Put a spell on your haunted house with bewitching Halloween collectibles.
There’s something frightfully fun about searching for Halloween memorabilia at the flea market. The old-world decorations conjure up the ghosts of Halloweens past––and on this swap meet outing, we were eager to see what was lurking around the next corner.
Right away, Jennifer spotted a set of plastic cupcake toppers featuring pumpkins and black cats for $1 apiece, but we were on the hunt for bigger spoils so we kept on looking.
We saw tons of Halloween noisemakers, from tin clickers and ratchets to horns and tambourines. These little prizes feature lithographed witches on brooms in bright orange and black. You can sometimes find them for $15 or less. Kitty thought they’d be great as part of a centerpiece, so she bought a couple. To get a price-break, she selected ones that looked like they’d gone trick-or-treating a lot!
The more we wandered the aisles, the more Halloween collectibles crept out of the woodwork. Jennifer fell in love with a Steiff black cat, but she quickly fell out of love when she heard the price––$250! Luckily, we stumbled on a booth with lots of vintage lawn ornaments and there it was––the find of the day! It was a two-foot tall, electric jack-o’-lantern from the 50s, and we just had to have it. The vendor was asking $40, but he came down to $30 when Kitty pointed out that we couldn’t test the plug. She can’t wait to put it on her porch to greet the trick-or-treaters!
Buyer Beware
One of the most desirable Halloween tchotchkes has got to be antique paper-mâché jack-o’-lanterns. Because they were meant to be played with and discarded, they are more scarce and more expensive than decorations that were used year after year. This also means they are one of the most faked, forged, and reproduced Halloween items out there! So if you see one of these funny-faced pumpkin containers at the flea market, don’t spend too much (no more than $25) and assume it’s not authentic. Just enjoy how cute it is, whether it was made last century or last week!
Tricky Treats
Holiday chocolate molds designed in the 19th century are a decorator’s dream. Witches and pumpkins are the most common for Halloween, but we’ve also seen owls and arched cats. A hinged, two-sided mold can cost a pretty penny, but you can get a deal on one missing its other half. These half-molds hang nicely on a wall, and their sleek modern look is so eye-catching you’ll want to leave them out year-round.
Ghoulish Greetings
If you see a shoebox of old cards at the flea market, definitely thumb through it for Victorian Halloween postcards. The images are fantastic–– pumpkin-headed goblins, witches with black cats, and bats and owls swooping in on everyone. We picked up a spooky postcard for a few dollars to photocopy for our Halloween party invite!
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