Here's the recap of the gifts I received this year as part of this fun swap. This package arrived a little late, but it was no fault of the sender. Apparently some liquid from another package had leaked all over mine. When I received this box, it showed liquid stains and was wrapped in plastic. Eek!
These stickers indicate that it was inspected and deemed non-hazardous by the "spill team."
But Halloween miracles exist, and thankfully nothing inside was wet or damaged. Not in the slightest. It was bone dry inside the box, because everything was nicely wrapped and sealed with lots of tape. Phew!
So let's look at the goods... first some sweets:
I confess, there were more than you see pictured. But some of the chocolate, popping candy and suckers didn't survive my sweet tooth long enough to be photographed. Gotta love the Ghostbusters treats (including a literal marshmallow man). And how about that "cubed earwax." Sounds gross doesn't it?
Here's what the text on the earwax says: "Hoxton Street Monster Supplies - Our Cubed Earwax is harvested from unsanitary jug-eared humans, fed on a strict diet of Tinned Fear (highly effective in stimulating the Ceruminous Gland). A true delight of any monster's table, made the traditional way, in copper pans above a gas flame. Caution: May contain insects and small hairs. If you are lucky." (it's actually delicious clotted cream fudge!)
In the category of household items:
I got some Halloween shaped soaps in a coffin gift box, ice cube molds to make skull shaped ice, and a metal vampire fang keychain that doubles as a bottle opener. Just look at these cool chompers!
I'm a big kid, I love toys:
Some wind-up hopping toys (I have some similar ones, these will join them on the shelf), a grim reaper keychain that lights up and laughs an evil laugh, a retro Sam figure from the ReAction series, and some Funko Mystery Mini figs!
What luck, I got Elvira, Bruce the shark from Jaws, and the Wolf Man. These are probably among my top picks! (then again, there are very few horror characters I don't like)
Some stuff for the funny bone:
A skeletal rat (I was actually looking for one of these in stores this year!) and a clown skeleton to commemorate this year's Carnival theme. And several clown noses too. I guarantee this will come in handy eventually.
Some possible party decor:
Skull light string, bloody balloons, and bloody shrouds. All will come in handy for decorating or staging photo shoots.
And then some paper goods:
A cute card, a pumpkin carving kit and pattern book (so I can investigate my UK competition, no doubt) and a Mr. Men Halloween book. Oh wow, this brings back memories. I used to love the Mr. Men (and Little Miss) series of books when I was a kid! They were big around the time I was in kindergarten. This makes me feel nostalgic (and old).
But wait, there's more. Some truly unique spooky art pieces:
A wood cut lantern with grim reaper design, a 3D printed skull, and a skeleton globe ornament that will be on my tree very soon. Ok, and this wild lattice skull glows in the dark, check this out!
Ya never know what will be a hit, but this next item is one of my favorites:
A plush Pumpkin King from The Nightmare Before Christmas. Part of the Mopeez series. I mean, just look at the little guy, with his big head and smirking pumpkin face. How can you not love this adorable dude? They have other TNBC characters in this line of plush collectibles. I'll have to ask Santa for more.
Here's everything together. Good gourd, thank you matspud, you are far too generous to this Patch Master! Either you really know how to shop for sales, or your robbed some stores.