12 Days of Halloween – Day 9

This time of year always makes me nostalgic. I remember as a young boy writing my annual letter to my idol and forgoing trick-or-treating with the other kids to hang out and wait for him to show on Halloween night. All the other kids laughed at me, even this round-headed boy who was the very definition of uncool. Anyway, I was disappointed year after year, stood up repeatedy, cold and shivering in a pumpkin patch.

Oh, wait a minute…


12 Days of Halloween – Day 8

True, most zombies do crave brains. But there’s a group of hipster zombies that avoid brains like the last plague. For these health-concious members of the walking dead, it’s grains they’re after. They’ll kill it for millet, go vulgar for bulgur, and get gnarly for barley.

So next time one starts drooling over your leg, offer them a legume instead.


12 Days of Halloween – Day 7

Funerals can be such a downer. But with a Lucky Stiff event, it’ll go from solemn to bombin’ in no time! DJ Spooky spins the grooves including “Dead Man’s Party”, “Don’t Fear the Reaper”, & “Blurred Lines”. Through October 31st, buy one burial and get the second FREE! For your next loss of loved one, nobody beats Lucky Stiff Mortuary…They put the “FUN” in funeral!


12 Days of Halloween – Day 6

Remember the movie The Omen and the scene where the Dad cuts his kid’s hair to find the 666 on his head? Talk about pure evil. My parents did the same thing to me but were relieved when they found the number 333. I’m only half evil.


12 Days of Halloween – Day 5

Enough with the vampires already. At the risk of alienating my wife, who watches all 26 shows dealing with vampires, it’s time for the bloodsucker craze to crawl back into its collective casket. I may need to stage an intervention for her just to recapture my TV and watch something that doesn’t involve overly pretty people biting each other’s necks. It’s gotten so bad at my house that she’s taken to DVR’ing kid’s programs in the hopes of finding a rerun with this guy.

The Count

12 Days of Halloween – Day 4

Hard to imagine one of the world’s most infamous villains, Dr. Hannibal Lecter, was once a cute, cuddly, carnivorous baby. They should have never started feeding him those pureed fava beans.


12 Days of Halloween – Day 3

What is it about the raven that makes it so scary? Personally, I can’t tell the difference between a raven and a crow. Although now that I think about it, sometimes I’ll come out of the grocery store and a crow will be sitting on top of my car, just, you know, eyeballin’ me. And I’ll just stand there, paralyzed, telling him, “Shoo crow…don’t bother me.” Alright, that is pretty scary.


12 Days of Halloween – Day 2

Who doesn’t need a hug every once in a while? Even if you are the walking dead…doesn’t mean you sometimes don’t get a little down on yourself. So next time you run into a zombie and go jumping to the conclusion that he wants to eat your brain, give him a shoulder to lean on. Or snack on.


The 12 Days of Halloween

Halloween is coming…and to get everybody spooked up and ready, we present The 12 Days of Halloween. Each day through Halloween (there’s 12 to go, get it?) we’ll post a new Halloween chocolate coin design. We’ll try our best to test the boundaries of creativity (and good taste in some cases!).

So without further ado, we give you the 1st day of Halloween in honor of the scariest thing we can imagine! The classy lassy…The skin’ bearin’, no clothes wearin’…tongue waggin’, wreckin’ ball ridin’…ex-Hannah Montana, now a bit bananas…..Miley Cyrus!


Epic Fail Halloween Treats

You know what we’re talking about. Those infamous “treats” that no kid wants but invariably gets in his bag every year. Don’t be one of the houses that the kids skip over. Avoid these handouts or suffer the wrath.

Mary Jane Peanut Butter Kisses – Molasses & peanut butter massaged into an amalgam of tree-sap nastiness. Wrapped in nondescript orange & black wrappers. Simply yuck.

Butterscotches – Any hard candies for that matter, but especially these yellow toothbreakers commonly found at Gram-Gram’s house.

Necco Wafers – These chalky disks were popular with World War II soldiers that ate whatever they could get. For some reason the company assumed kids would be just as desperate to eat a piece of blackboard chalk.

Raisins – As a fruit, raisins are barely passable. As a Halloween treat? Nuh-uh. Don’t be THAT house on the block.

Black Licorice Nibs – Try and find one kid who says “Ooooh, black licorice!” Maybe in Amish country. Maybe.

Orange Slices – Remember these gelatinous atrocities covered in sugar crystals? They’re still haunting kids today.

Circus Peanuts – Possibly the coup-de-farce of Halloween candy cheapness. Who can forget these dull orange-colored, pasty globs of grossness, immediately targeted for the trash bin. I’d personally rather eat packing peanuts.

DOTS – Since their 1945 introduction, kids everywhere have shouted with glee “I could sure go for a gumdrop!” And yet, manufacturer Tootsie Roll Industries produces four BILLION of these colored blobs of rubber cement each year. But on a positive note… they’re Vegan!

Wax Lips – Hey! What’s funnier than wearing fake lips over your real ones? And when the hilarity dies down, you can actually chew the lips up like some sort of disgusting version of flavorless chewing gum. No truth to the rumor that for years these were produced using ear wax from children working in Chinese sweatshops. But I’m not taking any chances.

Candy Corn – What list of Halloween candy fails would be complete without the iconic candy corn? And why corn? The “candy beet” too far-fetched? These way-too-sweet kernels of gritty sugar and hydrogenated corn syrup are everything spooky about the holiday. Worst of all are the people that drop a disgusting handful, unwrapped from a bowl, as they fall to the bottom of your sack and rustle around with the lint. Ewww.

So there you have have it. The no-no’s for Halloween treat-giving. That is, unless you enjoy scrubbing broken eggs and toilet paper off your house on November 1st.


10 Tips for Safe Halloween Trick-or-Treating

Halloween is almost here. It’s one of the most fun times of the year for kids, but it can also be dangerous. Follow these tips for keeping your child safe when they go out trick-or-treating.

1. Costumes can be cool and safe. Make your child’s costume safe by putting pieces of reflective tape on it. Masks are also fun, but they can obstruct a child’s view. If it’s possible, create a mask with face paint instead.

2. If your child is at the age where they can go trick-or-treating without a parent, make sure they go with a group of friends instead. Be firm on teaching them to never stray from the group. There’s safety in numbers.

3. Keep your kid safe when they’re trick-or-treating on busy streets. Teach them how to cross the streets safely by using crosswalks and traffic signs. Give your child a flashlight or glow stick to carry so oncoming traffic can see them.

4. Tell your child that under no circumstances should they ever go inside a house to get candy. If they encounter a homeowner who wants them to go inside their house to get a treat, tell your child to run, not walk away.

5. Teach your kid the importance of waiting until they get home to eat their treats. Check every piece of candy to make sure it’s safe. If a piece of candy looks suspicious, throw it out.

6. Plan a detailed route for your kid. Make sure you know exactly which streets and houses your kid will be visiting on Halloween. Give them a cell phone to use to check in with you.

7. Check the US Department of Justice National Sex Offender Database (http://www.nsopw.gov) to see if any predators are located in your neighborhood. If there are sex offenders nearby, explain to your child the importance of staying away from this home during their trick-or-treating adventure.

8. Your child may be tempted to take short cuts through unlit yards. Teach your kid the importance of staying on well-lit streets with a lot of people when they’re out trick-or-treating.

9. Keep safety in mind when choosing the style of your kids’ Halloween costume. Make sure the costume you choose for your child isn’t too long. If a costume drags on the ground, your kid could trip over it.

10. Tell your child to only go trick-or-treating at houses that are well-lit. Some people don’t celebrate Halloween, and they should be respected.


Avast Ye! Talk Like a Pirate Day is On the Horizon!

Ahoy, matey! Do ye know what September 19th is? Why, it’s International Talk Like a Pirate Day! Are ye ready?

Talk Like a Pirate Day is a fun time for pirate lovers everywhere to break out their favorite pirate lingo, party, pillage and plunder. Some even dress up like pirates to celebrate the day. So how did a day like this get started? Well, blimey…it all began with two friends were playing racquetball.

On a June afternoon in 1995, John Baur and Mark Summers were playing a friendly game and yelling out banter to each other. At some point, one of them let out an “Arrrr!” From that point on, their banter turned into pirate-speak. They had so much fun using the pirate slang that they decided to take it a step further and make an entire day out of it. September 19th was chosen as the special date because it was Mark’s ex-wife’s birthday, which somehow made it easier to remember. They also decided that award-winning columnist Dave Barry should be the voice behind the day to make it really take off and go international. Several years later, after stumbling across Dave’s email address and summoning the courage to approach him with their off-the-wall idea, Dave was in. Later that year, in 2002, Dave published a column about the day and the rest is history! People all over the world have been celebrating every since. Facebook even picked up on it and offers a way to translate your newsfeed into pirate.

If you’re a pirate enthusiast and want to celebrate, there are a variety of ways to do so. Chocolate coins, also known as “pieces of eight” or “doubloons” are a great treat, perfect for kids and adults alike. Get your favorite pirate sayings or a smilin’ Jolly Roger imprinted on them to make the perfect pirate booty!

It’s a day that everyone can celebrate, young or old, land lubber or seadog. Kids especially love the day because it gives them a reason and an excuse to speak in a language that they’re actually familiar with. Plus, it’s just plain fun! Dressing up may not be for everyone, but going to the grocery store and making the cashier raise her eyebrows at you when you ask her to bag up your booty is great fun. (Make sure you use your pirate accent though, or you may find yourself in a bit of trouble!) So, spread the word, enjoy some chocolate doubloons and a tankard of grog (assuming you’re of legal age, or you may find yourself walking the plank!) But most importantly…keep calm and talk like a pirate! Arrrr!


Congratulations to Kim & Kanye!

The moment we’ve all been waiting for has finally arrived! We know Kim and Kanye are very private private people and generally try to avoid self-indulgent promotion but we wanted to celebrate the birth of their lovechild with a gold chocolate coin commemorating the event.


Chocolate Coin Memes Inspired by Reddit

Reddit Inspired Meme Chocolate Coins

We are experimenting with possibly adding a new category to our chocolate coin listing. Our custom chocolate coin builder can create any coin you could dream up with a custom design ($29/side), but if we see interest in this new category, we’ll make these designs standard in our library with their very own category.

Please let us know what you think!

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meme-05_1meme-05a_0

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meme-03_1meme-07-gold


Chocolate Graduation Favors for 2013

The calendar has flipped to May and there’s that unmistakable feeling in the air that graduation is fast approaching. Just ask any high school senior.

When picking favors for a grad party, chocolate coins fit the bill perfectly. From quick & simple, to detailed and customized, we’re here to help with creating the ultimate graduation party favors.

We’ve got a bunch of new stock designs for the 2013 graduate whether it be kindergarten, high school, or a PhD program. Great humorous sayings like “The Tassel is Worth the Hassle”, “Thanks Wikipedia!” as well as more traditional “Congrats Grad 2013” designs are all available.

Foiled Again! can also personalize your chocolate graduation coins to add the name of the happy grad, their school name…even a graphic of their school mascot! You can either provide us with your design or we can create a custom layout for you…all at no extra charge. How about “Congratulations Sarah 2013” arced on top of the coin with University of Texas at Austin arced underneath? And of course “Hook ’em Horns” in the center! The sky’s the limit. Let us know how you would like your custom graduation chocolate coins created and we’ll get to work.

Whether for a small family & friends grad party or an entire school’s commencement ceremony, we can help provide graduation favors that everyone is sure to love.

And to the graduating class of 2013, I leave you with the inspirational words of our 43rd President, George W. Bush:

“To those of you who received
honors, awards and distinctions,
I say well done.
And to the ‘C’ students,
I say you too may one day
be President of the United States.”