Let’s not get into the whole “why do women (and some men!) always feel the need to sexify Halloween costumes and turn otherwise innocent outfits into slutty ones?” thing. But Sexy Big Bird? That won’t fly with Sesame Street Workshop, and it’s cracking down on all those illicit costume peddlers by issuing a cease and desist to a site selling costumes like “”Exclusive Yellow Dress and Stockings” with a Big Bird headpiece that was licensed to another company. [More]
halloween
Sesame Street Issues Cease & Desist To Sellers Of Sexy Big Bird Outfits Because That’s Just Wrong
By 10.19.12
Seized Pirate Costumes Rendered Decidedly Scarier Due To High Levels Of Lead
By 10.16.12 — Updated: 10.24.12
Attention, Halloween lovers: While you might want to be perceived as dangerous this Halloween, there are some costumes that are so dangerous they’re actually harmful to your health. Shipments of pirate costumes coming from China were recently seized by authorities because they contained high levels of lead. The better to sink you with when you walk the plank, perhaps, but not so great for your health. [More]
Sorry, Plus-Size Women: You’re Too Fat To Dress As Fat Disney Character For Halloween
By 10.9.12
I always loved Disney villain Ursula, the portly six-legged sea-witch who swaps the Litte Mermaid’s tail for a pair of legs in return for her lovely singing voice. And you’d think that dressing up as Ursula, or as the inevitable “sexy” Halloween version of Ursula, would be an option for women who are actually shaped like the character. Nope, not so fast! [More]
Is DIY Halloween Over? Consumers Expected To Shell Out $8 Billion On The Holiday This Year
By 10.8.12
The days of hobbling together a DIY Halloween costume made from oddly-cut pieces of felt, an overabundance of hot glue that ends up sticking the wrong things together and an old slip are over! While some proficient crafters are probably much more talented than that, a new report says consumers are gonna be all about splashing out on all things Halloween-y this year. [More]
Target’s Accidental Nightmare Before Christmas Looks Kind Of Cool
By 10.3.12
We would like to take a moment to salute whoever put together this display at an unknown, unnamed Target store. Even if it’s just the angle from which our tipster Ken took the photo, this display takes the “Nightmare Before Christmas” absurdity of hauling Christmas merchandise out in late summer and makes it kind of beautiful and almost make sense. [More]
Candy Corn Oreos Are Here: They Pretty Much Taste Like Frosting
By 9.10.12
Our apologies to the readers who want us Consumerist editors to taste-test things: we’re all currently on a strict diet of only Doritos Loco Tacos and Mexican Coke. So we’re sadly unable to run to Target and get a package of their exclusive candy corn flavored Oreos today. Our friends over at Foodbeast got their hands on a package of the seasonal treats last week, though, and their verdict is in. If you like candy corn, you’ll be disappointed. If you like sugar; well, then you’re probably living in the right country, and these cookies are for you. [More]
Early Bird Gets The Discount Halloween Candy Worm
By 11.1.11
The best time to stock up on Halloween candy is today, the day right after Halloween. But you better get to the store early if you want to snag the best deals, and the best candy, before they get looted by everyone else. [More]
Americans Spend About $6.8 Billion Total On Halloween
By 10.31.11
Even when the economy is shuffling along like a zombie, American aren’t scared to spend big bucks on Halloween. A recent survey says the average person will spend $72.32 on Halloween — or about $6.8 billion nationwide. [More]
Make A Fog Machine For $5
By 10.28.11
Forget tossing down the sawbucks at Guitar Center, you can make your own fog machine at home for just $5 with stuff you get from the store. Nope, there’s no dry ice, smarty pants. This video shows you how to do it. [More]
This Halloween Toy Could Also Be Used To Harden Dental Composite Material
By 10.26.11
A dentist in California was recently looking at the little Halloween toy — a black cat whose eyes glow blue when you press a button — and thought there was something familiar about that bright light: it looked just like the one he uses to harden dental composite material used to repair his patients’ chompers. [More]
Target Recalls Frog Masks That Could Suffocate Kids
By 10.24.11
Some early bird parents who indulged their kids’ wishes to dress up as frogs for Halloween will have to re-do their costume shopping. Target recalled 3,400 products called Children’s Frog Masks due to a potential suffocation hazard. [More]
Liquidated Borders Store Reincarnated As Temporary Halloween Shop
By 10.21.11
What happens to old Borders stores now that the book chain is bankrupt and liquidated? In Kennesaw, Georgia, one old Borders shop has been brought back from the dead as a temporary Halloween supply warehouse. It makes reader DW sad. [More]
How To Protect Your Car From Halloween Tricks
By 10.20.11
If your biggest Halloween fear is waking up the next morning to discover that your car’s been egged into oblivion, our car-care cousins at Consumer Reports have a few ideas that may offer some protection. The most effective (and obvious): stash your car in the garage overnight if you can. [More]
Make Your Own Captain America Shield At Home
By 10.19.11
Who needs to plunk down hard-earned cash for a cheap plastic Captain America shield for a Halloween costume? It’s probably going to break before the end of the night anyway. Instead, make your own at home! [More]
Every Halloween Costume Can Be "Sexy." Every. Single. One.
By 10.19.11
Every Halloween they come out with another batch of “sexy” costumes. We’ve seen sexy pirate wench outfits for little girls, and sexy Catholic School girl costumes for dogs, but illustrator Jillian Tamaki doesn’t think we’ve gone quite far enough. [More]
Family Sticks Block Party Invites In Neighbors' Mailboxes, USPS Charges Them Postage
By 10.12.11
A Connecticut family that put invites for an upcoming Halloween block party in their neighbor’s mailboxes got spooked when the USPS figuratively rang their doorbell holding a big open bag. It was a bill from the USPS charging them 44 cents for postage for all the invites they had put in the mailboxes. [More]
Batman Costume Package Vs Reality
By 9.30.11
It’s not exactly the kind of crime the caped crusader would go after, but reader synimatik was a bit pissed when she opened her son’s Batman costume and found it didn’t match up with the image on the outside of the package. [More]
Northeast Having A Pumpkin Shortage
By 9.19.11
If you live in the Northeast you’ll want to buy your pumpkins early this year because they’re going to run out fast, as farmers predicted last week. A rainy summer and flooding from Irene have ruined many pumpkin crops. Now that the official harvest has come in, it looks like instead of hunting for The Great Pumpkin, most people will just be hunting for “a” pumpkin. [More]
