October 28, 2025 • 32 mins
Ever wonder how those Spirit Halloween stores just... appear every September and vanish by November? How do they make money being open only 3 months a year?
The origin story is wild: one guy in the 80s watched a line at a neighboring store, had an idea, and accidentally invented an entire business model. Today, we're breaking down how Spirit Halloween went from a women's clothing store experiment to a $2 billion pop-up empire—and what we can steal from their playbook.
- Love a good origin story with practical takeaways? Hit subscribe and learn how paying attention to what's working around you can change everything (no business degree required).
- Stay connected: Subscribe to our newsletter!
- I want to hear from you! If you liked this episode where I told you a story about a cultural phenomenon, please let me know. Send me a text or DM through the links in the show notes. If you loved it, I'll lean into more episodes like this—your feedback actually shapes what we create.
—
Who Should Listen
This episode is for anyone who loves Halloween, a good business origin story, moms looking for inspiration to try something new, and anyone who's ever walked through Spirit Halloween with their kids, wondering, "How is this a thing?"
—
What You Get In This Episode
- Spirit Halloween’s origin story and how they manage to make money when they’re only around for 3 months every year
- Why Millennials and Gen Z are driving Halloween's popularity (and passing it to our kids)
- How much of Big Candy’s revenue is attributable to Caitlin and Ariella
—
Bios
Caitlin brings her signature blend of humor and practical advice to help overwhelmed moms navigate the challenges of adulting—and occasionally tells you wild business stories that are equal parts entertaining and inspiring. With Ariella Monti (ariellamonti.com), novelist and author of Roots in Ink.
—
Sources & Mentions
- Thank you to Daniel Murray, creator of The Marketing Millennials eNewsletter
- A National Retail Federation (NRF) survey
- @SpiritHalloween on Twitter/X
Use promo code CKANDGK for 20% off Roots in Ink at ariellamonti.com
__
I want to hear from you! If you liked this episode where I told you a story about a cultural phenomenon, please let me know. Send me a text or DM through the links in the show notes. If you loved it, I'll lean into more episodes like this—your feedback actually shapes what we create.
The best support is a rating and a share.
Love,
CK & GK
View our website at ckandgkpodcast.com. Find us on social media @ckandgkpodcast on
- Instagram
- Facebook
- TikTok
Thanks, y'all!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_01 (00:01):
Yay.
Hello, friends.
Uh it's almost Halloween.
And we're so glad you're here.
And I'm bringing the LloydChristmas vibes real hard
because I chip my tooth and I'mI'm a little bit messy these
days.
But uh we're gonna we it's thisis the how-to show for women who
(00:24):
chip their teeth when they falldown.
Um and who buy their Halloweencandy early and then have to buy
it again and again, probably onemore time before Halloween.
Uh probably that morning is mygood host.
Yeah.
Always.
Always, yeah.
But I'm Caitlin, and with metoday is Ariel Monti.
(00:46):
She is a novelist and a humanequivalent of a buy one, inspire
a dozen deal.
What amazing.
I'm really cool.
Actually, I think my sistermentioned cheaper by the dozen,
and I got that idea, and that'swhat I wrote it down.
She loves that.
They my sisters loved that moviewhen we were kids.
So anyway, it doesn't matter.
Today I am going to wow you witha festive story, the story of
(01:13):
everyone's most favorite retailexperience, especially now that
we're not going to target spiritHalloween.
SPEAKER_00 (01:20):
Yes, I am so ready for the Spirit Halloween lore.
I am okay getting but comfy inmy chair.
SPEAKER_01 (01:31):
Yeah, make sure you're comfy.
Um, before we do that, though,are you subscribed to the show
on our social channels?
Make sure you hit follow andsubscribe on Ariela underscore
Monty on Threads and Instagram,or us DK and GK Podcast on
Threads and Instagram.
And make sure you're followingepisodes too.
Although, in fairness, I don'texactly have a topic for our
(01:54):
next one narrowed down yet.
So just focus on social for now.
unknown (01:58):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (02:00):
Um, my sources and mentions for today are Daniel
Murray, who is the writer of theMarketing Millennials e
Newsletter, which is if you're amarketer, it's a great one to be
following.
Um, a National Retail Federationsurvey, and of course, Spirit
Halloween on Twitter slash X uhand other platforms.
(02:24):
So at Spirit Halloween, goodtimes.
SPEAKER_00 (02:27):
Their they I have to say, their threads, their
threads content is worth a lot.
Yeah, it's a lot better than youwould imagine it would be.
I I do enjoy following them.
SPEAKER_01 (02:41):
We're gonna get to that because um I do think they
know what they're about.
And I think they know thateveryone else knows what they're
about.
So yeah, yeah, okay.
So unless you're driving, raiseyour hand if Spirit Halloween is
part of your fall traditions.
My hand is up.
SPEAKER_00 (02:59):
Oh, it's not part of my fall traditions, but I've
been there.
We love it.
SPEAKER_01 (03:03):
We've been there, yeah.
It we love it.
Yeah, um walking through thosestores with your kids and
jumping at animatronics thatscare you is fun.
Um, and somehow those storeslike magically appear every
September and then they're goneNovember 1st.
It's wild.
So I'm sure you're wondering howthat became a thing.
(03:26):
I'm sure you're wondering howthey make money only being open
three months a year, if threemonths counts, right?
It's like September,mid-September to November.
So maybe like what six, tenweeks at most, right?
Um, this is a story about howone guy in the 80s basically
invented an entire businessmodel by paying attention to
(03:47):
other people.
And also because this is a showabout learning things that help
us.
I just hit the microphone.
This is sort of um how you canpay attention to things and turn
them into your own hopefullylucrative side hustles.
So I'm gonna take you back, dearreaderslash listener, to the
(04:08):
early 80s.
And there's a man named JoeMarver.
Okay, we're gonna call him Joefor this episode.
Yeah.
Perfect.
Joe owns a discount women'sclothing store in Castro Valley
Mall, which is an Oakland, amall in an Oakland suburb.
And on one slow business day, henotices a massive line at the
(04:29):
neighboring dancewear store.
This is the 80s, okay?
Dance wear like leotards,leggings, all neon.
Why is there a massive linethere?
There shouldn't be.
Right.
He's confused.
Nobody needs that many leotards.
This is not judgment on you.
Right.
This is not judgment on you,your mom, or the vast number of
(04:51):
leggings that you have in yourcollection, and the majority of
which are black.
I understand that they all havedifferent fits and cuts and
purposes, and you wear them fordifferent things.
I'm not judging, I'm just sayinghe knows nobody needs that many
Lieotards, right?
Right.
Then Joe notices customersleaving the store.
They're dressed as ghosts,witches, the grim reaper, etc.
(05:14):
And he realizes that thedancewear store is actually also
selling Halloween costumes.
SPEAKER_00 (05:19):
Hold on.
Are they the plastic Halloweencostumes that were like the
apron with like the plastic maskcutouts?
SPEAKER_01 (05:31):
They could have been.
SPEAKER_00 (05:32):
They could have been, right?
SPEAKER_01 (05:33):
I don't know.
I wasn't there.
I didn't see exactly what Joesaw.
Okay.
All right.
So he decides to take action in1982.
He this is how long SpiritHalloween, we're going back
early 80s, before you and I,right?
Adds Halloween's costumes,Halloween's cost, Halloween
(05:57):
costumes to his women's clothingstore, and they outsell
everything else in the store.
SPEAKER_00 (06:03):
Wow.
SPEAKER_01 (06:05):
In 83, the dancewear store closes and Joe makes a big
bet.
He buys out an entire Halloweentrade show, puts all of his
women's clothing.
I know, right?
Puts all of his women's clothingin storage, and temporarily
converts spirit women's discountapparel into spirit Halloween.
(06:27):
Swear.
Oh my God.
Right?
Right?
I literally gave myself chillsfrom that story.
Now, in his first 30 days beingopen, he makes$100,000.
Oh my god.
(06:48):
In today's money, I'm gonna pulla uh Karen in Georgia from my
favorite murder.
In today's money, do you knowhow much money that would be?
SPEAKER_00 (06:56):
I mean, I know because I'm looking at the
script, but go ahead and tellme, please.
SPEAKER_01 (07:02):
Okay, folks, make your guesses.
$325,000 in 30 days.
SPEAKER_00 (07:08):
That's wild.
I mean, that's over theequivalent of$100,000 a day in
sales.
I that's a lot of freakingmoney.
SPEAKER_01 (07:21):
Well, not in a day.
It's the equivalent of$30,000.
Oh, 30 days.
30 days, yeah, yeah.
Right.
We're talking about 30 daysdivided by 100.
So yeah, we're getting we'regetting close.
Yeah, it's it's a lot.
It's a lot of them.
So no, I got you.
Um, okay, so he's not even likea Halloween guy, he just loves
this business model because itmakes sense.
(07:43):
Right.
Joe Marver, our dear pal Joe, isresponsible for the temporary
hyper-seasonal pop-up store.
That's wild.
Right, right.
Okay.
So now we have to consider thecontext of which this or in
which this is happening.
(08:03):
In the early 80s, not that I wasaround then, because I'm not
that old, but this is myunderstanding.
But I am.
I I'm 84.
All right.
I'm I'm elder millennial forsure.
I'm almost Gen X, but I'm notquite.
Okay.
The Hollywood horror boom ishappening at the same time that
(08:24):
he's doing this.
So we're talking Nightmare onElm Street, Child's Play, It,
and the whole Halloweenfranchise, all happening around
this time.
Um, so what he does is sourcetrending costumes in addition to
classics.
SPEAKER_00 (08:39):
What are the classics in 1982?
SPEAKER_01 (08:42):
Well, I would imagine it's just things like
witches, ghosts.
I'm thinking like peanutscharacters, how they're all in a
sheet, right?
Like those are classics.
Mummy, a pumpkin.
Right?
I was a pumpkin for my veryfirst Halloween costume.
It's precious.
He starts opening up more andmore pop-ups every year.
And by 1999, Spirit Halloweenhad 60 locations and was
(09:04):
acquired by get this, Spencer'sgifts for an undisclosed sum of.
I mean, that makes sense.
Spencer's totally makes sense,but also like what a blast from
millennial past for those of uswho are if you know, you know,
right?
If you had, did you have ashroom necklace?
It probably came from Spencer.
(09:25):
Did you have one of thoseplastic jokers?
It either came from Claire's,which we're also not shopping at
anymore, or Spencer's.
So there you go.
Yeah.
Okay.
So that's the that's thecontext.
That is how Spirit Halloweencame to be.
I need to go over some of thisactual stats on this store
because I my mind is blown.
And again, shout out to DanielMurray for putting all this
(09:46):
together.
And I just took it and and madeit into my language.
Here's here's where SpiritHalloween is at today, by the
numbers.
Spencer's Spirit Halloweenholdings are an estimated two
billion dollars, billion with aB in annual revenue, the
majority of which comes fromHalloween.
So that's Spencer's SpiritHoldings.
(10:07):
Okay.
$2 billion in annual revenue.
Okay.
Now.
SPEAKER_00 (10:12):
So are is Spencer gifts they're they're not like
around anymore, right?
SPEAKER_01 (10:19):
I'm sure they own like certain, I'm sure they own
certain brands, but I haven'tseen a Spencer store.
Now, granted, when was the lasttime I was in a mall?
SPEAKER_00 (10:26):
I don't know, when it was 17, but like it's
possible that that SpiritHalloween outlived Spencer's
stores.
SPEAKER_01 (10:35):
Spencer's stores, yes.
That's why it's possible.
Do I know to be true?
No, this show is fact adjacent.
I'm telling you what I know tobe fact is on the on my notes.
We are we are not going to themall to test this theory.
No, I'm not testing this top.
Okay.
Um, they have more than 1,500stores, and new locations are
scouted out every year.
(10:56):
They employ 50,000 or so, moreor less, temporary workers
during the times that they'reopen.
And they're only open for threemonths a year, max.
Spirit Halloween is the world'snumber one Halloween store, and
they have zero permanentstorefronts.
SPEAKER_00 (11:16):
That's crazy.
SPEAKER_01 (11:19):
Here's how it works for those of you looking for an
inside scoop into Spirit.
By November 1st, all the storesvanish.
That's part of the businessmodel.
They have to go away because youdon't want to pay rent for
another month, right?
So that's how you do that.
All the unsold merchandise getsmoved into warehouses.
Their only permanent real estateis in warehouses so that they
(11:41):
can store their product yearround.
Yeah.
They have a small full-time teamthat does work year-round.
They're uh scouting newlocations for pop-ups and
they're buying new merchandiseto like, you know, keep things
going for the next year.
Right, right, right.
You, the listener and consumer,can continue to shop at Spirit
(12:04):
Halloween online all year roundbecause they do have warehouses
and you can, yeah, you canpurchase from them.
So, like, let's say you havesome random like 70s party that
you're going to for someone'sbirthday, you could totally look
at Spirit Halloween online andget a costume from them.
SPEAKER_00 (12:20):
I mean, that shouldn't blow my mind, but it
is.
It shouldn't for some reason.
SPEAKER_01 (12:23):
But it is shocking because they are they are gone.
You don't see them as ofNovember 1st.
They're the the plastic sign iseverything's gone.
Yeah, yeah.
Right?
Now, here's why it works.
There's some business stuff hereabout how much marketing is
actually needed, the amount ofoverhead real estate, blah blah
(12:46):
stuff that I don't understand.
Um, but basically, Halloween isthe perfect marketing holiday,
which I do understand.
It's always the same day everyyear.
Not day, not it's always thesame date, not always the same
day, right?
Okay, right.
It's loved by kids and adults,and kids are the drivers of the
consumption, which is not likeChristmas.
(13:07):
Christmas is for every age,whereas really Halloween, a lot
of people view that as a kid'sholiday, right?
Right, right, right.
It's mostly consumable goodslike candy.
SPEAKER_00 (13:17):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (13:18):
Unlike Christmas, which is not mostly consumables.
Pop culture drives differenttrends of Halloween costumes
every year.
Right.
A few years ago, the costume,the topical costume, was Tiger
King, right?
Everybody was doing some sort ofmullet something, right?
(13:42):
But there have been plenty ofyears where it was like Joe
Dirt, again, real similar, let'sbe real clear.
But like any other movie,there's gonna probably be some
K-pop demon hunters this year.
There's a whole bunch of waysthat you can make new money off
of current trends.
And it falls between back toschool and Black Friday.
(14:04):
So it's not like everyone'sbroke because they just spent
all their money on back toschool stuff, and they're not
considering the future spendingthat's coming with Black Friday.
So there is money-ish there,right?
Right.
Okay.
You and I are old enough.
You, the listener, might not beold enough to have a good enough
(14:27):
memory to remember SpiritChristmas.
I recall seeing a SpiritChristmas.
It was kind of like um the whatthose Mandela effect things
where you're like, you swear yousaw Sinbad as Shazam, but you
didn't.
Um that's how I felt about it.
I know, right?
That's how I felt about SpiritChristmas, where I was like, no,
there was a Spirit Christmas.
I feel like I remember this.
And maybe someone told me aboutit, but I know I've like seen a
(14:49):
picture, like I can see theplastic sign in my brain.
Now, Spirit Christmas was acomplete failure because it's
the opposite of what thosereasons are that I just told
you, right?
Right.
Yep.
So ultimately, Spirit Halloweenworks because shopping there is
like an annual tradition.
It's a rite of passage for a lotof families.
The store feels like a hauntedhouse without actually having to
(15:11):
go to a haunted house.
There's themed environments,interactive displays, motion
sensor animatronics, all kindsof fun.
Like I like to just go and putthe hats on and just for fun and
then not buy anything.
Like, but I usually end upbuying something because I have
a child.
So yeah.
Right.
Basically, it's retailentertainment.
Again, mall haunted housewithout the fear.
(15:34):
You know?
That makes sense.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So the other thing to note isthey get it, they they
understand themselves.
Last year, pretty sure this waslast year, it could have been
two years ago.
Last year there was a SNL sketchabout their pop-up model and
about dying retail.
(15:56):
Spirit Halloween 100% clappedback with their own thing.
And this is why you this is whatthere's a picture on the notes
of this costume.
It was like the plastic bag withthe orange costume thing, and it
was like SNL 50, irrelevant50-year-old TV show, includes
dated references, unknown castmembers, and shrinking ratings.
And they and everyone was doingspirit Halloween memes last
(16:19):
year.
SPEAKER_00 (16:19):
Yes.
SPEAKER_01 (16:20):
But they are responsible for that.
They they clapped back, andthat's how that got started.
So they understand who they are,they understand what they do,
and they know that they're thebutt of the joke.
But you know what?
It's two billion dollars inrevenue.
So clearly it can't be that bad.
Yeah, yeah.
So I'm gonna prove what I'msaying here because on the rare
(16:42):
occasion that I'm not factadjacent, I need you to
understand exactly how right Iam.
Okay.
Americans spend on Halloween,it's what we do.
All right.
Um, and I can tell you thisbecause my sister, who lives in
Germany, gets excited fortrick-or-treaters and they don't
(17:03):
get them.
It's like it's it's not anAmerican-only holiday, but it is
a intense American holiday,right?
SPEAKER_00 (17:10):
Right.
Yeah, the way we celebrate it isvery specific.
SPEAKER_01 (17:14):
It's hardcore.
SPEAKER_00 (17:14):
It's the United States, yeah.
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (17:16):
Yeah, yeah.
Okay.
In 2024, Americans spent anestimated$11.6 billion with a B
dollars on Halloween, accordingto that NRF survey that I cited
earlier.
This total is down a little bitfrom the$12.2 billion spent in
(17:36):
2023, but is still higher thanpre-COVID.
And if I remember correctly, Ishould have pulled the number on
COVID uh spending, but peoplewent out, people went all out
for COVID out on outdoor things.
So I don't know.
I would that that number wouldbe interesting.
Here's where they spend theirmoney, and you'll see what I'm
talking about with thisconsumable stuff.
(17:57):
Candy, approximately$3.8billion.
I feel like I can account forlike right.
I'm like only like 15% of that.
Not a big deal.
Um, costumes around three and ahalf to four billion for
children's adults and petcostumes.
Uh, decorations, about three anda half to four billion.
(18:18):
And when you think about two ofthese, it sounds like these are
um hold on, let me say the lastone.
Greeting cards.
People do send greeting cardsfor Halloween, um, an estimated
half a billion dollars.
unknown (18:29):
Oh my god.
SPEAKER_01 (18:30):
Greeting cards.
Yeah.
So when we talk about howHalloween is a consumables
holiday, candy, yeah, it's athird of the, it's a third of
the sales, it's a third of therevenue.
Costumes, a lot of people onlywear their costumes one time.
None of us are Ron Swansonwearing the exact same pirate
costume every single year.
Like, that's not happening.
(18:50):
Um, and decorations, like, Idon't know about you, but a deer
just walked through mydecorations and ripped up my uh
spider web.
So now I have to get a new oneof those.
Like, it's not like I spent aton of money on it in the first
place.
Yeah, it got stuck.
It like walked through the theantlers got stuck and then it
like whipped it off.
And so I had a spider in theneighbor's yard, and my yeah, it
(19:11):
looks fine.
I mean, it's a it's a little bitof a bummer.
I feel bad for the deer, but thedeer clearly is okay because my
net is shredded, so it's fine.
Anyway, um the real driver herethough is millennials and Gen Z.
They love Halloween, and nowthat they're becoming parents,
they're passing down this loveof Halloween to their kids.
(19:33):
How many women our age are like,yes, fall vibes?
And I'm such a basic bee aboutall this.
Like, I love me some fall andall the Halloween things.
Give it all to me.
I'm obsessed.
Yes.
No.
Yeah.
We would be remiss if we didn'ttalk about what this means to
you, the listener, aside from mejust wowing you with all the
(19:53):
things that I've learned andknow.
And thank you again to DanielMurray because he's the driving
force behind this.
Here's what we can learn fromJoe.
Sometimes the best ideas comefrom just paying attention to
what's going on around you.
Had he not noticed all thesepeople going into this, you
know, active, we we would callit active wear now.
It's like a dance where, youknow, with all these where all
(20:16):
the leotards are, and then beenlike, wait, everyone's coming
out with Halloween costumes.
It never would have happened,right?
Right.
You don't need a business degreeor some sort of master plan
before you start doing.
It'll come to you.
You'll hire people who will dothose things for you.
He just watched a line atanother store.
So if the idea is good andpeople love it, it'll do things
(20:40):
for you.
Acting on an idea matters morethan having the plan.
Start small and test it out.
He added costumes to hisexisting store first and then
branched out, right?
Now, granted, he only gave it ayear, but still.
Right.
When something works, lean intoit harder.
(21:02):
That doesn't have to be for justbusiness, right?
If something feels good to you,you you know, not drugs, not
condoning bad things, just leaninto it.
Just lean into it, just lean toit.
Just lean into it.
When things feel good, right?
Ariello writes spicy content fora living.
Earlier today, she was tellingme about her swamp sunflowers
(21:24):
that thrive in damp and warmenvironments.
And I was like damp and warmenvironments, yeah.
Yuck.
Okay.
Gross.
Anyway.
Here's how this matters for you.
I want you to think about a fewthings.
What patterns are you noticingthat everyone else is missing?
For me, it's probably not, Iprobably don't notice until it's
too late.
(21:45):
And I've driven myself crazy.
Where could you experimentwithout a huge risk?
Do you have a side hustle ideathat you keep thinking about
that people are saying youshould sell this?
This is not to be just likeconfused with a hobby that you
love.
That's not what we're saying.
We're saying, like, do you makecakes for people on the side and
they keep asking you to likesell you, sell them, and that's
(22:06):
not the thing that brings youthe most joy, then okay, great.
Right.
Don't ruin your hobby.
That's not what we're saying.
Yeah.
Okay.
Is there a different approach tosomething at work that you could
take?
Something to consider.
A new way to handle a recurringproblem at home.
These are just things that youcould experiment on, that
they're not gonna be a huge riskinvolved, and you might see some
(22:29):
really good benefit from it.
You have permission to pivot.
Joe had one business and thenpivoted his business and it
worked.
You are not locked into doingthings the way you've always
done them.
You are allowed to change.
I feel like we could say thatabout a lot of things.
(22:50):
You're allowed to learnsomething new and grow and then
change your opinions aboutthings.
SPEAKER_00 (22:55):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (22:55):
Yeah.
Just putting that out there.
SPEAKER_00 (22:58):
Everything, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (22:58):
Everything, right?
Um yes.
Your failures, of which I havemany, including sometimes some
episodes of this podcast mightjust be experiments that taught
you something.
Yeah.
Right?
Like all of these things arethings we can learn from Joe.
(23:21):
The bigger lesson here is thatsuccess isn't always about
working harder at the thingsyou're already doing.
Sometimes it's just aboutnoticing what actually works and
doing more of that.
And if you're someone who dealsin uh selling a good of some
sort or whatever you areproducing, whatever you're
(23:43):
producing, make sure that peopleassociate it with an experience,
right?
It's not about the transaction,it's about the experience.
You know this, you write for aliving, people have an
experience as they write yourbook.
As someone who creates contentfor people to listen to, my hope
is that they enjoy theexperience of listening.
It's experiences that keeppeople coming back.
It's not the transaction itself,right?
(24:05):
So just keep that in mindwhenever you are doing any sort
of thing.
If we're talking about planninga birthday party, make it about
the experience, not about theitem.
Lean into that piece of itbecause that's what makes people
happy.
Okay.
Yes.
All right.
So that's my history of SpiritHalloween.
We will be right back.
(24:28):
Okay, y'all.
POV.
You find a diary exposingforbidden magic, and the hot
museum caretaker's life dependson you burning it.
Roots and Inc., the debut novelby Ariela Monti, is the fantasy
romance for rebels.
Use promo code CK and GK to get20% off your copy at
(24:48):
arielemonte.com.
Again, that's all caps at C K AN D G K for 20% off on
Arielemonte.com.
Get your copy for 20% off today.
(25:13):
So it'll be a surprise toeveryone when you guys return.
Everyone will be surprised.
Everyone will be surprised.
But by the time we get back, wewill be past Halloween and into
the like getting into theholiday season.
And there are some people whowill be very upset that I said
(25:35):
the holiday season starts rightafter Halloween.
But I will tell you that I don'tcare when my joy starts.
I will start my holiday joy whenI feel like it because
everything is burning around me.
And so I'm going to lean into myChristmas tree on November 5th.
I don't know if that's what dayI'll put it up, but I'm just
saying.
I put it up right beforeThanksgiving.
(25:56):
It's Christmas, Christmas,Christmas, Thanksgiving on
Thanksgiving Day, and then theday after it's Christmas until
the rest of the year.
SPEAKER_00 (26:02):
Yeah, I wouldn't even I wouldn't even put up a
Christmas tree at this point ifI did not have a child.
I would Oh really?
Yeah, no, I would I likedecorating for winter.
Like, yes.
I like winter decorations.
I don't like decorating forChristmas.
SPEAKER_01 (26:20):
That's very aesthetic of you.
unknown (26:22):
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (26:23):
Winter is aesthetic.
SPEAKER_00 (26:24):
No, but you know what it is?
It's because I'm lazy and Idon't want because I you
decorate for Christmas and no,okay.
Let's let's be clear.
I have a very complicatedrelationship with Christmas
because my birthday is so closeto it.
So I'm a little bitter.
But on top of that, like there,it's it's a very small window of
(26:50):
time that you're that you've gotyour Christmas decorations up.
But winter can go from Decemberall the way to like, you know,
beginning of March.
And I know that's true.
Yeah.
My college sweetmates will tellme I could leave all of that
stuff up for as long as I'dlike, but I don't like it
(27:14):
enough.
SPEAKER_01 (27:15):
No, I gotta I I and there are some things like that
that I will leave out that arethe winter vibes, right?
But like even at this point,snowmen, I'm like, nah, it's
Christmas.
I gotta, it's gotta go.
Gotta go.
And usually uh I know lots ofpeople who take their Christmas
tree down like the day afterChristmas because they're like,
I can't.
I I know some people who take itdown Christmas night.
(27:36):
They're like, nope, it's over,we're done.
Yeah, yeah.
Which I can't I can't do.
Like, I know it that makes myheart sad, but I can't but I do
like to have it done the dayafter like New Year's Day.
I'm like, all right, let's, it'sgotta go.
I like having the lights for NewYear's.
Um, but New Year's Day, it'sgotta go.
SPEAKER_00 (27:54):
Yeah.
Yeah, no, definitely.
SPEAKER_01 (27:56):
Here we are talking about Christmas decorations, and
Halloween hasn't even happenedyet.
SPEAKER_00 (28:02):
No, but I bet you so last year, so last episode we
were talking about aboutHalloween traditions, and I like
thought of one.
Yes, yes, so um the onetradition that my kid and I have
sort of like started is everyyear we will go and buy some
(28:24):
more Halloween decorationsbecause we really don't have
many.
So every year we'll buy likeyeah, we'll buy a few things um
to add to the to the to thehouse.
SPEAKER_01 (28:37):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (28:38):
Um gotcha.
And last year we went to we wentto Lowe's Hardware.
I can't tell you why we went toLowe's Hardware.
Yeah, we went to Lowe's HardwayHardware on October 7th, and
everything was gone, stuff wason clearance, and half the
(28:58):
Christmas stuff was already out.
I'm like, what?
SPEAKER_01 (29:03):
What are we doing?
SPEAKER_00 (29:03):
Is it right?
Even my kid was like, what ishappening?
Like it is October 7th.
Right.
So I bet I mean we went to wewent a little bit earlier this
year, and so we went toMichael's and it is plenty,
plenty of Halloween stuff.
But I bet if I went now, itwould be all Christmas.
SPEAKER_01 (29:25):
We did Joanne fabric last year before they went
bankrupt.
And that was a good, that was agood place to go to get some
stuff because of the the sales.
But this year, uh I did go toMichael's to see if there was
anything we we needed.
We didn't need any we never needwhat we want sometimes.
Um but I one other thing I wouldrecommend, and this is for the
(29:46):
people like me who just who buythings and then forget that they
bought them.
At the end of the season, ifthere's anything you didn't put
up and you don't love, don't eatit.
Get rid of it, don't keep it inyour house because I cannot buy
any more big tubs.
To hold stuff.
I've got to hair down and yeah,you know, it's enough stuff.
Like that is one thing I willsay about taking down the
(30:08):
decorations, is that it justfeels less cluttered in my
house.
Right.
Because I do put up a lot.
Like I I I go hard on Christmasdecorations and stuff like that.
Uh so anyway, that's that's thethat's our holiday preview
discussion.
I don't know.
I don't know what we're gonnatalk about next, guys.
(30:28):
If you liked this episode whereI told you a story about some
sort of cultural phenomenon,like please let me know.
Tech send me a text.
I would love to hear if youliked it.
Send me a DM.
You can send a text or a DMthrough the links in the show
notes.
There's our Instagram is linked,there's threads, there's again
send us a text link.
I would love to know if youliked this because I will lean
(30:50):
into this if you guys liked it.
This the story of SpiritHalloween, I immediately told
Ariella, like, I have to tellyou this story.
I loved it so much.
So this was fun for me.
So I hope you guys enjoyed it.
Uh make good choices.
We'll be back next week.
Love you, mean it.
Have a great and safe Halloween.
Bye.
Bye.
Yay.
Hello, friends.
Uh it's almost Halloween.
And we're so glad you're here.
And I'm bringing the LloydChristmas vibes real hard
because I chip my tooth and I'mI'm a little bit messy these
days.
But uh we're gonna we it's thisis the how-to show for women who
(00:24):
chip their teeth when they falldown.
Um and who buy their Halloweencandy early and then have to buy
it again and again, probably onemore time before Halloween.
Uh probably that morning is mygood host.
Yeah.
Always.
Always, yeah.
But I'm Caitlin, and with metoday is Ariel Monti.
(00:46):
She is a novelist and a humanequivalent of a buy one, inspire
a dozen deal.
What amazing.
I'm really cool.
Actually, I think my sistermentioned cheaper by the dozen,
and I got that idea, and that'swhat I wrote it down.
She loves that.
They my sisters loved that moviewhen we were kids.
So anyway, it doesn't matter.
Today I am going to wow you witha festive story, the story of
(01:13):
everyone's most favorite retailexperience, especially now that
we're not going to target spiritHalloween.
SPEAKER_00 (01:20):
Yes, I am so ready for the Spirit Halloween lore.
I am okay getting but comfy inmy chair.
SPEAKER_01 (01:31):
Yeah, make sure you're comfy.
Um, before we do that, though,are you subscribed to the show
on our social channels?
Make sure you hit follow andsubscribe on Ariela underscore
Monty on Threads and Instagram,or us DK and GK Podcast on
Threads and Instagram.
And make sure you're followingepisodes too.
Although, in fairness, I don'texactly have a topic for our
(01:54):
next one narrowed down yet.
So just focus on social for now.
unknown (01:58):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (02:00):
Um, my sources and mentions for today are Daniel
Murray, who is the writer of theMarketing Millennials e
Newsletter, which is if you're amarketer, it's a great one to be
following.
Um, a National Retail Federationsurvey, and of course, Spirit
Halloween on Twitter slash X uhand other platforms.
(02:24):
So at Spirit Halloween, goodtimes.
SPEAKER_00 (02:27):
Their they I have to say, their threads, their
threads content is worth a lot.
Yeah, it's a lot better than youwould imagine it would be.
I I do enjoy following them.
SPEAKER_01 (02:41):
We're gonna get to that because um I do think they
know what they're about.
And I think they know thateveryone else knows what they're
about.
So yeah, yeah, okay.
So unless you're driving, raiseyour hand if Spirit Halloween is
part of your fall traditions.
My hand is up.
SPEAKER_00 (02:59):
Oh, it's not part of my fall traditions, but I've
been there.
We love it.
SPEAKER_01 (03:03):
We've been there, yeah.
It we love it.
Yeah, um walking through thosestores with your kids and
jumping at animatronics thatscare you is fun.
Um, and somehow those storeslike magically appear every
September and then they're goneNovember 1st.
It's wild.
So I'm sure you're wondering howthat became a thing.
(03:26):
I'm sure you're wondering howthey make money only being open
three months a year, if threemonths counts, right?
It's like September,mid-September to November.
So maybe like what six, tenweeks at most, right?
Um, this is a story about howone guy in the 80s basically
invented an entire businessmodel by paying attention to
(03:47):
other people.
And also because this is a showabout learning things that help
us.
I just hit the microphone.
This is sort of um how you canpay attention to things and turn
them into your own hopefullylucrative side hustles.
So I'm gonna take you back, dearreaderslash listener, to the
(04:08):
early 80s.
And there's a man named JoeMarver.
Okay, we're gonna call him Joefor this episode.
Yeah.
Perfect.
Joe owns a discount women'sclothing store in Castro Valley
Mall, which is an Oakland, amall in an Oakland suburb.
And on one slow business day, henotices a massive line at the
(04:29):
neighboring dancewear store.
This is the 80s, okay?
Dance wear like leotards,leggings, all neon.
Why is there a massive linethere?
There shouldn't be.
Right.
He's confused.
Nobody needs that many leotards.
This is not judgment on you.
Right.
This is not judgment on you,your mom, or the vast number of
(04:51):
leggings that you have in yourcollection, and the majority of
which are black.
I understand that they all havedifferent fits and cuts and
purposes, and you wear them fordifferent things.
I'm not judging, I'm just sayinghe knows nobody needs that many
Lieotards, right?
Right.
Then Joe notices customersleaving the store.
They're dressed as ghosts,witches, the grim reaper, etc.
(05:14):
And he realizes that thedancewear store is actually also
selling Halloween costumes.
SPEAKER_00 (05:19):
Hold on.
Are they the plastic Halloweencostumes that were like the
apron with like the plastic maskcutouts?
SPEAKER_01 (05:31):
They could have been.
SPEAKER_00 (05:32):
They could have been, right?
SPEAKER_01 (05:33):
I don't know.
I wasn't there.
I didn't see exactly what Joesaw.
Okay.
All right.
So he decides to take action in1982.
He this is how long SpiritHalloween, we're going back
early 80s, before you and I,right?
Adds Halloween's costumes,Halloween's cost, Halloween
(05:57):
costumes to his women's clothingstore, and they outsell
everything else in the store.
SPEAKER_00 (06:03):
Wow.
SPEAKER_01 (06:05):
In 83, the dancewear store closes and Joe makes a big
bet.
He buys out an entire Halloweentrade show, puts all of his
women's clothing.
I know, right?
Puts all of his women's clothingin storage, and temporarily
converts spirit women's discountapparel into spirit Halloween.
(06:27):
Swear.
Oh my God.
Right?
Right?
I literally gave myself chillsfrom that story.
Now, in his first 30 days beingopen, he makes$100,000.
Oh my god.
(06:48):
In today's money, I'm gonna pulla uh Karen in Georgia from my
favorite murder.
In today's money, do you knowhow much money that would be?
SPEAKER_00 (06:56):
I mean, I know because I'm looking at the
script, but go ahead and tellme, please.
SPEAKER_01 (07:02):
Okay, folks, make your guesses.
$325,000 in 30 days.
SPEAKER_00 (07:08):
That's wild.
I mean, that's over theequivalent of$100,000 a day in
sales.
I that's a lot of freakingmoney.
SPEAKER_01 (07:21):
Well, not in a day.
It's the equivalent of$30,000.
Oh, 30 days.
30 days, yeah, yeah.
Right.
We're talking about 30 daysdivided by 100.
So yeah, we're getting we'regetting close.
Yeah, it's it's a lot.
It's a lot of them.
So no, I got you.
Um, okay, so he's not even likea Halloween guy, he just loves
this business model because itmakes sense.
(07:43):
Right.
Joe Marver, our dear pal Joe, isresponsible for the temporary
hyper-seasonal pop-up store.
That's wild.
Right, right.
Okay.
So now we have to consider thecontext of which this or in
which this is happening.
(08:03):
In the early 80s, not that I wasaround then, because I'm not
that old, but this is myunderstanding.
But I am.
I I'm 84.
All right.
I'm I'm elder millennial forsure.
I'm almost Gen X, but I'm notquite.
Okay.
The Hollywood horror boom ishappening at the same time that
(08:24):
he's doing this.
So we're talking Nightmare onElm Street, Child's Play, It,
and the whole Halloweenfranchise, all happening around
this time.
Um, so what he does is sourcetrending costumes in addition to
classics.
SPEAKER_00 (08:39):
What are the classics in 1982?
SPEAKER_01 (08:42):
Well, I would imagine it's just things like
witches, ghosts.
I'm thinking like peanutscharacters, how they're all in a
sheet, right?
Like those are classics.
Mummy, a pumpkin.
Right?
I was a pumpkin for my veryfirst Halloween costume.
It's precious.
He starts opening up more andmore pop-ups every year.
And by 1999, Spirit Halloweenhad 60 locations and was
(09:04):
acquired by get this, Spencer'sgifts for an undisclosed sum of.
I mean, that makes sense.
Spencer's totally makes sense,but also like what a blast from
millennial past for those of uswho are if you know, you know,
right?
If you had, did you have ashroom necklace?
It probably came from Spencer.
(09:25):
Did you have one of thoseplastic jokers?
It either came from Claire's,which we're also not shopping at
anymore, or Spencer's.
So there you go.
Yeah.
Okay.
So that's the that's thecontext.
That is how Spirit Halloweencame to be.
I need to go over some of thisactual stats on this store
because I my mind is blown.
And again, shout out to DanielMurray for putting all this
(09:46):
together.
And I just took it and and madeit into my language.
Here's here's where SpiritHalloween is at today, by the
numbers.
Spencer's Spirit Halloweenholdings are an estimated two
billion dollars, billion with aB in annual revenue, the
majority of which comes fromHalloween.
So that's Spencer's SpiritHoldings.
(10:07):
Okay.
$2 billion in annual revenue.
Okay.
Now.
SPEAKER_00 (10:12):
So are is Spencer gifts they're they're not like
around anymore, right?
SPEAKER_01 (10:19):
I'm sure they own like certain, I'm sure they own
certain brands, but I haven'tseen a Spencer store.
Now, granted, when was the lasttime I was in a mall?
SPEAKER_00 (10:26):
I don't know, when it was 17, but like it's
possible that that SpiritHalloween outlived Spencer's
stores.
SPEAKER_01 (10:35):
Spencer's stores, yes.
That's why it's possible.
Do I know to be true?
No, this show is fact adjacent.
I'm telling you what I know tobe fact is on the on my notes.
We are we are not going to themall to test this theory.
No, I'm not testing this top.
Okay.
Um, they have more than 1,500stores, and new locations are
scouted out every year.
(10:56):
They employ 50,000 or so, moreor less, temporary workers
during the times that they'reopen.
And they're only open for threemonths a year, max.
Spirit Halloween is the world'snumber one Halloween store, and
they have zero permanentstorefronts.
SPEAKER_00 (11:16):
That's crazy.
SPEAKER_01 (11:19):
Here's how it works for those of you looking for an
inside scoop into Spirit.
By November 1st, all the storesvanish.
That's part of the businessmodel.
They have to go away because youdon't want to pay rent for
another month, right?
So that's how you do that.
All the unsold merchandise getsmoved into warehouses.
Their only permanent real estateis in warehouses so that they
(11:41):
can store their product yearround.
Yeah.
They have a small full-time teamthat does work year-round.
They're uh scouting newlocations for pop-ups and
they're buying new merchandiseto like, you know, keep things
going for the next year.
Right, right, right.
You, the listener and consumer,can continue to shop at Spirit
(12:04):
Halloween online all year roundbecause they do have warehouses
and you can, yeah, you canpurchase from them.
So, like, let's say you havesome random like 70s party that
you're going to for someone'sbirthday, you could totally look
at Spirit Halloween online andget a costume from them.
SPEAKER_00 (12:20):
I mean, that shouldn't blow my mind, but it
is.
It shouldn't for some reason.
SPEAKER_01 (12:23):
But it is shocking because they are they are gone.
You don't see them as ofNovember 1st.
They're the the plastic sign iseverything's gone.
Yeah, yeah.
Right?
Now, here's why it works.
There's some business stuff hereabout how much marketing is
actually needed, the amount ofoverhead real estate, blah blah
(12:46):
stuff that I don't understand.
Um, but basically, Halloween isthe perfect marketing holiday,
which I do understand.
It's always the same day everyyear.
Not day, not it's always thesame date, not always the same
day, right?
Okay, right.
It's loved by kids and adults,and kids are the drivers of the
consumption, which is not likeChristmas.
(13:07):
Christmas is for every age,whereas really Halloween, a lot
of people view that as a kid'sholiday, right?
Right, right, right.
It's mostly consumable goodslike candy.
SPEAKER_00 (13:17):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (13:18):
Unlike Christmas, which is not mostly consumables.
Pop culture drives differenttrends of Halloween costumes
every year.
Right.
A few years ago, the costume,the topical costume, was Tiger
King, right?
Everybody was doing some sort ofmullet something, right?
(13:42):
But there have been plenty ofyears where it was like Joe
Dirt, again, real similar, let'sbe real clear.
But like any other movie,there's gonna probably be some
K-pop demon hunters this year.
There's a whole bunch of waysthat you can make new money off
of current trends.
And it falls between back toschool and Black Friday.
(14:04):
So it's not like everyone'sbroke because they just spent
all their money on back toschool stuff, and they're not
considering the future spendingthat's coming with Black Friday.
So there is money-ish there,right?
Right.
Okay.
You and I are old enough.
You, the listener, might not beold enough to have a good enough
(14:27):
memory to remember SpiritChristmas.
I recall seeing a SpiritChristmas.
It was kind of like um the whatthose Mandela effect things
where you're like, you swear yousaw Sinbad as Shazam, but you
didn't.
Um that's how I felt about it.
I know, right?
That's how I felt about SpiritChristmas, where I was like, no,
there was a Spirit Christmas.
I feel like I remember this.
And maybe someone told me aboutit, but I know I've like seen a
(14:49):
picture, like I can see theplastic sign in my brain.
Now, Spirit Christmas was acomplete failure because it's
the opposite of what thosereasons are that I just told
you, right?
Right.
Yep.
So ultimately, Spirit Halloweenworks because shopping there is
like an annual tradition.
It's a rite of passage for a lotof families.
The store feels like a hauntedhouse without actually having to
(15:11):
go to a haunted house.
There's themed environments,interactive displays, motion
sensor animatronics, all kindsof fun.
Like I like to just go and putthe hats on and just for fun and
then not buy anything.
Like, but I usually end upbuying something because I have
a child.
So yeah.
Right.
Basically, it's retailentertainment.
Again, mall haunted housewithout the fear.
(15:34):
You know?
That makes sense.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So the other thing to note isthey get it, they they
understand themselves.
Last year, pretty sure this waslast year, it could have been
two years ago.
Last year there was a SNL sketchabout their pop-up model and
about dying retail.
(15:56):
Spirit Halloween 100% clappedback with their own thing.
And this is why you this is whatthere's a picture on the notes
of this costume.
It was like the plastic bag withthe orange costume thing, and it
was like SNL 50, irrelevant50-year-old TV show, includes
dated references, unknown castmembers, and shrinking ratings.
And they and everyone was doingspirit Halloween memes last
(16:19):
year.
SPEAKER_00 (16:19):
Yes.
SPEAKER_01 (16:20):
But they are responsible for that.
They they clapped back, andthat's how that got started.
So they understand who they are,they understand what they do,
and they know that they're thebutt of the joke.
But you know what?
It's two billion dollars inrevenue.
So clearly it can't be that bad.
Yeah, yeah.
So I'm gonna prove what I'msaying here because on the rare
(16:42):
occasion that I'm not factadjacent, I need you to
understand exactly how right Iam.
Okay.
Americans spend on Halloween,it's what we do.
All right.
Um, and I can tell you thisbecause my sister, who lives in
Germany, gets excited fortrick-or-treaters and they don't
(17:03):
get them.
It's like it's it's not anAmerican-only holiday, but it is
a intense American holiday,right?
SPEAKER_00 (17:10):
Right.
Yeah, the way we celebrate it isvery specific.
SPEAKER_01 (17:14):
It's hardcore.
SPEAKER_00 (17:14):
It's the United States, yeah.
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (17:16):
Yeah, yeah.
Okay.
In 2024, Americans spent anestimated$11.6 billion with a B
dollars on Halloween, accordingto that NRF survey that I cited
earlier.
This total is down a little bitfrom the$12.2 billion spent in
(17:36):
2023, but is still higher thanpre-COVID.
And if I remember correctly, Ishould have pulled the number on
COVID uh spending, but peoplewent out, people went all out
for COVID out on outdoor things.
So I don't know.
I would that that number wouldbe interesting.
Here's where they spend theirmoney, and you'll see what I'm
talking about with thisconsumable stuff.
(17:57):
Candy, approximately$3.8billion.
I feel like I can account forlike right.
I'm like only like 15% of that.
Not a big deal.
Um, costumes around three and ahalf to four billion for
children's adults and petcostumes.
Uh, decorations, about three anda half to four billion.
(18:18):
And when you think about two ofthese, it sounds like these are
um hold on, let me say the lastone.
Greeting cards.
People do send greeting cardsfor Halloween, um, an estimated
half a billion dollars.
unknown (18:29):
Oh my god.
SPEAKER_01 (18:30):
Greeting cards.
Yeah.
So when we talk about howHalloween is a consumables
holiday, candy, yeah, it's athird of the, it's a third of
the sales, it's a third of therevenue.
Costumes, a lot of people onlywear their costumes one time.
None of us are Ron Swansonwearing the exact same pirate
costume every single year.
Like, that's not happening.
(18:50):
Um, and decorations, like, Idon't know about you, but a deer
just walked through mydecorations and ripped up my uh
spider web.
So now I have to get a new oneof those.
Like, it's not like I spent aton of money on it in the first
place.
Yeah, it got stuck.
It like walked through the theantlers got stuck and then it
like whipped it off.
And so I had a spider in theneighbor's yard, and my yeah, it
(19:11):
looks fine.
I mean, it's a it's a little bitof a bummer.
I feel bad for the deer, but thedeer clearly is okay because my
net is shredded, so it's fine.
Anyway, um the real driver herethough is millennials and Gen Z.
They love Halloween, and nowthat they're becoming parents,
they're passing down this loveof Halloween to their kids.
(19:33):
How many women our age are like,yes, fall vibes?
And I'm such a basic bee aboutall this.
Like, I love me some fall andall the Halloween things.
Give it all to me.
I'm obsessed.
Yes.
No.
Yeah.
We would be remiss if we didn'ttalk about what this means to
you, the listener, aside from mejust wowing you with all the
(19:53):
things that I've learned andknow.
And thank you again to DanielMurray because he's the driving
force behind this.
Here's what we can learn fromJoe.
Sometimes the best ideas comefrom just paying attention to
what's going on around you.
Had he not noticed all thesepeople going into this, you
know, active, we we would callit active wear now.
It's like a dance where, youknow, with all these where all
(20:16):
the leotards are, and then beenlike, wait, everyone's coming
out with Halloween costumes.
It never would have happened,right?
Right.
You don't need a business degreeor some sort of master plan
before you start doing.
It'll come to you.
You'll hire people who will dothose things for you.
He just watched a line atanother store.
So if the idea is good andpeople love it, it'll do things
(20:40):
for you.
Acting on an idea matters morethan having the plan.
Start small and test it out.
He added costumes to hisexisting store first and then
branched out, right?
Now, granted, he only gave it ayear, but still.
Right.
When something works, lean intoit harder.
(21:02):
That doesn't have to be for justbusiness, right?
If something feels good to you,you you know, not drugs, not
condoning bad things, just leaninto it.
Just lean into it, just lean toit.
Just lean into it.
When things feel good, right?
Ariello writes spicy content fora living.
Earlier today, she was tellingme about her swamp sunflowers
(21:24):
that thrive in damp and warmenvironments.
And I was like damp and warmenvironments, yeah.
Yuck.
Okay.
Gross.
Anyway.
Here's how this matters for you.
I want you to think about a fewthings.
What patterns are you noticingthat everyone else is missing?
For me, it's probably not, Iprobably don't notice until it's
too late.
(21:45):
And I've driven myself crazy.
Where could you experimentwithout a huge risk?
Do you have a side hustle ideathat you keep thinking about
that people are saying youshould sell this?
This is not to be just likeconfused with a hobby that you
love.
That's not what we're saying.
We're saying, like, do you makecakes for people on the side and
they keep asking you to likesell you, sell them, and that's
(22:06):
not the thing that brings youthe most joy, then okay, great.
Right.
Don't ruin your hobby.
That's not what we're saying.
Yeah.
Okay.
Is there a different approach tosomething at work that you could
take?
Something to consider.
A new way to handle a recurringproblem at home.
These are just things that youcould experiment on, that
they're not gonna be a huge riskinvolved, and you might see some
(22:29):
really good benefit from it.
You have permission to pivot.
Joe had one business and thenpivoted his business and it
worked.
You are not locked into doingthings the way you've always
done them.
You are allowed to change.
I feel like we could say thatabout a lot of things.
(22:50):
You're allowed to learnsomething new and grow and then
change your opinions aboutthings.
SPEAKER_00 (22:55):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (22:55):
Yeah.
Just putting that out there.
SPEAKER_00 (22:58):
Everything, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (22:58):
Everything, right?
Um yes.
Your failures, of which I havemany, including sometimes some
episodes of this podcast mightjust be experiments that taught
you something.
Yeah.
Right?
Like all of these things arethings we can learn from Joe.
(23:21):
The bigger lesson here is thatsuccess isn't always about
working harder at the thingsyou're already doing.
Sometimes it's just aboutnoticing what actually works and
doing more of that.
And if you're someone who dealsin uh selling a good of some
sort or whatever you areproducing, whatever you're
(23:43):
producing, make sure that peopleassociate it with an experience,
right?
It's not about the transaction,it's about the experience.
You know this, you write for aliving, people have an
experience as they write yourbook.
As someone who creates contentfor people to listen to, my hope
is that they enjoy theexperience of listening.
It's experiences that keeppeople coming back.
It's not the transaction itself,right?
(24:05):
So just keep that in mindwhenever you are doing any sort
of thing.
If we're talking about planninga birthday party, make it about
the experience, not about theitem.
Lean into that piece of itbecause that's what makes people
happy.
Okay.
Yes.
All right.
So that's my history of SpiritHalloween.
We will be right back.
(24:28):
Okay, y'all.
POV.
You find a diary exposingforbidden magic, and the hot
museum caretaker's life dependson you burning it.
Roots and Inc., the debut novelby Ariela Monti, is the fantasy
romance for rebels.
Use promo code CK and GK to get20% off your copy at
(24:48):
arielemonte.com.
Again, that's all caps at C K AN D G K for 20% off on
Arielemonte.com.
Get your copy for 20% off today.
(25:13):
So it'll be a surprise toeveryone when you guys return.
Everyone will be surprised.
Everyone will be surprised.
But by the time we get back, wewill be past Halloween and into
the like getting into theholiday season.
And there are some people whowill be very upset that I said
(25:35):
the holiday season starts rightafter Halloween.
But I will tell you that I don'tcare when my joy starts.
I will start my holiday joy whenI feel like it because
everything is burning around me.
And so I'm going to lean into myChristmas tree on November 5th.
I don't know if that's what dayI'll put it up, but I'm just
saying.
I put it up right beforeThanksgiving.
(25:56):
It's Christmas, Christmas,Christmas, Thanksgiving on
Thanksgiving Day, and then theday after it's Christmas until
the rest of the year.
SPEAKER_00 (26:02):
Yeah, I wouldn't even I wouldn't even put up a
Christmas tree at this point ifI did not have a child.
I would Oh really?
Yeah, no, I would I likedecorating for winter.
Like, yes.
I like winter decorations.
I don't like decorating forChristmas.
SPEAKER_01 (26:20):
That's very aesthetic of you.
unknown (26:22):
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (26:23):
Winter is aesthetic.
SPEAKER_00 (26:24):
No, but you know what it is?
It's because I'm lazy and Idon't want because I you
decorate for Christmas and no,okay.
Let's let's be clear.
I have a very complicatedrelationship with Christmas
because my birthday is so closeto it.
So I'm a little bitter.
But on top of that, like there,it's it's a very small window of
(26:50):
time that you're that you've gotyour Christmas decorations up.
But winter can go from Decemberall the way to like, you know,
beginning of March.
And I know that's true.
Yeah.
My college sweetmates will tellme I could leave all of that
stuff up for as long as I'dlike, but I don't like it
(27:14):
enough.
SPEAKER_01 (27:15):
No, I gotta I I and there are some things like that
that I will leave out that arethe winter vibes, right?
But like even at this point,snowmen, I'm like, nah, it's
Christmas.
I gotta, it's gotta go.
Gotta go.
And usually uh I know lots ofpeople who take their Christmas
tree down like the day afterChristmas because they're like,
I can't.
I I know some people who take itdown Christmas night.
(27:36):
They're like, nope, it's over,we're done.
Yeah, yeah.
Which I can't I can't do.
Like, I know it that makes myheart sad, but I can't but I do
like to have it done the dayafter like New Year's Day.
I'm like, all right, let's, it'sgotta go.
I like having the lights for NewYear's.
Um, but New Year's Day, it'sgotta go.
SPEAKER_00 (27:54):
Yeah.
Yeah, no, definitely.
SPEAKER_01 (27:56):
Here we are talking about Christmas decorations, and
Halloween hasn't even happenedyet.
SPEAKER_00 (28:02):
No, but I bet you so last year, so last episode we
were talking about aboutHalloween traditions, and I like
thought of one.
Yes, yes, so um the onetradition that my kid and I have
sort of like started is everyyear we will go and buy some
(28:24):
more Halloween decorationsbecause we really don't have
many.
So every year we'll buy likeyeah, we'll buy a few things um
to add to the to the to thehouse.
SPEAKER_01 (28:37):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (28:38):
Um gotcha.
And last year we went to we wentto Lowe's Hardware.
I can't tell you why we went toLowe's Hardware.
Yeah, we went to Lowe's HardwayHardware on October 7th, and
everything was gone, stuff wason clearance, and half the
(28:58):
Christmas stuff was already out.
I'm like, what?
SPEAKER_01 (29:03):
What are we doing?
SPEAKER_00 (29:03):
Is it right?
Even my kid was like, what ishappening?
Like it is October 7th.
Right.
So I bet I mean we went to wewent a little bit earlier this
year, and so we went toMichael's and it is plenty,
plenty of Halloween stuff.
But I bet if I went now, itwould be all Christmas.
SPEAKER_01 (29:25):
We did Joanne fabric last year before they went
bankrupt.
And that was a good, that was agood place to go to get some
stuff because of the the sales.
But this year, uh I did go toMichael's to see if there was
anything we we needed.
We didn't need any we never needwhat we want sometimes.
Um but I one other thing I wouldrecommend, and this is for the
(29:46):
people like me who just who buythings and then forget that they
bought them.
At the end of the season, ifthere's anything you didn't put
up and you don't love, don't eatit.
Get rid of it, don't keep it inyour house because I cannot buy
any more big tubs.
To hold stuff.
I've got to hair down and yeah,you know, it's enough stuff.
Like that is one thing I willsay about taking down the
(30:08):
decorations, is that it justfeels less cluttered in my
house.
Right.
Because I do put up a lot.
Like I I I go hard on Christmasdecorations and stuff like that.
Uh so anyway, that's that's thethat's our holiday preview
discussion.
I don't know.
I don't know what we're gonnatalk about next, guys.
(30:28):
If you liked this episode whereI told you a story about some
sort of cultural phenomenon,like please let me know.
Tech send me a text.
I would love to hear if youliked it.
Send me a DM.
You can send a text or a DMthrough the links in the show
notes.
There's our Instagram is linked,there's threads, there's again
send us a text link.
I would love to know if youliked this because I will lean
(30:50):
into this if you guys liked it.
This the story of SpiritHalloween, I immediately told
Ariella, like, I have to tellyou this story.
I loved it so much.
So this was fun for me.
So I hope you guys enjoyed it.
Uh make good choices.
We'll be back next week.
Love you, mean it.
Have a great and safe Halloween.
Bye.
Bye.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Medal of Honor: Stories of Courage
Rewarded for bravery that goes above and beyond the call of duty, the Medal of Honor is the United States’ top military decoration. The stories we tell are about the heroes who have distinguished themselves by acts of heroism and courage that have saved lives. From Judith Resnik, the second woman in space, to Daniel Daly, one of only 19 people to have received the Medal of Honor twice, these are stories about those who have done the improbable and unexpected, who have sacrificed something in the name of something much bigger than themselves. Every Wednesday on Medal of Honor, uncover what their experiences tell us about the nature of sacrifice, why people put their lives in danger for others, and what happens after you’ve become a hero. Special thanks to series creator Dan McGinn, to the Congressional Medal of Honor Society and Adam Plumpton. Medal of Honor begins on May 28. Subscribe to Pushkin+ to hear ad-free episodes one week early. Find Pushkin+ on the Medal of Honor show page in Apple or at Pushkin.fm. Subscribe on Apple: apple.co/pushkin Subscribe on Pushkin: pushkin.fm/plus
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com