Halloween is the one holiday where the good stuff and the silly stuff can share a shelf. That is genuinely how we buy for it. Half the shop right now is squishies that kids will not put down, and the other half is ghost-shaped taper candles and embroidered pumpkin napkins that would look right at home on a dinner table in November. Both are correct. Here is what we are loving this season.
The squishies people keep coming back for
We did not plan on becoming a squishy destination, and yet here we are.
The Fun Doh Spooky Mystery Dumpling Squishy ($16) is the Halloween one. Each pack is a pumpkin, ghost, and skull assortment, and you do not know which you are getting until you open it. That is most of the appeal. We are down to the last few.
The Glow-in-the-Dark Mystery Dumpling in the black basket ($16) is the moodier version. Dim the lights and the whole thing glows.
If you want something with real heft, the Fun Doh Jumbo Squishy Cube ($14) is the super-sized take on the viral fidget. And the IScream Squeeze Toy ($10) is our reliable under-ten pick, soft and sparkly, in Unicorn Kisses, Go Go Gamer, and You Are A Gem.
These are the right answer for a class party, a trick-or-treat alternative, or the goodie bag you forgot about until the night before.
Taper candles that are not a gimmick
Our Halloween Unscented Taper Candles are the pieces we get the most questions about, because they read as sculpture until you look twice.
The ghost pair, the witch's broom pair, and the twig-with-snake pair are all $18 for a set of two, and the pumpkin set is $16. Unscented on purpose, so they will not fight with dinner. Ten inches tall on a standard taper base, so they fit holders you already own. We just restocked all four shapes.
If you need a holder, the Metal Taper Holder with Leaves + Berries ($32) has a distressed pewter finish that carries straight through Thanksgiving. Buy it for Halloween, keep using it in December.
New this week: the kitchen
The Boo! Halloween Dishtowels ($12 each) just landed, in bats, pumpkins, harlequin diamonds, and two stripe patterns. 100% cotton, 18 inches, actually absorbent rather than decorative-only.
And the Halloween Sponges ($5) are a five-dollar way to make the sink funny for six weeks. Bat and spider are what's left.
For the table
This is where Halloween stops being about costumes and starts being about hosting.
The Woven Cotton Chambray Napkins with Embroidered Pumpkins ($42 for four) have a linen-like texture and a small embroidered pumpkin in four shades. They work for a Halloween dinner and keep working through Thanksgiving.
The Halloween Dish collection just came back in. Ghost-shaped plate $14, skull bowl $18, scalloped platter with the snake $48. Candy by the door, or olives and nuts when people come over.
Halloween Drink Gems ($32) are eight spooky magnetic drink markers, which solve the universal party problem of nobody knowing which glass is theirs. For something year-round, the standard Drink Gems Wine Charms ($28) come in a dozen designs.
For something sculptural, the Withered Pumpkin Bunch ($26) is gray leaves and spotted pumpkins you can drop into any vessel you own. Faux, so it will be there next fall too. And the Paper Folding Honeycomb Pumpkin ($16) is the easiest sixteen dollars you will spend on a mantel.
What the house should smell like
Candles do more for the season than decor does, and this is where we get particular.
The Voyage Et Cie Bali Gardenia starts at $32 for the votive and $70 for the highball. Gardenia blossoms with white flowers and a hint of musk, in an organic soy and coconut blend.
For something warmer, Positano Honeysuckle ($70 highball, $90 reed diffuser) is creamy honeysuckle with jasmine, magnolia, and orange, at eighty hours of burn time.
And two small ones our regulars come back for: the Arles Artist Rose Parfum ($70), a 15mL roll-on in an organic coconut oil base, and the Voyage Et Cie Organic Lip Balm ($24) in Rose or Peach Bellini. Four of the parfum left.
Come see us
Everything here is on the shelf at 423 Pier Ave in Hermosa Beach right now. If you are not local, all of it ships, and ground shipping is free on orders over $150. Halloween sneaks up fast and the squishies in particular do not last.
