Ah, Halloween… A time for ghouls, ghosts and carved pumpkins… A time we like to spend money, let’s admit it. But if you’re smart you can get a lot of cool Halloween-themed things for cheap and enjoy the holiday without lamenting your empty wallet the next day.

1. Let’s start from the outside. You’ve carved your pumpkin(s), but there’s nothing better than a cult movie for a cool holiday. The Nightmare Before Christmas Yard Sign will make your front yard look a bit more like Jack Skellington’s domain.

2. After they’re done “ooh”ing and “aah”ing over the yard, invite your friends in. Act nonplussed when they pass by the Haunted Portraits in your hallway and they scream because Granny Hazel just turned into a zombie.

3. Once you’re all inside, it’s time for meet and greet with Fido, the family pooch. And he’s dressed up for the occasion in a Star Wars Dog Costume, of course. Princess Leia did look a bit less canine in the movies, but you can’t have everything.

4. Next up, the big dinner. And a proper Halloween dinner needs some fitting decorations. A couple of Lite Up Jack-O-Lantern Mugs can do the trick: any drink (even water) will look creepy inside, and they can also serve as on-the-spot lighting when a trickster decides it’s funny to cut off the power.

5. After eating and drinking comes dessert. And this is the fun part: you don’t get something you eat everyday. Or not really… The Zombie Brain Jelly Mould has yielded some interestingly disgusting results.

6. And finally it’s time to party. But clubbing in a costume isn’t the most comfortable thing in the world, so a nice Halloween t-shirt is just the thing you need. The Lanterns In The Night t-shirt is glow-in-the-dark, and the creepy jack-o-lanterns will make everyone stare.

7. But what if you spill your drink on it? Be prepared. With another glow-in-the-dark t-shirt, of course. The Ghosties t-shirt is less scary and tons more fun and will make the best impact in a club with two areas – one lighted and one dark.

And that’s it. The 31st of October is just around the corner, so if you want to spend the perfect Halloween you’d better start planning right now.

Getting a woman isn’t extremely hard, but you need to follow a few simple rules.

Rule no. 1: don’t buy an R2-D2 Pepper Mill. Or, if you need to have one, for the love of God hide it from her.

What’s wrong with showing a little love for a favorite movie? The problem is “a little love” – which this is not. It’s a lot. It’s a 5-inch robot that grinds pepper by turning its dome. For $25, no less.

This does not mean that all fan merchandise is somehow wrong and will automatically repel any member of the female population. But Star Wars meets kitchen…. no. Don’t.

Unless she’s also a fan, that is. In which case: you lucky bastard!

How much under $29.99?
A little: $24.99 on StarWars.com.

Via TechieDiva

If you felt the American Star Wars product market was getting boring… you have at least one reason to be happy today. (Although with a franchise this big you’d need to be Bill Gates to buy everything…)

Anyway, the Darth Vader Lightsaber Flashlight Keychain is cool and worth having. It’s not only a replica of our Sith Lord’s saber, it’s also a functional flashlight with a red LED. At about 3 inches it’s pretty big however, so it’s not exactly the kind of keychain you can just throw in your pocket.

As long as you’re not fussed about that, $10 is a little for something that will fuel your passion and help you find the keyhole late at night.

How much under $29.99?
A lot: $9.99 on StarWars.com.

Via UberReview

More than 30 years after the first movie, the Star Wars franchise is still going strong. It’s hard not be to jaded about it, not a day goes by without a new R2-D2 shaped pencil sharpener or Vader underwear. You can sell anything if you stick a well-known character on it, even though sometimes the products are questionable.

But… sometimes it’s worth it, and the Pond Wars Ducks are a perfect example. You take Star Wars, but you do more than slap an image on something; you remodel bath duckies, give them appropriate names (Duck Fadar, Pondtrooper, Princess Layer and Luke Pondwalker), add some LEDs and get a toy that’s cool for parents and kids. Furthermore, the lights only turn on in water, which might prove helpful with convincing the little ones that bathing is fun. Even the ducks love it!

How much under $29.99?
Some: ~$13 on Firebox.com.

Via BoingBoing

Most phone charms are silly and useless, and a large number are also ugly. The Star Wars Phone Flashers look surprinsigly good, however – design and featurewise.

They’re shaped like a Darth Vader or Storm Tropper head, which will ensure instant sales from Star Wars fans, but they also serve a worthy purpose. Since they light up and spin whenever the phone rings or receives a message, it will allow cubicle monkeys to leave their cells in silent mode. Everyone knows you love your latest ringtone, but the rest of the monkeys would rather not be forced to hear it.

So, the Star Wars fan in your office? The one who has the theme song set as ringstone? Get him a present for his birthday and maybe you’ll be spared in the future.

How much under $29.99?
A lot: ~$9 on Firebox.com.

Via Gizmodo

True (read: obsessed) Star Wars know no limits when it comes to their passion. Who needs food when you can have Luke?!

If you’re bored with simple action figures, you can expand in the realm of remote controlled toys. The R/C Star Wars R2-D2 comes straight from Japan and can offer you about 5 minutes of excitement while you watch the adorable robot move across the desk. The remote is a light saber (extra cool points for that) and R2 makes the characteristic sounds, can turn its head and even has a LED eye. It can move forward or back and turns in circles in the way we all know and love.

…And that’s about as much enthusiasm I can muster about it. I’ve seen enough Star Wars gadgets to last me a lifetime and an R2-D2 to move around me is the last thing I need. But seeing how many fans there are… a couple are bound to go nuts about this.

How much under $29.99?
Exactly $29.99 on ThinkGeek.com.

Nightmare before Christmas is the movie for Halloween. I only saw it this year, but I instantly loved it and I’m happy to see that, among all the crap, there’s some cool Nightmare merchandise.

This Halloween Town Wooden Yard Sign is cool in many ways. First, it’s the perfect yard decoration at Halloween and no one needs any prior knowledge of the movie to like it. Second, if you know Jack Skellington and his friends you can get in the Nightmare atmosphere even better… although, remember: Halloween is about more than some animated characters.

(It’s about spending money on things you don’t need, of course, but at least it’s fun.)

How much under $29.99?
A little: $23.99 on Urban-Collector.com.

Finding a Cylon just after watching the last episode of this half-season Battlestar Galactica is serendipity. Or the Universe saying we won’t die because of the LHC but because evil robots will blow up our planet.

The New Caprica Cylon Action Figure is wonderful in many ways, most of them lethal. 3-foot tall robots who have a habit of acting erratically and shooting their masters are not the friendliest TV characters we’ve seen… which obviously makes them the thing to adorn your shelves and terrorize your other action figures.

At 8″ and featuring over 20 points of articulation, the Cylon Centurion is pretty impressive. But not as impressive as, say, 10 of them would be…

How much under $29.99?
Some: $14.99 on ThinkGeek.com.

Yesterday was Star Trek’s birthday; on September 8, 1966 the world first saw the Enterprise boldly go where no one had gone before.

I don’t even like Star Trek, really. After years of reading SF it’s too simplistic and clichéd. But even I can’t deny it had a huge influence and that I probably wouldn’t be enjoying Battlestar Galactica right now if it weren’t for Captain Kirk and his crew (though I like Picard better).

42 years later, the consumerist society can celebrate by buying a t-shirt. You need the Star Trek ‘Know Your Spock’ t-shirt, really. How else would you tell which Spock is good and which is evil? Your life could depend on it. Go watch some old episodes wearing this, you know you want to.

How much under $29.99?
A little: $24.95 on CBS.SeenOn.com.

Via BoingBoing

There’s no way for a Star Wars fan to resist this. Real lightsabers sadly haven’t been invented yet, but the Lightsaber LED Torch is the next best thing.

Why is this cooler than other Star Wars lightsaber toys? Well, I’m a practical person, so I very much appreciate the fact that it’s not just a toy, but also a working LED torch. For the Luke-wannabes the other features are probably cooler: it’s shaped like a lightsaber handle and it even makes the power-up noise we all know when it’s turned on or off.

Go ahead. You know you want to slash around with it making “whoosh whoosh” noises.

How much under $29.99?
Some: ~$19.50 on Gadgets.co.uk.

Via Gizmodo