Signs That Fall is in the Air

Depending on where you live, it may not feel like fall is coming despite the equinox date being a little over two weeks away.  Here in California it still feels like summer, too hot to do chores or cook dinner, and too hot to put the shorts into seasonal retirement and break the socks out of their drawer just drawer just yet.  But there still other signs that the fall season is approaching.  Just walk into any retail store and you will see leftover barbecue supplies and pool equipment being put on clearance and the back-to-school supplies being reduced to 75 cents each.  This is to get ready to stock the stores for the big event of fall: Halloween.  

Yes, during the first week of September most stores begin stocking shelves with costumes, decorations, candy and other supplies for the big event on the last day of October.  So far in my town, only Kmart has begun stocking the Halloween stuff. Target has yet to push aside the left-over school supplies to stock halloween in the season display area.  I've visited the two store sin the last few days, but have yet go to Rite Aid to see if they have jumped on the Halloween displays yet.  Have not yet visited Safeway either in the last week. And our town is going to get Walgreens store soon!  I'm going to try to apply there (PS, on a sad side note, my summer job ended last week.  I knew it would be temporary, but did not know when exactly it would end).  It looks Walgreens will open later this month.   And right across from Rite Aid!

So anyhow, the Halloween stuff at Kmart has so far included two aisle displays of costumes, as well as another such display on the back wall.  When I walked in yesterday,  only the kids one were up as of yet and today I noticed more, including some adult ones.  I saw one called Zombie Hot Dog. I unfortunately did not get  a picture of that one.  (All the photos were from yesterday, Sept. 5).

Some kids costumes, including a Clownfish (which everyone
knows as Nemo.

Plastic pumpkin containers on the shelves above racks soon to

filled with costumes.  The wall has been filled as of today.

And soon there will be those ubiquitous temporary Halloween stores that pop up in storefronts left empty by retailers that have gone out of business.  These stores will remain in business until after Halloween.  Every year  these carry the same scary decor and wire racks of packaged costumes.   Last year Gilroy, CA had both Spirit and Halloween City, and the HC was next door to where I worked in that city until this past June. Now there doesn't appear to be  Halloween City in Gilroy this year (according to their website), but Gilroy has always had a Spirit Store which has not as of yet opened.  It's taking over the building abandoned by Office Max several years ago, next door to Pet Co.  I will be there when it opens.   Last year, I got a Pink Ladies jacket at Halloween City and paired it with a poodle skirt found at Goodwill.  Not sure what to do this year yet.

And while I was at Kmart I just had to get my first bag of candy corn this year.  Another thing that goes with fall and Halloween.