Today I went to a local mall and saw what I suspected: In New Zealand, Halloween is passé.There were no displays in the mall, which was decked out for Christmas (the Christmas selling season begins this weekend). The only store with anything like a Halloween display was The Warehouse (the "Home of Halloween", you'll remember), but its display was pathetic by American standards. The photos with this post show all there was.
I also checked two grocery stores (the things I do for my readers!), and neither had Halloween displays. However, sacks of 12 small candy bars were on special this week, and the store I actually shopped in had a cardboard Halloween sales rack from M&M/Mars promoting their product, not that anyone noticed.
Have I mentioned that big, orange pumpkins like we Americans are used to are simply non-existent in Auckland? I don't know that they're available anywhere in New Zealand.
So, this year, Halloween is pretty much a non-starter. Since it falls on Saturday, I doubt we’ll have any trick-or-treaters. And that could be that—or will it? Like the ghouls of American Halloween, attempts to promote the holiday in New Zealand never seem to ever be truly dead.
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