after Christmas and it stayed in our house all year round and my kids and I decorated it. It was super fun. We found craft ideas from the dollar tree. At one point it got to be too much during a stressful season and it got put in the garage and this reminded me of it... I might have to dig it out.
One way of thinking that kept me hooked on buying things (that deep down I knew better than to buy) was the idea that this one last thing would "complete" my collection of that category. Whether it be seasonal decor, jeans, sweaters, boots, a type of cosmetic, etc., I would convince myself that adding this one last thing would satisfy my desires from that point onward. But as Shawna said, there are always new and beautiful things coming out that feel different from what you have. That "one more thing" mentality doesn't go away after you give into it. I think it's all about adopting the mindset that you can admire something without feeling completely compelled to buy it.
whenever I see a physical thing that I really like looking at, I take a picture and remove the backround and then put it in a little collage that I can look at whenever I want
this is such a good idea.. maybe adding it to a digital journal or something to be able to look through it whenever you feel like looking at pretty things
Yes! I was just ordering my groceries online and was about to add a box of 100 tiny Halloween chocolate bars for $30 to my cart. Then, I realized I was craving chocolate, so I bought a single chocolate bar for $1 instead. You're a good influence on me 😊
Im so happy I have developed the self control to go to TJMaxx just for fun to look around and smell candles. I get a couple things here and there but I never regret them. Never spend more than $20 and I only go 4 times a year
@@arletbode4847 I've bought locally made good quality candles, and after experiencing their amazing real smells, I've never bought another TJMaxx/cheap candle ever again. Helps saving!
I have a “seasonal” slim green Christmas tree in my entryway. I love having it there. I added a bunch of LED lights last year and it was so much work to add the extra lights that I just left it up all year. I’ve changed out the decor for every season. I’ve got a single bin for each holiday now. I live in a house with a sizable attic, so I wasn’t worried about where to store all the stuff. HOWEVER; it’s a TON of work to take it all down and put it all back up in storage again after every holiday or season. Hours worth of work, expense on new items for the season, and it’s back breaking going up and down the stairs with heavy bins of decor. It can be a lot. I enjoy seeing the warm glow from the lights when I enter my home or come downstairs in the mornings. So I’m willing do put in the extra effort. What they don’t tell you on those decorate with me videos or tik toks, is all the expense, the time, the effort, and the amount of storage you need for all these things once the season or holiday is over. I have a problem with buying too much for the holidays. Too many items, too much stuff, too many gifts, too much candy etc. on and on it goes. Then when that holiday or season is over I’m drowning in stuff and have to figure out how I’m going to store it all up for the next year. It’s not just one bin for the whole house. It’s a bin for the tree, a bin for the kitchen, a bin for the bathrooms, a bin for the living room etc. I’ve had to really scale back. Just because I’ve got the space, and the places to store stuff, doesn’t mean I should still fill every inch of my home with these temporary items. It gets to be too much. Then your home decor starts to control you, instead of vice versa.
The things I love bringing out every year are the things ive made myself. Like ghosts out of clay, a halloween banner, a fall candle etc. those hold the best memories
100% this. My craft skills aren’t vast but I love cutting out paper ghosts and bats and hanging those up, making charms from acorns, drying oranges and fall leaves. Easy and pretty. 😊
I make a Halloween themed breakfast and supper every year. If Halloween falls on a day our kids don't have school, then I'll do a lunch too. I use things we pretty much always have on hand in the fridge, freezer, and/or pantry, and limit random meal-specific purchases to one or two inexpensive ingredients. I keep the menu a surprise and they're always excited to see what that year's meals are. 🎃
A seasonal decorating hack is to create a gallery wall. Print off pics for each season. When the new season comes you can open up the frames and rotate the pics. Nothing to store and super inexpensive.
my siblings and i kind of did this as a gift for our mom! she loves seasonal decorations, so we printed 8x11 collages with 3-4 seasonal pictures of our family and i thrifted frames (like white wood for spring and medium brown wood for fall etc). and it takes a little more storage than your idea of just changing out the art inside, but she said she loves that she puts the frames in the same spot on her mantle and just rotates them every few months. 💙
I listen to the minimal-ish podcast and the host recommends thinking about your five senses when you're trying to celebrate a specific season without buying stuff! so what are the smells, sounds, flavors, textures, etc. that you want to experience? because you probably already have ways to satisfy them. like maybe you already have cinnamon at home for a fall recipe, or you can watch your favorite fall shows and movies, play spooky music, wear your favorite sweater that you waited all year to pull out of the closet, etc. It's the totality of all these things that create the experience of the season. This idea really helped my perspective because while it can be so easy to jump to buying new candles, new clothes, etc., if you actually get to the root of what you're really yearning for (coziness, rest, nostalgia, whatever), you'll realize there's always a way to achieve it without buying.
As a goth Halloween shopping is when I get regular items for my home & obvi some Halloween things. I don't really do that much shopping at all the majority of the year & then get a handful of needs & some wants in Sept-Oct. I recently moved to the other side of the world & into a smaller house which honestly was great since it forced me to get rid of a lot of items I was holding onto. I love Halloween/ all things spooky so it is hard to not get everything I see sometimes but I only have so much space & tell myself I want to save my money for experiences instead
As someone who newly started loving Halloween because my toddler’s excitement, I actually think there’s more to just buying and owning. For me, one little piece of decor can bring unlimited laughter and fun and games for the whole family, it can be a fun family activity to go out to TKMaxx and just look at everything as if it’s a museum. We take the kid to pick out decors, placing them in the house and every time you lay eyes on them, it brings joy to all of us. I would love to spend some money for unnecessary things if it means it makes us happy. Of course still be financially responsible and do not buy them just because TikTok said so 😂
I needed this because Halloween-centric stuff is my achilles heel. Growing up, my parents were very against everything dark and spooky, especially the actual holiday of Halloween. I never went trick or treating or even wore costumes in the fall because my dad was paranoid. I was lucky that they let me watch Halloween specials and Tim Burton movies tbh. Hell, I wasn't allowes to own black nail polish until i was 16 because it was too "dark" and "witchy." Now, as an adult who loves all that stuff, i tend to overcompensate and buy way too much spooky stuff every October. This year i made it a point to not go to any Halloween stores because I need to get a handle on this lol.
Since I lost my job in May I don’t buy any decor. I use what I have. I had some cash saved up from pet sitting and used that to buy real pumpkins and mums, it made me happier than buying plastic junk!
Yeah, I really like the floating candles and would keep them up all through the dark months of winter. They would be cute at Christmas, especially. I think instead of people trying to purchase allllll the things and participate in alllllll the decorating trends each year, just pick one of these that you really like and would work for your space, then re-use it every year. A few years ago those paper bats were really trendy, I purchased a few packs and use them every year. I try to put them in different areas of my house. Some years I do an entire wall with them, some years I hand them from wire from the ceiling.
I haven't bought a single Halloween decoration this year. I made a decision years ago to buy decor that's well made and will last for years. Some ceramic stuff I've had for 15-20 years now. Yesterday I remembered I had a Halloween 3 wick jar candle in my candle stash, that I bought at Ross 2 years ago, on clearance for 50 cents. And even unlit it makes the house smell like cinnamon rolls! Plus the jar can be a future decoration. Cheap plastic decorations have no power over me!
There's two holiday/seasonal traditions that bring me a lot of joy that don't cost a lot of money. I have a chalkboard sign for the front door of my apartment. I draw something different on the sign with chalk markers for each new season. You could do this inside as well. For Christmas instead of buying ornaments we decorate the tree with candy canes and eat them throughout the season. There's no ornaments to put in storage and it's also just fun.
Your voice is so calm and soothing which is a big reason why I like your channel. There's a lot of similar channels like this but I always pick yours because of your voice
One thing I do to treat myself without over buying is just letting myself put what I like in my basket( never use full carts if ur able) and at the end I compare all of them, “do I like this as much as this? Would I get more use out of this than this?” And I keep whittling down until I get to the last few and it really helps to put everything into perspective and usually by the end of it I can reason myself into getting 1 thing or nothing! I get the little thrill of putting the stuff in the basket and seeing it all together and working in the moment to be reasonable (remember to put things back where u find them to be kind to the people working lol)
As a Halloween fanatic (this word does not do justice to how I feel about Halloween lol) I can say I have tons and way more than anyone should "need" but that said... it's truly my joy and I have my home decorated with it all year long. I do have a tree but decorate it for each season (it's green) so even for Christmas. While I completely agree with so much you've said, for me, the joy it brings to my daily life is worth it. I think things bought intentionally and mindfully is the way to go for most. Happy Halloween 🎃!
I remember constantly buying Holiday Decor when I was so unhappy. These things do nothing but take up space in cabinets. I already did a 2nd purge of Kitchen items I have not touched in a year. I said I am not buying noting in 2025 for my house but a couch & entertainment unit. No free stuff nothing on sale. I will be running full marathons next year & want to travel instead of consuming junk.
I love Halloween, it's my favorite holiday ever. Going back to your last video about keeping something you only wear a handful of times, I bought a ghost cardigan and it prevents me from wanting to buy an expensive costume each year because I love it so much. I also have a ghost mug that I use year round and am also a sucker for Valentine's Day, so I have a massive boucle heart pillow on my loveseat year round, and it prevents me from wanting to seek out "limited edition" seasonal crap and cuts out the purchasing part that sullies seasonal tradition and enjoyment
I have a nightmare before xmas tree and display but the reason I love it so much is it stays up through xmas as well and then I just add more xmas stuff around!
I'm going to be a killjoy and mention that pre-lit wreaths and trees can break, and then you find yourself having spent way more than you should have for a normal wreath or tree. I was burned this way, and eventually just got a $5 craft store wreath that I decorated myself with old ornaments and repurposed gift box ribbons.
Very good point. A lot of this stuff does not wear well over multiple years. For example, the pumpkin-shaped wicker basket is cute and I imagined reusing it, however I wonder if I’d still like it if it got a bunch of broken ends sticking out from catching on string lights and other things in storage… pass.
Decorating for holidays is something I was very exited to do when I moved out on my own and spent so much getting these items no matter if they were made to last or if I didnt know where i would put it or how I would store them for the rest of the year. After a while I noticed how impractical is was to have decor for multiple different holidays in boxes and only bring them out for a couple weeks out of the year. I've gotten rid of so much of it over this past year and it feels better not having all these boxes of things cluttering up my home.
When I buy seasonal home decor it never gets put up at the end of the season. I've got two bathrooms. One has a christmas soap pump, the othee has a halloween one and they've been there for four or five years. lol
Bought some strings of orange lights and purple lights. Hang them on the stair case and nearby tree. Put them out two weeks before Halloween to brighten things up as the sun is going down earlier in the evening. Gorgeous,reusable, requires little storage space, identifies my house as a home offering treats,and makes me happy. No more than that.
I also wanted to add, last year i bought an old bird house from a neighbor for $5 and then painted and decorated it to turn it into a haunted house decor for inside. I had forgotten about it but when I pulled it out of the box I was thrilled. It sits proudly under my TV and when I look at it I feel happy remembering how I spent a long time working on it and how much I enjoyed creating it. I plan to do the same for Christmas this year. I want to thrift a birdhouse and turn it into a gingerbread house
I am no longer a decorate for the holidays 😮person. I moved to another state and got rid of all decorations. I did purchase some decor for Christmas last year and almost went for the pink tree at Walmart to realize I got rid of 99% when I moved why would I want to spend any money! I don’t even enjoy going to look 👀 at this stuff. You help and remind me to enjoy and use what I have ❤
Whenever I see people decorate their couches and stuff with new pillows I just can’t stop thinking about pillow covers, like you don’t need a whole new pillow, just cover it with fun fabric for the season if it makes you happy. But like do people not know about pillow covers?
I fell into this hole during the pandemic. I don’t decorate for Halloween because my kids are grown but do decorate for fall. During the pandemic I started watching home decor videos and now I decorate for Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Easter, spring, summer and then back to fall, lol. I agree it is very easy to get into of the habit of wanting new stuff, especially if you watch “shop with me” videos. I think I’m good for now with the amount of decor. I like it so I won’t stop decorating, just the buying.
I've had a Halloween tree for about 3 years now (and it doubles as my Yule/Christmas tree so less work for me) , and it's fun, but you shouldn't really need to replace ornaments OR the tree every year! At this point the concept has just been turned into a who-can-spend-more contest instead of a fun way to combine two fun holidays.
I just loooove going to TJ Maxx at Halloween, because I love spooky-cute stuff. But I honestly rarely buy any of it - I just like looking. Same goes for Michael’s. 😍💀👻🎃
Halloween is my birthday and for a number of years now i've celebrated by hosting a black dinner (all the food served is naturally black and i ask my guests to dress in black). Since i was a child my family and i would also go foraging for chestnuts in october, now i hunt for mushrooms too. When you think about it, a lot of ornaments sold for Halloween/autumn evoke or even replicate seasonal foods like pumpkins, so we could simply decorate our homes by filling our fruit bowls with orange and black foods (citrus, figs, berries...) and displaying pumpkins around our homes before actually eating them (they keep for a while outside of a fridge).
I LOVE decorating, and I love seasonal decor, but the storage, cleanup, and lack of space to display always stress me out. Having a small selection of items to use or display is always SO MUCH more enjoyable in practice than having more, or having new.
i also cant recommend enough funneling some of this seasonal energy into crafts and games with kids in your life!! there are so many fun ideas - there’s projects where you paint on leaves and press them between paper, or have kids make collages with leaves on packing tape, or even those halloween trees how cute would it be if your kids drew a bunch of spooky eyeballs and you cut them out as ornaments or as like a garland. i dont even have kids, but i work in an elementary school and i love celebrating the season with them and encouraging their creativity!! 💙
I went through a period where I thought I had to decorate for every season but after a couple of years I said I’m tired of putting stuff out and removing the old stuff to turn around and having to do it again. Now I decide Christmas was the only season that I will go out for since it’s my favorite time of the year. On top of the time it takes to do this is where am I going to put it after the season is over. The only thing this has done for me is to create clutter that now I have to get rid of.
I no longer shop at discount stores or closeout stores. I almost exclusively shop online because I genuinely have to search for the items that I need. I have no self control when it comes to certain things especially if I have the money to spend. My husband does all of the grocery shopping so I barely go to any stores at all in person anymore. It has really helped me cut back on buying unnecessary stuff. However...the convenience of online shopping and the temptations all over social media can be just as enticing.
I have a spooky aesthetic, which is "spooky, haunted forest" and around this time is really the only time I go shopping for home goods that I need or will use. I'm super picky about what I purchase, and there are years where I don't buy anything because I don't need/like it. The other big thing for me at this time of year is the fall/Halloween fabric from Joanns- if I find fabrics I like, I might buy it to make clothes/blankets/purses, etc- but I also wait until they go on sale for like 50%-60% percent off.
I love Halloween and gave myself a limit of one new decoration this year, it really made me scrutinize what i wanted. I did find a candle holder (cheaper alternative to one I'd been eyeing) and now just look and admire in the stores
I walked into Joanne’s fabrics to get some felt for my Halloween costume- holy shit I had to basically put horse blinders on myself mentally. I LOVE Halloween and I’m of that aesthetic year round. I’m also p broke rn. I walked out only having gotten my felt!!
One of our low cost traditions is to go to a pumpkin patch that has lots of activities included. Like a maze, a wagon ride, a petting zoo, pig races, free games, and so on. We limit ourselves to a maximum purchase of 1 pumpkin each so we have something to carve and we make that a separate activity. And I typically watch Gilmore Girls on my own cause my partner is tapped out on that tradition lol 😂
I think one important factor to the popularity of Halloween decor, other holiday decor, and decor in general is humanity's fundamental need for art. Art is something found in all cultures throughout history, but in modern cultures like America, most people don't make art anymore and most art isn't available for engaging with unless it's bought. This need for art is what marketing for these products take advantage of. I think being mindful of this would help curb decor over consumption, and encourage people to try crafting their own decor; like carving your own fresh pumpkin rather than a buying a plastic jack-o-lanturn (personally, I think that makes for a more fond memory).
I kinda enjoy watching seasonal decor shop with mes because I generally don't shop at these stores and I get to see all the novel stuff. It is rare that I buy these things, but a lot of it is tempting, especially the stuff that works year round. I'm trying not to buy this pink coffin shaped wall shelf, even though it's interesting and would look cute in my room, I don't need it. You wanna talk about a seasonal decor candyland, Cracker Barrel, Hobby Lobby, and At Home go hard.
I really appreciate your content! Three other creators who helped me reconsider my purchasing habits are Leena Norms, the Minimal Mom, and Shelbizle. They all come from different perspectives and life experiences, but they push back on our culture of overconsumption and fast fashion in the same way you do. Keep up the good work!
To get into the spirit of autumn, I prefer to do fall activities. Apple picking, baking with seasonal ingredients, a 'pumpkins after dark' walk, a hike, watching spooky movies. There's lots of ways to enjoy the season without stocking up on decor!
My husband and I went on a date where we got drinks then walked around TJ Max, Michaels, and Target looking at Halloween decorations. We bought one item, which was a birthday gift for a friend. It was so much fun and then we went home and hung up the 2D bats I had gotten on sale after Halloween years ago. Great time, would recommend
My cousin is about the same age as me, and we don’t see their family often. We visited them a few years ago and my aunt said they don’t really shop together for fun. I honestly remember being shocked. My mom and sisters and I all love to shop together. Obviously I was in a consumerist loop.
Something worth pointing out regarding the ability "stuff" has to make us happy is that the more stuff you bring in the less each item tends to spark any kind of joy. The fall mug, for example. If you have 5 of them rather than one, that won't give you 5x the amount of joy. You will use each one far less often, might end up with a more cluttered cabinet, or even feel a bit weird each time you need to pick one of them to use that day.
I buy one or maybe 2 things each year that I reuse then. I have seasonal things dating 10 years ago lol. And I use my seasonal cups and blankets all year long because I love them and they look too cute not to. the new aesthetics every year are just overwhelming and wasteful. we already have christmas stuff in our stores
The FUNNIEST thing about this is that the first Tiktok is from the UK, a place that traditionally NEVER CELEBRATED HALLOWEEN -- and for the most part still doesn't. I'm sure people do now, but it's not an intrinsic part of the culture in most of Europe. The English celebrate Guy Fawkes, or Bonfire night, but no-one ever trick or treated in London when I lived there.
I think a lot of it's popularity is that it falls on half term. Everywhere can do Christmas and Easter and Summer themed activities and items for the other school holidays so making everything Halloween is a way to sell things and activities when kids off school.
@@roserowson8270 Oh, absolutely -- and "All Saints Day/ All Hallows Eve" is a long-standing religious holiday. But the whole "dress up and go door to door trick-or-treating" is a very North American spin on the day.
I love making seasonal bucket lists! For September and October, I planned: apple picking with my mom, watching Over The Garden Wall with my best friend, going for nature walks to see the leaves change, and carving pumpkins. 🎃 I made a garland of paper ghosts, made some charms from acorns, and cut out a silhouette of a black cat from poster board to put in the front window. Paper crafts and natural elements are my fave because they can be stored flat or composted. Happy Halloween, ghosts and ghouls.
Watching this while I make my Halloween costume that I spent wayyy too much money on. Fabric is expensive (especially when you buy way more than needed cause you can’t do math right). But it is getting me to sew which was one of my New Year’s resolutions
Companies discovered Halloween merchandise outsells Fall decor, so it's become Halloween season instead of Autumn. I've heard Halloween is second only to Christmas for holiday sales.
I feel like in the retail space, halloween has completely changed its identity. I feel like it’s become a halloween-flavoured extension of the fall aesthetic. It’s like they took the teeth out of the holiday! I get that it has wider appeal and probably sells better like this, but I miss the fear. Fond childhood memories of neighbours trying to scare the kiddos out trick or treating, or trying to be the scariest looking house on the block. I know some people still do stuff like that, but I don’t think they’re shopping at TJ Maxx
I remember a mug with Harley Quinn - I really loved it. It was broken (I was devastated) and I couldn't find another one like that. I bought one with the Witcher. I love it but not the way it was with hq mug. Don't know why. And now I bought a pumpkin mug in the fall collection, and always use it for tea and coffee though I have several mugs, including Christmas one. But now pumping mug became my favourite. May be this is the stop for me - I found my another favorite mug I wanna use a lot.
I was actually at TJ Maxx earlier today. The Halloween stuff is now on clearance, and the whole store is December holidays…..I bought one item……😂…..I rarely buy anything..I just like looking at stuff……if you thought the Halloween/ fall decor was a lot….oh this is double that….easily.
I do love Halloween shopping, but I also have a small house, so I ask myself "where am I going to store this?" It helps a lot! A tradition my friends and I have started is we have a Halloween party and photoshoot, to get pictures of our cosplays from the year. It's really fun and besides snacks we don't spend a lot of money. (We won't talk about the money and space required for the actual cosplays 😅)
One of my traditions is compiling a list of Halloween movies or shows to watch leading up to Halloween, and I always end with Over the Garden Wall on Halloween. It's a fun way to get myself into the spirit
Hi Shawna! I have been enjoying your channel for a little while now. I used to really enjoy the videos that you critique, mostly because it felt like window shopping. Your content is so satisfying because I can still somewhat enjoy the window-shopping element of these videos while still critiquing their purpose & greater fuel to the consumerism machine. Thanks & keep it up!
I have like $30-ish of Halloween gear I've collected over the years. I like Halloween, it's fun, but yeah, I don't want to spend that money, take the time to decorate, have to have storage space dedicated the stuff after the effort spent to take it down... And yeah, some of this stuff is *super cute*, but I'm not actually going to put out seasonal blankets and throw pillows. So I understand the temptation, but.... hard pass.
I hear what you're saying about a halloween tree. However, I did buy one last year, and I love it :D It's a desk top size black tree with lights. It looks great with or without little decorations on it. It's easy to put away and keep, I would never consider buying a bigger one. A pink halloween tree?!?! What in the actual name of arse does pink have to do with halloween?!?! This pinkification of absolutely everything drives me insane, Halloween colours are orange, green, white, black and purple. That's it. What is it with all the girlie's who must have pink everything???? It's so unbelievably tacky!!!!!!
Yeah tjmax and marshals and Ross are my 3 favorites to find some deals it has become a weekly ritual to go check what is new shopping addiction for real 😳
I have a Halloween account and Halloween has always been my favorite! I don’t over consume but I do collect horror. I do feel like most of the Halloween stuff is just for what’s “in” for that year. Like disco/pink this year. It does get a little overwhelming when I’m the traditional Halloween girly.
One advantage of decor shopping at thrift stores with specific categories of things i will purchase, is that if one of those items is at a thrift store, its likely well enough made to last me for quite a while (im in Australia for reference).
Am I the only one who's had the same seasonal decor for years? Most of my decor is thrifted or handmade which I have way more pride in displaying than cheaply made plastic tat 🤷♀
every october (this is now the 6th year!) i watch a new-to-me horror movie every day and it's 100% free (well other than my parents paying for my internet lol) because i pirate everything
I am on replay,I was at Home sense yesterday and it looked just like TJ max. So many people were buying Halloween season goods. I saw baskets and carts full of items. I went over to that section to see what the hype was all about and noticed that the shelves were less stocked,there must of been alot of people making purchases over the last few weeks. I do love Halloween and have collected many pieces over the years,I simply reuse what I have in different ways. Also I noticed that alot of the shoppers looked younger and I was surprised by the amount that bought.
I was at TJ Maxx yesterday because I needed a gift for my cousin's kid's birthday. It was in the same shopping center as the grocery store I was in, and it was going to save me a stop (found a nice RC car; perfect for a 7-year-old). I was just happy to finally see the Halloween puzzle I wanted was in stock. They had one. I love building jigsaw puzzles. I don't do Halloween, but I do have 8 full size Christmas trees I put up, and...IDK...maybe 6 or 7 miniature trees. I'm 41 years old and have collected Christmas decorations since I was 12. I absolutely love decorating for Christmas, and I totally get why people would love to decorate for Halloween. I am 100% fine with this. I just want to add, if you are seeing highly decorated houses for any holiday, please understand most people have been collecting their decorations for several seasons if not for decades. It's rarely that they bought everything that year. Also, please understand it takes weeks if someone has a lot of stuff to decorate. I've got a few more boxes to go through today, and I'll start decorating for Christmas. My only objection is when people donate or throw out their decor every year to stay on trend. Go with what you like. Don't fall for the trends. If you see a new trend you like, fine, but don't do it because social media told you too. I've always loved mid-20th century retro Christmas decorations. I've loved them since I was 3 or 4 (my great grandmother had a 1950s reindeer cutout that she put on her mirror every Christmas, and I was obsessed with it). It's so popular now, but it took me years of work looking in every obscure store to find any pieces like that. I didn't care that others weren't enjoying that style. I will keep that style after it goes away. I have actual vintage pieces. In 2020, I found a 1950s ornament making kit in the original box with all pieces and only 1 partially made ornament. I love the artwork on the box. It is the highlight of my collection. It was $10 at the antique store! I was thrilled. As long as no natural disasters hit, and I'm alive, I plan to keep that.
We have maybe a dozen pieces of fall/halloween decor inside and half of it was homemade abs the other half was either gifted or purchased after the season on sale! My oldest also helped make all of our pieces (except the one skeleton we own) outside as well!
There’s a movie based on a short story by Ray Bradbury called “the Halloween tree”. I was my favorite Halloween cartoon as a kid. It did not look like a Christmas tree lol. 😊
After years of buying some cheap plastic stuff that breaks down quickly, I've decided that from now on when I buy seasonal decor, I will only buy stuff that will last for at least 5-10+ years. For me, dollar tree is my weak spot. I get so excited seeing the Halloween stuff there, but I have to remind myself that all of it will break within a year or two so it's not worth it. I also think about the room I actually have to store seasonal items and think about if that item is worth taking the amount of space it will each year. I have it as a goal to get one of the 12 foot skeletons from home depot, but I will keep it up year round and dress it up for different seasons and it will bring me a lot of joy :)
I really like all the different choices. It makes my ADHD brain happy. It's interesting to see. I don't buy any of it cause I have limited myself to one new pumpkin a year but I love to window shop.
my favorite halloween seasonal activity is movie watching. I love Scary Godmother, which came on a lot as a kid, and Halloween Town, and from now until december, Nightmare Before Christmas!!!! I also love decorating whatever door and yard I have, less so decorating inside the house
i got some friends that love buying and collecting all kinds of things. i let them influence me over the years. i have nowhere near the amount they have and im still overwhelmed by it all. *chanting to myself* i dont need new pumpkin stuff
It's fun too look at products - whether it is holiday decor, makeup, whatever. But just because the items are are pretty that doesn't mean we have to buy them. It's ok to appreciate something and say "oh, that's really pretty, cute, fun or cool, but I don't need or want to own it myself." I do that ALL the time. 😉
That was my first step and later I realised my desire to buy stuff had completely disappeared on its own
This mindset has been SO helpful with my hobbies and the things I collect.
The easiest way to keep temptation away is to stay out of those stores. Simple as that. Usually those home decor stores don’t really have anything that you “NEED”. It’s usually all the extra stuff. And all the extra is what puts me over the edge on debt and amount of junk in my house.
Yes! Being able to admire and appreciate something without feeling a need to own it is such a powerful thing. When I was a kid my mom would say "you can't have everything and there will always be something you want". I think this kind of goes along with the same mentality that comes with being able to look but not feel the constant urge to buy.
Isn't there a special term for this? Like... Window shopping or smth else? 🤔
A low cost tradition for my wife and I is driving around and looking at other peoples Halloween decorations! we make some coffee at home, or hot cocoa, and put it in travel mugs and drive around with a Halloween playlist and enjoy the vibes.
Love this 😊
I love living close enough to other people that I can walk around in the evening and see all kinds of decor
Same! I love doing this! We do it at Christmas too.
I used to do the same thing with my family for Halloween and Christmas! It’s a great time! Sometimes we’d also get ourselves some pastries from our local bakery to snack on while we’re driving. We made our own private playlists with our favorite spooky songs to listen to as well. If you have young kids, a fun activity for them during these drives is to let them pick out a specific type of decoration/character and let them keep track of how many they can find like a scavenger hunt. When I was a kid, I’d play this with my brother to see who could find the most ghosts, or skeletons, or spiders - and we still do these little competitions as full gown adults lol.
So sweet
One way I myself started getting control over my spontanious spending was to give myself a "only one treasure per shop"-limit. When you are forced to pick only one single thing you end up properly scrutinice everything you fancy. And more often then not I end up not getting anything because nothing meets the new standards I've laid down.
I think this also makes the very select things you buy feel more special!
that’s such a good idea
so glad to hear this is a strategy that works for you
I use something similar to this when I go grocery shopping, because I'm always tempted to bring home a bunch of chips and gummy candy that don't meet my nutrition/health goals. Sometimes my treat will be a smaller sized package of junk food, but sometimes it will be something like yogurt that I hadn't originally intended to buy.
The tree thing. I knew someone who had a mini tree and decorated it for different holidays. I LOVED the idea and one year got a clearance mini tree after Christmas and it stayed in our house all year round and my kids and I decorated it. It was super fun. We found craft ideas from the dollar tree. At one point it got to be too much during a stressful season and it got put in the garage and this reminded me of it... I might have to dig it out.
One way of thinking that kept me hooked on buying things (that deep down I knew better than to buy) was the idea that this one last thing would "complete" my collection of that category. Whether it be seasonal decor, jeans, sweaters, boots, a type of cosmetic, etc., I would convince myself that adding this one last thing would satisfy my desires from that point onward. But as Shawna said, there are always new and beautiful things coming out that feel different from what you have. That "one more thing" mentality doesn't go away after you give into it. I think it's all about adopting the mindset that you can admire something without feeling completely compelled to buy it.
whenever I see a physical thing that I really like looking at, I take a picture and remove the backround and then put it in a little collage that I can look at whenever I want
Genius!
this is such a good idea.. maybe adding it to a digital journal or something to be able to look through it whenever you feel like looking at pretty things
@@evilprophetboy this is such a good idea!!!!
this is a great idea!
@@wafawaffles that's also a great idea I do plan on doing that
Yes! I was just ordering my groceries online and was about to add a box of 100 tiny Halloween chocolate bars for $30 to my cart. Then, I realized I was craving chocolate, so I bought a single chocolate bar for $1 instead. You're a good influence on me 😊
Halloween candy is so expensive for some reason! It’s the worst quality candy too, lol.
If you wait til after halloween that 30$ bag will prob end up being a dollar 🥳
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
There really is something about TJ Maxx, Marshalls, and Home goods that make you want to buy random stuff you wouldn’t have otherwise
YES
Im so happy I have developed the self control to go to TJMaxx just for fun to look around and smell candles. I get a couple things here and there but I never regret them. Never spend more than $20 and I only go 4 times a year
@@arletbode4847 I've bought locally made good quality candles, and after experiencing their amazing real smells, I've never bought another TJMaxx/cheap candle ever again. Helps saving!
I have a “seasonal” slim green Christmas tree in my entryway. I love having it there. I added a bunch of LED lights last year and it was so much work to add the extra lights that I just left it up all year. I’ve changed out the decor for every season. I’ve got a single bin for each holiday now. I live in a house with a sizable attic, so I wasn’t worried about where to store all the stuff. HOWEVER; it’s a TON of work to take it all down and put it all back up in storage again after every holiday or season. Hours worth of work, expense on new items for the season, and it’s back breaking going up and down the stairs with heavy bins of decor. It can be a lot. I enjoy seeing the warm glow from the lights when I enter my home or come downstairs in the mornings. So I’m willing do put in the extra effort. What they don’t tell you on those decorate with me videos or tik toks, is all the expense, the time, the effort, and the amount of storage you need for all these things once the season or holiday is over. I have a problem with buying too much for the holidays. Too many items, too much stuff, too many gifts, too much candy etc. on and on it goes. Then when that holiday or season is over I’m drowning in stuff and have to figure out how I’m going to store it all up for the next year. It’s not just one bin for the whole house. It’s a bin for the tree, a bin for the kitchen, a bin for the bathrooms, a bin for the living room etc. I’ve had to really scale back. Just because I’ve got the space, and the places to store stuff, doesn’t mean I should still fill every inch of my home with these temporary items. It gets to be too much. Then your home decor starts to control you, instead of vice versa.
The things I love bringing out every year are the things ive made myself. Like ghosts out of clay, a halloween banner, a fall candle etc. those hold the best memories
100% this. My craft skills aren’t vast but I love cutting out paper ghosts and bats and hanging those up, making charms from acorns, drying oranges and fall leaves. Easy and pretty. 😊
@@afirewasinmyhead exactly! Those are so fun to do! Or making a simmer pot every year is one of my favourites
I make a Halloween themed breakfast and supper every year. If Halloween falls on a day our kids don't have school, then I'll do a lunch too. I use things we pretty much always have on hand in the fridge, freezer, and/or pantry, and limit random meal-specific purchases to one or two inexpensive ingredients. I keep the menu a surprise and they're always excited to see what that year's meals are. 🎃
A seasonal decorating hack is to create a gallery wall. Print off pics for each season. When the new season comes you can open up the frames and rotate the pics. Nothing to store and super inexpensive.
Such a good idea. You could frame pressed flowers or leaves, too, to match the season. 🌸🍂
This is what I do for my tech. I love to change my wallpapers for each season, it makes it feel like a new device!
my siblings and i kind of did this as a gift for our mom! she loves seasonal decorations, so we printed 8x11 collages with 3-4 seasonal pictures of our family and i thrifted frames (like white wood for spring and medium brown wood for fall etc). and it takes a little more storage than your idea of just changing out the art inside, but she said she loves that she puts the frames in the same spot on her mantle and just rotates them every few months. 💙
I listen to the minimal-ish podcast and the host recommends thinking about your five senses when you're trying to celebrate a specific season without buying stuff! so what are the smells, sounds, flavors, textures, etc. that you want to experience? because you probably already have ways to satisfy them. like maybe you already have cinnamon at home for a fall recipe, or you can watch your favorite fall shows and movies, play spooky music, wear your favorite sweater that you waited all year to pull out of the closet, etc. It's the totality of all these things that create the experience of the season. This idea really helped my perspective because while it can be so easy to jump to buying new candles, new clothes, etc., if you actually get to the root of what you're really yearning for (coziness, rest, nostalgia, whatever), you'll realize there's always a way to achieve it without buying.
As a goth Halloween shopping is when I get regular items for my home & obvi some Halloween things. I don't really do that much shopping at all the majority of the year & then get a handful of needs & some wants in Sept-Oct. I recently moved to the other side of the world & into a smaller house which honestly was great since it forced me to get rid of a lot of items I was holding onto. I love Halloween/ all things spooky so it is hard to not get everything I see sometimes but I only have so much space & tell myself I want to save my money for experiences instead
As someone who newly started loving Halloween because my toddler’s excitement, I actually think there’s more to just buying and owning. For me, one little piece of decor can bring unlimited laughter and fun and games for the whole family, it can be a fun family activity to go out to TKMaxx and just look at everything as if it’s a museum. We take the kid to pick out decors, placing them in the house and every time you lay eyes on them, it brings joy to all of us. I would love to spend some money for unnecessary things if it means it makes us happy. Of course still be financially responsible and do not buy them just because TikTok said so 😂
I needed this because Halloween-centric stuff is my achilles heel. Growing up, my parents were very against everything dark and spooky, especially the actual holiday of Halloween. I never went trick or treating or even wore costumes in the fall because my dad was paranoid. I was lucky that they let me watch Halloween specials and Tim Burton movies tbh. Hell, I wasn't allowes to own black nail polish until i was 16 because it was too "dark" and "witchy." Now, as an adult who loves all that stuff, i tend to overcompensate and buy way too much spooky stuff every October. This year i made it a point to not go to any Halloween stores because I need to get a handle on this lol.
Since I lost my job in May I don’t buy any decor. I use what I have. I had some cash saved up from pet sitting and used that to buy real pumpkins and mums, it made me happier than buying plastic junk!
Fun fact: TJ Maxx is called TK Maxx in Europe as there was an already well established retailer called TJ Hughes in the UK
I was going to post the same thing! ❤ there’s no other difference (we also have HomeSense)
this is a cool little tidbit, thanks for sharing!
I’ve always wondered why it’s different. Thanks!
the floating candles seem cool for like an all year round situation, something you don’t take down until they need to have their batteries changed.
Yeah, I really like the floating candles and would keep them up all through the dark months of winter. They would be cute at Christmas, especially. I think instead of people trying to purchase allllll the things and participate in alllllll the decorating trends each year, just pick one of these that you really like and would work for your space, then re-use it every year. A few years ago those paper bats were really trendy, I purchased a few packs and use them every year. I try to put them in different areas of my house. Some years I do an entire wall with them, some years I hand them from wire from the ceiling.
The word "CUTE" has been tied to women's empty bank accounts more than any other word!!!
I haven't bought a single Halloween decoration this year. I made a decision years ago to buy decor that's well made and will last for years. Some ceramic stuff I've had for 15-20 years now. Yesterday I remembered I had a Halloween 3 wick jar candle in my candle stash, that I bought at Ross 2 years ago, on clearance for 50 cents. And even unlit it makes the house smell like cinnamon rolls! Plus the jar can be a future decoration. Cheap plastic decorations have no power over me!
There's two holiday/seasonal traditions that bring me a lot of joy that don't cost a lot of money.
I have a chalkboard sign for the front door of my apartment. I draw something different on the sign with chalk markers for each new season. You could do this inside as well.
For Christmas instead of buying ornaments we decorate the tree with candy canes and eat them throughout the season. There's no ornaments to put in storage and it's also just fun.
The American plethora of supply gives me decision anxiety just looking at it from afar.
@@marlyd every time I go into home goods I get dizzy and a headache from how much stuff is everywhere. I can’t focus on anything 😵💫
I’m loving this recent series you’re doing. I usually watch while I’m getting in my steps on my treadmill.
Your voice is so calm and soothing which is a big reason why I like your channel. There's a lot of similar channels like this but I always pick yours because of your voice
One thing I do to treat myself without over buying is just letting myself put what I like in my basket( never use full carts if ur able) and at the end I compare all of them, “do I like this as much as this? Would I get more use out of this than this?” And I keep whittling down until I get to the last few and it really helps to put everything into perspective and usually by the end of it I can reason myself into getting 1 thing or nothing! I get the little thrill of putting the stuff in the basket and seeing it all together and working in the moment to be reasonable (remember to put things back where u find them to be kind to the people working lol)
I do this too. I've gotten really good at talking myself out of buying stuff
As a Halloween fanatic (this word does not do justice to how I feel about Halloween lol) I can say I have tons and way more than anyone should "need" but that said... it's truly my joy and I have my home decorated with it all year long. I do have a tree but decorate it for each season (it's green) so even for Christmas. While I completely agree with so much you've said, for me, the joy it brings to my daily life is worth it. I think things bought intentionally and mindfully is the way to go for most. Happy Halloween 🎃!
I remember constantly buying Holiday Decor when I was so unhappy. These things do nothing but take up space in cabinets. I already did a 2nd purge of Kitchen items I have not touched in a year. I said I am not buying noting in 2025 for my house but a couch & entertainment unit. No free stuff nothing on sale. I will be running full marathons next year & want to travel instead of consuming junk.
We go to the corn maze. Awesome fun. I highly recommend it if you have one in your area.
I love Halloween, it's my favorite holiday ever. Going back to your last video about keeping something you only wear a handful of times, I bought a ghost cardigan and it prevents me from wanting to buy an expensive costume each year because I love it so much. I also have a ghost mug that I use year round and am also a sucker for Valentine's Day, so I have a massive boucle heart pillow on my loveseat year round, and it prevents me from wanting to seek out "limited edition" seasonal crap and cuts out the purchasing part that sullies seasonal tradition and enjoyment
I have a nightmare before xmas tree and display but the reason I love it so much is it stays up through xmas as well and then I just add more xmas stuff around!
I'm going to be a killjoy and mention that pre-lit wreaths and trees can break, and then you find yourself having spent way more than you should have for a normal wreath or tree. I was burned this way, and eventually just got a $5 craft store wreath that I decorated myself with old ornaments and repurposed gift box ribbons.
Very good point. A lot of this stuff does not wear well over multiple years. For example, the pumpkin-shaped wicker basket is cute and I imagined reusing it, however I wonder if I’d still like it if it got a bunch of broken ends sticking out from catching on string lights and other things in storage… pass.
Decorating for holidays is something I was very exited to do when I moved out on my own and spent so much getting these items no matter if they were made to last or if I didnt know where i would put it or how I would store them for the rest of the year. After a while I noticed how impractical is was to have decor for multiple different holidays in boxes and only bring them out for a couple weeks out of the year. I've gotten rid of so much of it over this past year and it feels better not having all these boxes of things cluttering up my home.
When I buy seasonal home decor it never gets put up at the end of the season. I've got two bathrooms. One has a christmas soap pump, the othee has a halloween one and they've been there for four or five years. lol
Bought some strings of orange lights and purple lights. Hang them on the stair case and nearby tree. Put them out two weeks before Halloween to brighten things up as the sun is going down earlier in the evening. Gorgeous,reusable, requires little storage space, identifies my house as a home offering treats,and makes me happy. No more than that.
I also wanted to add, last year i bought an old bird house from a neighbor for $5 and then painted and decorated it to turn it into a haunted house decor for inside. I had forgotten about it but when I pulled it out of the box I was thrilled. It sits proudly under my TV and when I look at it I feel happy remembering how I spent a long time working on it and how much I enjoyed creating it. I plan to do the same for Christmas this year. I want to thrift a birdhouse and turn it into a gingerbread house
I am no longer a decorate for the holidays 😮person. I moved to another state and got rid of all decorations. I did purchase some decor for Christmas last year and almost went for the pink tree at Walmart to realize I got rid of 99% when I moved why would I want to spend any money! I don’t even enjoy going to look 👀 at this stuff. You help and remind me to enjoy and use what I have ❤
Whenever I see people decorate their couches and stuff with new pillows I just can’t stop thinking about pillow covers, like you don’t need a whole new pillow, just cover it with fun fabric for the season if it makes you happy. But like do people not know about pillow covers?
The volume of Hallow E'en stuff in TKMaxx is often nuts. It's not cheap either.
I fell into this hole during the pandemic. I don’t decorate for Halloween because my kids are grown but do decorate for fall. During the pandemic I started watching home decor videos and now I decorate for Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Easter, spring, summer and then back to fall, lol. I agree it is very easy to get into of the habit of wanting new stuff, especially if you watch “shop with me” videos. I think I’m good for now with the amount of decor. I like it so I won’t stop decorating, just the buying.
I've had a Halloween tree for about 3 years now (and it doubles as my Yule/Christmas tree so less work for me) , and it's fun, but you shouldn't really need to replace ornaments OR the tree every year! At this point the concept has just been turned into a who-can-spend-more contest instead of a fun way to combine two fun holidays.
I just loooove going to TJ Maxx at Halloween, because I love spooky-cute stuff. But I honestly rarely buy any of it - I just like looking. Same goes for Michael’s. 😍💀👻🎃
I'm surprised we didn't see a tiktok video of the TJ Maxx queen herself, Brook the shopaholic ... IYKYK😜
Halloween is my birthday and for a number of years now i've celebrated by hosting a black dinner (all the food served is naturally black and i ask my guests to dress in black). Since i was a child my family and i would also go foraging for chestnuts in october, now i hunt for mushrooms too. When you think about it, a lot of ornaments sold for Halloween/autumn evoke or even replicate seasonal foods like pumpkins, so we could simply decorate our homes by filling our fruit bowls with orange and black foods (citrus, figs, berries...) and displaying pumpkins around our homes before actually eating them (they keep for a while outside of a fridge).
I LOVE decorating, and I love seasonal decor, but the storage, cleanup, and lack of space to display always stress me out. Having a small selection of items to use or display is always SO MUCH more enjoyable in practice than having more, or having new.
i also cant recommend enough funneling some of this seasonal energy into crafts and games with kids in your life!! there are so many fun ideas - there’s projects where you paint on leaves and press them between paper, or have kids make collages with leaves on packing tape, or even those halloween trees how cute would it be if your kids drew a bunch of spooky eyeballs and you cut them out as ornaments or as like a garland. i dont even have kids, but i work in an elementary school and i love celebrating the season with them and encouraging their creativity!! 💙
Halloween in the UK has gotten super popular recently, it was never that big but lately it's over taken Bon Fire night (national holiday).
I went through a period where I thought I had to decorate for every season but after a couple of years I said I’m tired of putting stuff out and removing the old stuff to turn around and having to do it again. Now I decide Christmas was the only season that I will go out for since it’s my favorite time of the year. On top of the time it takes to do this is where am I going to put it after the season is over. The only thing this has done for me is to create clutter that now I have to get rid of.
I no longer shop at discount stores or closeout stores. I almost exclusively shop online because I genuinely have to search for the items that I need. I have no self control when it comes to certain things especially if I have the money to spend. My husband does all of the grocery shopping so I barely go to any stores at all in person anymore. It has really helped me cut back on buying unnecessary stuff. However...the convenience of online shopping and the temptations all over social media can be just as enticing.
whats with all the pink??? i would avoid that simply because pink is not an acceptable halloween colour for me
Halloween is a day and not a season. We can control ourselves for something that lasts for one day.
@@karenhaire5451 the same could be said for Christmas. It’s one day.
I have a spooky aesthetic, which is "spooky, haunted forest" and around this time is really the only time I go shopping for home goods that I need or will use. I'm super picky about what I purchase, and there are years where I don't buy anything because I don't need/like it.
The other big thing for me at this time of year is the fall/Halloween fabric from Joanns- if I find fabrics I like, I might buy it to make clothes/blankets/purses, etc- but I also wait until they go on sale for like 50%-60% percent off.
The halloween tree is ao funmy for me because my christmas tree is up year round lol just slap on some bones or spooky ornaments
I love Halloween and gave myself a limit of one new decoration this year, it really made me scrutinize what i wanted. I did find a candle holder (cheaper alternative to one I'd been eyeing) and now just look and admire in the stores
I walked into Joanne’s fabrics to get some felt for my Halloween costume- holy shit I had to basically put horse blinders on myself mentally. I LOVE Halloween and I’m of that aesthetic year round. I’m also p broke rn. I walked out only having gotten my felt!!
One of our low cost traditions is to go to a pumpkin patch that has lots of activities included. Like a maze, a wagon ride, a petting zoo, pig races, free games, and so on. We limit ourselves to a maximum purchase of 1 pumpkin each so we have something to carve and we make that a separate activity. And I typically watch Gilmore Girls on my own cause my partner is tapped out on that tradition lol 😂
I think one important factor to the popularity of Halloween decor, other holiday decor, and decor in general is humanity's fundamental need for art. Art is something found in all cultures throughout history, but in modern cultures like America, most people don't make art anymore and most art isn't available for engaging with unless it's bought. This need for art is what marketing for these products take advantage of. I think being mindful of this would help curb decor over consumption, and encourage people to try crafting their own decor; like carving your own fresh pumpkin rather than a buying a plastic jack-o-lanturn (personally, I think that makes for a more fond memory).
Thank you for this video Shawna :) You are my stop sign! So easy to get caught up.........your videos encourage me to THINK!! :)
I kinda enjoy watching seasonal decor shop with mes because I generally don't shop at these stores and I get to see all the novel stuff. It is rare that I buy these things, but a lot of it is tempting, especially the stuff that works year round. I'm trying not to buy this pink coffin shaped wall shelf, even though it's interesting and would look cute in my room, I don't need it. You wanna talk about a seasonal decor candyland, Cracker Barrel, Hobby Lobby, and At Home go hard.
I really appreciate your content! Three other creators who helped me reconsider my purchasing habits are Leena Norms, the Minimal Mom, and Shelbizle. They all come from different perspectives and life experiences, but they push back on our culture of overconsumption and fast fashion in the same way you do. Keep up the good work!
glad to hear you enjoy my content!
To get into the spirit of autumn, I prefer to do fall activities. Apple picking, baking with seasonal ingredients, a 'pumpkins after dark' walk, a hike, watching spooky movies. There's lots of ways to enjoy the season without stocking up on decor!
My husband and I went on a date where we got drinks then walked around TJ Max, Michaels, and Target looking at Halloween decorations. We bought one item, which was a birthday gift for a friend. It was so much fun and then we went home and hung up the 2D bats I had gotten on sale after Halloween years ago. Great time, would recommend
My cousin is about the same age as me, and we don’t see their family often. We visited them a few years ago and my aunt said they don’t really shop together for fun. I honestly remember being shocked. My mom and sisters and I all love to shop together. Obviously I was in a consumerist loop.
Something worth pointing out regarding the ability "stuff" has to make us happy is that the more stuff you bring in the less each item tends to spark any kind of joy. The fall mug, for example. If you have 5 of them rather than one, that won't give you 5x the amount of joy. You will use each one far less often, might end up with a more cluttered cabinet, or even feel a bit weird each time you need to pick one of them to use that day.
I’m from the uk and our TK maxx doesn’t have as much this year. Which surprised me
I buy one or maybe 2 things each year that I reuse then. I have seasonal things dating 10 years ago lol. And I use my seasonal cups and blankets all year long because I love them and they look too cute not to. the new aesthetics every year are just overwhelming and wasteful. we already have christmas stuff in our stores
28:30 There's so much stuff in that house it looks like an actual store display.
The FUNNIEST thing about this is that the first Tiktok is from the UK, a place that traditionally NEVER CELEBRATED HALLOWEEN -- and for the most part still doesn't.
I'm sure people do now, but it's not an intrinsic part of the culture in most of Europe. The English celebrate Guy Fawkes, or Bonfire night, but no-one ever trick or treated in London when I lived there.
I feel UK shops are trying to make Halloween and Easter like Christmas with cards, decorations, and home ware
Halloween was never a thing till recently but Sahian (sp) that inspired Halloween was a ancient Celtic festival.
I think a lot of it's popularity is that it falls on half term. Everywhere can do Christmas and Easter and Summer themed activities and items for the other school holidays so making everything Halloween is a way to sell things and activities when kids off school.
@@roserowson8270 Oh, absolutely -- and "All Saints Day/ All Hallows Eve" is a long-standing religious holiday. But the whole "dress up and go door to door trick-or-treating" is a very North American spin on the day.
I love making seasonal bucket lists! For September and October, I planned: apple picking with my mom, watching Over The Garden Wall with my best friend, going for nature walks to see the leaves change, and carving pumpkins. 🎃 I made a garland of paper ghosts, made some charms from acorns, and cut out a silhouette of a black cat from poster board to put in the front window. Paper crafts and natural elements are my fave because they can be stored flat or composted. Happy Halloween, ghosts and ghouls.
a great idea!!
It’s Halloween. Let me just do a themed journaling page with the Halloween illustrations cut out from junk mails.
I like going into the store to look at all the stuff, but I really never feel the need to buy anything. While fun, it looks mostly like junk
Watching this while I make my Halloween costume that I spent wayyy too much money on. Fabric is expensive (especially when you buy way more than needed cause you can’t do math right). But it is getting me to sew which was one of my New Year’s resolutions
Companies discovered Halloween merchandise outsells Fall decor, so it's become Halloween season instead of Autumn. I've heard Halloween is second only to Christmas for holiday sales.
That first one is wild! My tjmaxx has about 2 rows. That store just huge.
As someone who loooooooves pink... I hate pink for Halloween or Christmas.
I feel like in the retail space, halloween has completely changed its identity. I feel like it’s become a halloween-flavoured extension of the fall aesthetic. It’s like they took the teeth out of the holiday! I get that it has wider appeal and probably sells better like this, but I miss the fear. Fond childhood memories of neighbours trying to scare the kiddos out trick or treating, or trying to be the scariest looking house on the block. I know some people still do stuff like that, but I don’t think they’re shopping at TJ Maxx
I’ve been feeling this, too! The cute-ification of Halloween is so disappointing to me. Make it scary again.
I remember a mug with Harley Quinn - I really loved it. It was broken (I was devastated) and I couldn't find another one like that. I bought one with the Witcher. I love it but not the way it was with hq mug. Don't know why. And now I bought a pumpkin mug in the fall collection, and always use it for tea and coffee though I have several mugs, including Christmas one. But now pumping mug became my favourite. May be this is the stop for me - I found my another favorite mug I wanna use a lot.
I was actually at TJ Maxx earlier today. The Halloween stuff is now on clearance, and the whole store is December holidays…..I bought one item……😂…..I rarely buy anything..I just like looking at stuff……if you thought the Halloween/ fall decor was a lot….oh this is double that….easily.
love your nail colour! it's giving fall vibes🍂
I got suckered into massive Halloween shopping in 2021-2023. I sold a lot of my things this year and kept a few pieces that I really really loved.
I do love Halloween shopping, but I also have a small house, so I ask myself "where am I going to store this?" It helps a lot!
A tradition my friends and I have started is we have a Halloween party and photoshoot, to get pictures of our cosplays from the year. It's really fun and besides snacks we don't spend a lot of money. (We won't talk about the money and space required for the actual cosplays 😅)
I’m a person who doesn’t have a lot of decorations and whatnot because I don’t want a lot to clean 😆
One of my traditions is compiling a list of Halloween movies or shows to watch leading up to Halloween, and I always end with Over the Garden Wall on Halloween. It's a fun way to get myself into the spirit
Hi Shawna! I have been enjoying your channel for a little while now. I used to really enjoy the videos that you critique, mostly because it felt like window shopping. Your content is so satisfying because I can still somewhat enjoy the window-shopping element of these videos while still critiquing their purpose & greater fuel to the consumerism machine. Thanks & keep it up!
I have like $30-ish of Halloween gear I've collected over the years. I like Halloween, it's fun, but yeah, I don't want to spend that money, take the time to decorate, have to have storage space dedicated the stuff after the effort spent to take it down... And yeah, some of this stuff is *super cute*, but I'm not actually going to put out seasonal blankets and throw pillows. So I understand the temptation, but.... hard pass.
I hear what you're saying about a halloween tree. However, I did buy one last year, and I love it :D It's a desk top size black tree with lights. It looks great with or without little decorations on it. It's easy to put away and keep, I would never consider buying a bigger one. A pink halloween tree?!?! What in the actual name of arse does pink have to do with halloween?!?! This pinkification of absolutely everything drives me insane, Halloween colours are orange, green, white, black and purple. That's it. What is it with all the girlie's who must have pink everything???? It's so unbelievably tacky!!!!!!
Yeah tjmax and marshals and Ross are my 3 favorites to find some deals it has become a weekly ritual to go check what is new shopping addiction for real 😳
I have a Halloween account and Halloween has always been my favorite! I don’t over consume but I do collect horror. I do feel like most of the Halloween stuff is just for what’s “in” for that year. Like disco/pink this year. It does get a little overwhelming when I’m the traditional Halloween girly.
One advantage of decor shopping at thrift stores with specific categories of things i will purchase, is that if one of those items is at a thrift store, its likely well enough made to last me for quite a while (im in Australia for reference).
Am I the only one who's had the same seasonal decor for years? Most of my decor is thrifted or handmade which I have way more pride in displaying than cheaply made plastic tat 🤷♀
Me! The skeletons and ghosts we hang in the windows were from a former employer who was going to get rid of them, and that was about 8 years ago.
every october (this is now the 6th year!) i watch a new-to-me horror movie every day and it's 100% free (well other than my parents paying for my internet lol) because i pirate everything
I am on replay,I was at Home sense yesterday and it looked just like TJ max. So many people were buying Halloween season goods. I saw baskets and carts full of items. I went over to that section to see what the hype was all about and noticed that the shelves were less stocked,there must of been alot of people making purchases over the last few weeks. I do love Halloween and have collected many pieces over the years,I simply reuse what I have in different ways. Also I noticed that alot of the shoppers looked younger and I was surprised by the amount that bought.
I was at TJ Maxx yesterday because I needed a gift for my cousin's kid's birthday. It was in the same shopping center as the grocery store I was in, and it was going to save me a stop (found a nice RC car; perfect for a 7-year-old). I was just happy to finally see the Halloween puzzle I wanted was in stock. They had one. I love building jigsaw puzzles.
I don't do Halloween, but I do have 8 full size Christmas trees I put up, and...IDK...maybe 6 or 7 miniature trees. I'm 41 years old and have collected Christmas decorations since I was 12. I absolutely love decorating for Christmas, and I totally get why people would love to decorate for Halloween. I am 100% fine with this. I just want to add, if you are seeing highly decorated houses for any holiday, please understand most people have been collecting their decorations for several seasons if not for decades. It's rarely that they bought everything that year. Also, please understand it takes weeks if someone has a lot of stuff to decorate. I've got a few more boxes to go through today, and I'll start decorating for Christmas.
My only objection is when people donate or throw out their decor every year to stay on trend. Go with what you like. Don't fall for the trends. If you see a new trend you like, fine, but don't do it because social media told you too. I've always loved mid-20th century retro Christmas decorations. I've loved them since I was 3 or 4 (my great grandmother had a 1950s reindeer cutout that she put on her mirror every Christmas, and I was obsessed with it). It's so popular now, but it took me years of work looking in every obscure store to find any pieces like that. I didn't care that others weren't enjoying that style. I will keep that style after it goes away. I have actual vintage pieces. In 2020, I found a 1950s ornament making kit in the original box with all pieces and only 1 partially made ornament. I love the artwork on the box. It is the highlight of my collection. It was $10 at the antique store! I was thrilled. As long as no natural disasters hit, and I'm alive, I plan to keep that.
We have maybe a dozen pieces of fall/halloween decor inside and half of it was homemade abs the other half was either gifted or purchased after the season on sale! My oldest also helped make all of our pieces (except the one skeleton we own) outside as well!
There’s a movie based on a short story by Ray Bradbury called “the Halloween tree”. I was my favorite Halloween cartoon as a kid. It did not look like a Christmas tree lol. 😊
After years of buying some cheap plastic stuff that breaks down quickly, I've decided that from now on when I buy seasonal decor, I will only buy stuff that will last for at least 5-10+ years. For me, dollar tree is my weak spot. I get so excited seeing the Halloween stuff there, but I have to remind myself that all of it will break within a year or two so it's not worth it. I also think about the room I actually have to store seasonal items and think about if that item is worth taking the amount of space it will each year.
I have it as a goal to get one of the 12 foot skeletons from home depot, but I will keep it up year round and dress it up for different seasons and it will bring me a lot of joy :)
I really like all the different choices. It makes my ADHD brain happy. It's interesting to see. I don't buy any of it cause I have limited myself to one new pumpkin a year but I love to window shop.
my favorite halloween seasonal activity is movie watching. I love Scary Godmother, which came on a lot as a kid, and Halloween Town, and from now until december, Nightmare Before Christmas!!!! I also love decorating whatever door and yard I have, less so decorating inside the house
i got some friends that love buying and collecting all kinds of things. i let them influence me over the years. i have nowhere near the amount they have and im still overwhelmed by it all. *chanting to myself* i dont need new pumpkin stuff