I Smell Toys and Candy

While this is primarily a toy blog, sometimes I'll cover non-toy stuff too.  Like candy.  CAAAAAAAANDYYYYYY!  I've always felt like candy and toys go hand-in-hand.  Sometimes people say they're like a "kid in a candy store", and other times they're like a "kid in a toy store".  Well, maybe the first saying is more common.  Anyway, one of the nice things about this time of year is that all sorts of cool and weird candies come out in the stores.  I really don't have much of a sweet tooth, but you'd never tell from this post.

Also, I've been buying cheapo Halloween toys like crazy lately.  I don't know why, but every time we go to a store I stop by the Halloween stuff and pick up some toys I don't need.  To be fair, I don't really need any of my toys, so it's a moot point.  Wait, I take it back!  I do need my toys!  Forgive my blasphemy, oh Toy Gods, I know not of what I speak!!!

Let's get back on track.

This time of year always has that extra special candy that you can't find at any other time (the weird stuff), and some cheap-but-still-cool toys come out too.  In order to keep this post toy-related, I'll show them off as well.

PULL BACK (ZOMBIE) HANDS

Typically, the kinds of toys that come out around Halloween are inexpensive with generic gimmicks (wind-up, stretchy, growing, and the like).  These pull-back zombie hands also fit the bill.  That doesn't mean this kind of stuff can't be cool though!  They're simple, but they're neat.  I could only find a green one and a white one, but I would have grabbed more if they had them.  Grey would have been nice.  Anyway, they become even more impressive when you pit them against unsuspecting army men toys.

BOX OF BOOGERS!

This was the candy that made me want to talk about candies on the blog.  As soon as I saw them I knew I had to try them.  I suppose I could have tried the home-made ones, but I decided to go brand-name.  Obviously these could only sell around Halloween, and even then it's a stretch.  The candies look exactly as they should, in greens and yellows and covered in lumps and dimples.  They're both soft and hard at the same time, and thankfully they're quite sweet (almost fruity).  Too bad that didn't stop me from getting a weird gagging feeling in the back of my throat when I was sucking on them.  I didn't think I was the squeamish type, but there you go.

HOPPING SKULL

(of Hopping Skull and Eyeball fame)

Now this guy is apparently from the same series as the wind-up eyeballs I covered way back when.  I didn't even know there was a series, but that's okay.  Like the eyeballs, the skull hops around when he's wound up.  He also glows in the dark.  There's something about him (probably the straight line of his mouth) that makes me think he'd look awesome painted up in Day of the Dead colors.  I won't be painting him, but it could work!

GUMMY MUMMY

This one's just fun to say.  Gummy Mummy!  Gummymummygummymummygummymummygummy.  Mummy.  It was really only a matter of time for a candy like this to come out.  I got it mostly for the name, but it's pretty tasty too!  Orange is not a flavor I usually go out of my way for, but I always enjoy it when I have it.

WALKING FIGURES

Gotta love that original name, don't you?  "Walking Figures"!  The name doesn't matter though, because these are some of the better Halloween toys I got this year.  Or more specifically: the Skull Walking Figure is one of the better Halloween toys I got this year.  Actually, he's probably my favorite.  Wind-up toys have been around since the dawn of time (seriously - but probably not).  But if the feet usually have no detail to them, or if they do, they're made to look like human feet.  Not this bonehead!  He's got crossbones for feet!  They put some imagination into this cheapo toy and I love it!  And I have to admit, I really like this Vampire too.  I don't know why, there's nothing stand-out like the Skull, but he appeals to me in some mysterious way.  Maybe he's glamouring me.

GARBAGE CAN-DY

Like wind-up toys, garbage-themed candies have been around since the dawn of time (also probably not true).  They're a classic candy, and with good reason: They're tasty.  Kind of sweet, kind of sour, and just the right amount of gross-looking (unlike the Boogers shown above).  Plus the plastic garbage can they come in can be used as an accessory for your other toys.  At least that's what I did with them when I was a kid.  I'll probably keep this one too.

UMMM...  THESE THINGS!

Speaking of keeping the containers, I bought these specifically for that reason.  How many times have I mentioned on this blog how I love foodie characters?  Once?  Twice?  Thrice?  Well, I do love them.  And I love these guys.  They're fruit-shaped characters literally filled with sugar.  It's not even candy, it's just sugar.  But that doesn't even matter, I love the containers and that's what counts.  Especially that orange, who has a lot of character in that puckered face of his.

FLAT SKELETONS

I saw these guys last year and for whatever reason, I wanted to put them on the blog.  I didn't end up getting them then because they're technically not toys.  Are they?  They might just be decorations.  Whatever they are, I'm kinda straying from the whole "toy blog" thing with this post, so here they are!  What I like about these guys is that they're looking at you with their heads half-turned, but both eyes are on the same side of their face.  It's like a flounder or something.  It's weird, and I'm all about that.  Plus, they have sparkles in them, and that's nice too.

CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER EYEBALLS

We love eyeballs here at the Plastic Eyeball.  Well, it's just me, and I love eyeballs.  Always have.  Luckily, Halloween gives me TONS of eyeball goodness to enjoy.  Why?  I dunno.  Eyeballs are just versatile (versateyele?).  You can make chocolate, gumballs, gummy candies, pretty much anything with an eyeball theme.  My wife gave me a bag of these before she jetted off to visit family for a week in England, and they kept me very good company.  I can't eat too much without getting a stomach ache though.  Man, I'm getting old.

BOUNCY EYEBALLS

Eyeballs aren't just good for eating (and, you know, the gift of sight).  They also make for fun toys, and bouncy balls are an obvious choice.  Trivia Time: The mesh bag these came in was used as the megasteel net in the last AMAMOTM instalment.  See?  The Plastic Eyeball even has behind-the-scenes features!  Yep, I'm like a DVD.

FORK'Z

While we're on the subject of eyeballs (and we often are here), I found these at Target.  These take the eyeball candy theme in a new direction - hard candy eyeballs on plastic forks.  They're starting to push that grossness factor again, but that's okay, because they're delicious.  Well, I've only tried the blue one so far (blue raspberry flavor), but it was good.  What IS blue raspberry anyway?  Raspberries are all red, as far as I know.  Maybe strawberry flavor already called dibs on red, so they made raspberry blue.  I'm guess blueberry is hot pink?  Anyway, I also like the very 90's name for these things: Fork'z!

EYE-POPPIN' OWLS

Another tried and true gimmick, there seems to be eye-popping toys out for every occasion these days.  Why did I buy these?  Well, I was playing with the mummy one in the store and making him say, "Hooo!  Hooo wrapped me in toilet paper?  Hooo?".  Why did I get all three?  I guess I just really liked that joke.

SKELETON SHOOTERS

I don't have a lot to say about these guys.  They're just neat.  They're like other "shooter" toys, where you hook the loop on their heads around your finger, pull their feet back, let go and watch them fly.  Also, if you picture their loops as fingernails, they look like weird skeleton finger people.  That makes me smile.

GUMMY BODY PARTS

Eyeballs aren't the only body parts worth eating (although they're here too).  These gummy body parts come out every Halloween, and I'll admit I'm a big fan of them.  I don't know how I'm going to eat them all, but they're there if I need them.  Besides the eyeball, there's a brain, an ear, a foot, and a toe (because apparently feet are extra tasty).  I guess that toe could be a finger.  You can get similar candies in the form of hamburgers, hotdogs, and pizzas, but isn't it more fun to suck on a body part?  That's what she said!

WALKING FIGURES: THE SHRIEQUEL

More wind-up toys!  I bought this set for the Vampire.  At first glance he's got nothing that makes him stand out, but what's that in his hand?  Is that... Is that a giant screw?  What's he going to do with that?  He's still got his vampire fangs, and obviously he's been using them, so what's with the giant screw?  I have no idea what it's for, but it makes him pretty great.  This guy is my second most favorite Halloween toy of the year, only behind the Skull with crossbones feet (and it's a very close race).

MARSHMALLOW HORRORS

I found these at a dollar store.  Marshmallow Eye-Scream Sandwich and Marshmallow Brain Freeze Cone (sounds tasty, no?).  These are also something I bought just to show off on the blog.  They're cool, but I could only eat a few bites of each before I threw them away.  They're huge!  That much marshmallow would make me quite the sick bag of goo.

SHIGEKIX

Shigekix!  Or more specifically: Shigekix Super Cola Gummy candies.  These sour candies from Japan taste like a cross between cola and a hint of expired poison.  They're not bad, but there's something a little... weird about them.  Just... different.  Like expired poison.  Each bag also contains a single pirate-themed candy for some reason.  Mine was a hook hand.

DANCING LIGHT-POWERED SKELETON

This isn't technically a toy, but it's close enough.  It's just one of those little dancing things that moves when light hits its solar power bar.  It's the first time I've seen a skeleton one.  Usually they're flowers or pandas and such.  Still cute though!  And even though he's from a dollar store, he works great!  Even the lights from my photo set made him dance.  Happy little guy...

AND FINISHING OFF THE CANDY PORTION OF THIS POST...

A slightly phallic looking slug candy.  I haven't opened yet, because it's crumbly and I wasn't ready to eat it.  It could be lemon, or maybe it's banana.  By Fork'z flavor coloring standards, it could be grape.  I hope it's banana though, because banana slugs really exist.  See?  We saw a bunch of banana slugs when were camping on Vancouver Island (in fact, I remember using two sticks to lift one off of the path to the outhouse so it didn't get squished).  I bet those ones don't taste like banana though.  Now the trick will be not to think about them while I'm eating this (or the fact that it's slightly phallic looking).

STRETCHY THINGS AND STICKY THINGS

And here to finish off the post are your standard stretchy things and sticky things.  The skeletons, spiders, and rats all came in the same package.  I don't know why, but rats don't feel very "Halloween" to me.  I mean, you can find rat toys and decorations every Halloween, but they just seem too normal to me.  Not that I've ever seen a rat that wasn't a pet.  I'm sure I'd have a problem with it.  They just seem like more of a year-round annoyance.  I guess spiders should be in the same boat, but I'm used to seeing them with Halloween stuff.  I dunno, maybe it's just me.

Now that green bug up there is sticky for what it is.  It isn't very big, but it's very sticky.  It was given to me for free at a comic book store on my birthday (along with some other stuff, but I chose the bug).  It's my birthday-Halloween-sticky-thing-toy (you know, that old cliche).  It's not as sticky as that squishy eyeball though!  That might just be the stickiest toy I have.  It's so sticky that I have to keep it in it's resealable package so that it doesn't come into contact with anything else, because everything will stick to it.  It's almost a weapon.

So there it is!  I don't think this will become a yearly post, because I bought more Halloween toys this year than I should have, and because a lot of this candy with probably still be around next year.  Like I said, I really don't have much of a sweet tooth.  Though you probably couldn't tell from this post.

OH, AND HERE'S A BAT, BECAUSE WHY NOT?

These things also come out every Halloween (and sometimes stick around all year).  He glows in the dark and makes a decent AMAMOTM monster.