halloween

One reason to drop in to Godiva this month is to try their Pumpkin Patch Truffles. Instead of just wrapping up chocolates in orange and black wrappers in a weak attempt at seasonality, the chocolatier goes all-out by creating a uniquely fall-flavored confection. The truffles have a pumpkin-spiced ganache center and are coated in a velvety milk chocolate. As a final touch, the truffles are lightly dusted with cinnamon before being wrapped up link miniature pumpkins - complete with tiny leaves. It's $12.50 for a 3.25-ounce package with five truffles.

Moonstruck Chocolate Co. has some of the most innovative, delicious chocolates you can find and never fails to disappoint where packaging and presentation are concerned. As part of their Halloween line this year, they are offering a Chocolate Cauldron with Shortbread Bones. The cocoa-dusted cauldron is completely edible and comes filled with a rich dark chocolate ganache that is perfect for dipping the buttery shortbread bones into. It's a snack to savor once all the trick or treaters have retreated for the night and you can relax. Price: $25.

Halloween is a great holiday, in large part because of all the treats, although the costumes and parties that accompany the holiday are fun, too. The decorations, unfortunately, tend towards being dull or cheesy. You don't want to scare all the trick-or-treaters too badly, particularly if your neighborhood happens to have a lot of very young children, but it's hard to come up with an impressive display without setting up a movie-quality set. By using a Light Display Projector, you can set up a great display (even better if you use a fog machine, as well) without having blood-soaked zombies lurking behind corners. The projector has several interchangeable designs, including deer, stars, balloons, skaters, witches, bats, and ghosts so it can be used again and again, and a rotating mirror ball keeps the images moving. Price: $89.95.

If you don't go for the miniature candy bars that are so incredibly prevalent this time of year, but want to get into the Halloween spirit, an acceptably grown-up treat would be something like a luscious caramel apple from Dean & Deluca. The tart Granny Smith apples are coated in a thick layer of smooth, buttery caramel before being dipped into either milk or dark chocolate and decorated with a light white-chocolate drizzle. A set of four apples is $45 plus next-day shipping to ensure that they arrive in pristine condition.

To take any Halloween celebrations to the next level, you'll need to find some really killer decorations. Instead of searching to find natural-looking props at the party store, why not seek out something a bit more realistic? Skulls Unlimited has a bit selection of real ("natural") and cast bones, human and animal, rare and common. A hippopotamus skull ($2,400) would make a big impression and some little vampire bat skulls ($49) would fit the theme. For something really creepy, there is a human skull with bullet wounds in it, but a grab-bag of assorted animal bones could go a long way at a party.

[via cribcandy]

This fun Baby Devil Art Pendant from designer Theo Fennell seems like it is the idea accessory for a Halloween outfit, whether you want to dress up a costume or just add a little flair to an ordinary outfit. The heart is double-sided and covered in pavé rubies. The devil horns and other details are all done in white gold and, as a whole, the charm measures 1" x 1/2". Fennell also has a winged angel heart charm if you don't feel like being a little bit bad with the devil charm despite the upcoming holiday. Price: $3,300.

[via boingboing]

With Halloween coming up, not to mention all the other skull stuff that we've seen lately, it seemed worthwhile to mention this SIGG Skull Bottle. The Swiss-made aluminum bottle is unbreakable, very lightweight and 100% recyclable. The 24-oz. bottles are taste-neutral, so you can store any type of beverage in them. One final feature is that the skull glows in the dark, which might not be a selling point for a lot of adults, but would definitely make it a more appealing Halloween "treat" if you wanted to give the kids something other than candy. Price: $20.

[via The Cool Hunter]

Now that it's October, it's time to start thinking about upcoming holidays, like Halloween. The holiday revolves around sweets, so what could be more appropriate than a decadent,seasonal treat. The Gourmet Witch's Hat Cake from Perfect Endings is a chocolate cake with a chocolate-caramel truffle filling, all wrapped up in a white chocolate fondant hat. One more reason to think about this cake this early in the month is that there is a lead time of 3 weeks on orders, so if you want it, you should plan ahead. It weighs about 4-lbs and should serve 10-12. Price: $99.