Latest news with #MelissaMills
CTV News
12-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CTV News
‘Halloween creep' isn't the only reason you're already seeing spooky stock in stores
Halloween decorations are seen at Spirit Halloween store in Ottawa in this undated photo. (Dave Charbonneau/CTV News Ottawa) Summer has only just gotten in full swing and yet if you lose yourself among the aisles of certain stores you would be forgiven for thinking you had been transported forward in time, to the typically spookier season of fall. Deckchairs and floaties had barely been given a look-in this year when pumpkins, cauldrons and bat-printed cushions began lining shelves. In arts and crafts store Michaels, sections dedicated to all things spooky were being installed as early as the first month of summer. 'We've been moving up our launch date earlier and earlier based on consumer demand and evolving trends, with this year being our earliest Halloween launch to date,' said Melissa Mills, Michaels' senior vice president and general merchandise manager. This year, the store launched two of their five Halloween collections in mid-June, on Friday the 13th. By the end of this month two more will launch in stores, and the final collection will roll out by the end of the summer. Mills says the retail sector is seeing a 'clear shift' toward earlier and longer celebrations for all seasonal holidays, but Halloween is taking off particularly well as it is 'one of the most expressive and inclusive times of the year' that brings out customers' creativity in ways 'few other holidays do.' Halloween merchandise in stores in July Michaels' on West Broadway in Vancouver has a dedicated Halloween section. Each year, customers eagerly anticipate the launch of Michaels' Halloween collections through what they have dubbed 'Code Orange,' says Mills. The movement, often spread across social media via the hashtag #codeorange, alerts other Halloween fiends that spooky season decor has begun hitting the shelves. 'We've found that the earlier we set our assortment at Michaels, the more time our shoppers have to celebrate,' said Mills. Adding fuel to the fire is a separate, but similar, movement dubbed Summerween, which sees Halloween merchandise given a sunny makeover for the summer months. If it's not costumes, cobwebs and plastic pumpkins in store, then its beach towels decorated with spectres wearing sunglasses, carved watermelon 'jack-o-lanterns' and pink tutu-clad skeletons. Mills says the less traditional decor helps Halloween lovers transition from the warmer months into fall and ensures they can get into spirit sooner without 'feeling like they're sacrificing the summer.' Michaels got in on the trend in 2023, with a version of Summerween they dubbed 'pastelween' that featured Halloween homeware in a saccharine palette. Driven by the viral 'pinkoween' trends and spurred by pop culture moments at the time, Mills says the collection outperformed even the company's own expectations. In 2024, they returned with a 'Hippie Hallow' collection that saw the classic orange and black ditched for patterned pumpkins and ghosts in summer hues and retro floral designs. This year's 'Sweet and Spooky' iteration of the trend includes a three-foot-tall 'disco ghost.' As far as Summerween is concerned, stores aren't the only ones jumping on the trend. In July, Victoria's Strathcona Hotel will be hosting a rooftop pool party dubbed 'Hot Ghoul Summer,' dedicated to the summer-spooky mash up. Allie Harrington, the hotel's events and communications manager, said the event provides people with an additional excuse to dress up and indulge in seasonal shenanigans. More specifically, it provides an opportunity for Halloween fans to wear the skimpier costumes that typically don't pair well with October's autumnal weather. 'As people grow out of their adolescence, it becomes increasingly difficult to have reasons to wear that tutu hiding in the back of the closet or try out a new and crazy makeup style,' she says. 'I wanted to give a city with such vast creativity another opportunity to dress up, wear crazy outfits, or maybe even a wig. By having it in the summer, it gives an opportunity for a new range of costumes that don't need to take potential weather pitfalls into account.' That said, the event celebrates Summerween, not Halloween itself, stresses Harrington. It isn't intended to encourage the anticipation of the fall by celebrating early – 'it feels painful enough as is having rain showers in July,' she says. The spooky season fanatics at provocative bakery Punk Rock Pastries have also gotten in on the action, with owner and two-time Food Network baking competition champion Hollie Fraser dishing out a selection of summer-inspired spooky treats. 'I absolutely love Halloween. It's what I'm known for and if I can celebrate Summerween I'm going to go all out and make it amazing,' says Fraser, adding that the store received an influx of requests to hop on the trend last year. 'This year, we are rolling with it, and so far the response has been amazing,' she says. Punk Rock Pastries celebrates Summerween Punk Rock Pastries' Halloween treats have been given a summer-inspired makeover with fruitier flavours. Fraser has taken the Halloween menu and switched it up with summer flavors, with their famously gory 'beating heart' cake now made with passionfruit, and served alongside mango mousse ghosts, summer bat cookies, pie brains, and brownie raspberry coffins with fresh fruit and cream. And yet, even the most avid supporter of all things spine-tingling says she refuses to get on board with traditional Halloween decor creeping its way into the summer months. 'Honestly, seeing Halloween stuff in stores now is way too early for me,' says Fraser. 'Next thing we'll be having Christmas stuff in stores in June. We might as well keep it year-round at this point.'
Business Insider
05-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Business Insider
Ghosts and ghouls are all over your favorite stores. It's time to embrace 'Summerween.'
Boo! You might see something spooky — spine-tingling, even — when you walk into a Home Goods or Walmart this week. And you might shriek in horror when you see ghosts and pumpkin decor on display. Summer has only just begun! How could they be stocking Halloween stuff when school barely just let out? Relax, it's Summerween! The fake shopping holiday for those who want to put out Halloween decor in July. This isn't the first Summerween, by the way — it's been around for a few years now. But it's growing: It appears to have started at the craft store Michael's, spread to T.J. Maxx/Marshalls/Home Goods. And now, this week, Walmart is adding "Summer Frights" decor to its stores. In fact, rapper Princess Nokia just released a new song, " Drop Dead Gorgeous," that has a lyric: "Summerween and I wanna get my spooky on." Summerween's origins appear to trace back to the cartoon show "Gravity Falls," where in a 2012 episode, the characters carved watermelons and went trick-or-treating. But there's another element afoot: some adults (and you probably know one) just freaking love Halloween. The Wall Street Journal reports: Like those who love the holidays, Halloween superfans have become their own subculture. They use phrases like "code orange" to alert others on social media when they come across fun themed merch. Retailers are using it to get a head start on fall, spurring people to buy their decorations now—a time of year when shopping enthusiasm is typically muted. Lowe's first "Halfway to Halloween" push came in April 2024, and the retailer repeated it this year, even adding a second wave of products in June. Target released some of its more popular Halloween items, like $5 decorative birds, in May and more is planned for later in the summer. Michaels had its earliest Halloween launch ever this June. By late July, the merchandise will completely take over the front of stores, said Melissa Mills, senior vice president of merchandising. I went to check out the selections in my local T.J. Maxx, Home Goods, and Walmart. I was particularly excited to see the Walmart offerings, since this is apparently the first time it has them. But my local store didn't have anything yet. (I did notice some open shelf space in the "Seasonal" section.) Over at T.J. Maxx and Home Goods, the Summerween selections were in full effect. There were pink candles with ghosts, dish towels, magenta velvet skeletons, painted driftwood candy corns, and framed art of ghosts and Mr. and Mrs. Frankenstein at the beach. Pink and purple were as prevalent as orange and black, which sets these Summerween items clearly apart from their October cousins. It was cute, not scary. For a moment, the thought crossed my mind to actually buy some of this — a fuzzy pastel candy corn caught my eye. I am not one of those Halloween enthusiasts, but I'm sure my kids would love celebrating Summerween. Halloween is one of the few non-denominational, non-political, purely fun holidays throughout the year — whynot double up on it? Is this all just an excuse to sell people more junk? Well, sure. But so what? Do you think Thanksgiving is "real," too? That Christmas isn't overly commercialized? Or that Mother's Day isn't just a racket by greeting card companies? Do you worry about the real meaning of Toyathon? Grow up. Open your eyes and your heart and embrace Summerween.
Associated Press
11-04-2025
- Lifestyle
- Associated Press
Expect more fake eggs made of colored marshmallows or even potatoes on this year's Easter spread
MISSION, Kan. (AP) — With egg prices stubbornly high, the internet has offered up a host of alternatives, with crafters painting rocks and influencers dyeing everything from marshmallows to potatoes. 'Finally a use for B sized potatoes!!' one commenter wrote in response to a video posted on Facebook. But amid the laughing emojis, LOLs and people simply posting 'huh,' there has been a lot of interest from price-conscious parents as U.S. egg prices increased again last month to reach a new record high of $6.23 per dozen. Relief could be coming: There is evidence that prices are falling, and grocery stores may start offering discounts to get shoppers in the door. But even with all that, egg prices are higher than ever. That has the idea of coloring potatoes or rocks, which first made the rounds after a 2023 spike in prices, making a resurgence. Marshmallows and potatoes spark video dyeing craze One video that is circulating shows a grinning mom filling cupcake tins with dye. Her child then skewered marshmallows with toothpicks before gently lowering them into the dye and proudly displaying the creations on a glass platter. Another influencer created marshmallow chicks by dipping marshmallows in yellow food coloring, dabbing dots of black icing to create eyes and and then attaching orange M&Ms for a nose and feet. Other videos feature shoppers plucking hefty bags of potatoes off the shelf, along with egg dye. 'Potatoes are about the only thing I can afford,' one grateful online commenter posted. Another boiled it down into a single-word response: 'Cheaper.' Foil eggs become a new tradition for one familyKelly Friedl of Chicago dyes eggs for Easter with her two kids every year. But because of this year's high prices, she came up with an alternative: foil eggs. Cut egg shapes out of cardboard, wrap them in foil, and you have shiny eggs to decorate and reuse. 'Our mom used to buy three dozen eggs,' said Friedl, 59, who leads a childcare products company called Urban Infant. 'I don't think we even ate all the eggs, but it's the memory of doing something with your mom.' For many families like Friedl's, dyeing eggs isn't so much about eating eggs. That meant having some go bad in the fridge wasn't such a big deal when a dozen cost less than $2, as they consistently did for years, outside the 2015 bird flu outbreak and the current one. But not now. Paas, a supplier of egg dyeing kits, said that while 94% of those who celebrate Easter will dye eggs this year, 78% of families said they would dye fewer of them than in past years due to the expense. Plastic eggs, crafty kits and other holiday fun The craft retailer Michaels said their craft egg kits are flying off the shelves. Sales of two of the kits are up 20% compared to the same time last year, said Melissa Mills, senior vice president and general merchandising manager at Michaels. Walmart, the nation's largest retailer, declined to comment on sales of dyeable plastic eggs and other alternatives, but said it wasn't the first year it carried them. Among some options for shoppers: a carton of 12 plastic eggs that include four liquid dye packets and four egg-dyeing bags and Play-Doh Easter eggs. Despite the change in tradition, Friedl's family is looking forward to the holiday. 'We're a super crafty family and the most valued gift in our house is a gift that someone has made you,' Friedl said. 'We get together every year and do eggs, and we love it.' ___ Dee-Ann Durbin, Caroll Hannah and Josh Funk contributed to this report. Raza reported from Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
