Holidaze Hi-C Horror Collection - Series 3

We are only 11 days away from Halloween and, thanks to my hectic schedule, I won't be getting to half of what I was hoping to before the big day.  It sucks, because I really wanted to pack in as much as possible to make up for the season that Hurricane Sandy stole from us last year, but real life and responsibility has been asking too much to devote my time to the fun stuff.  Oh well!  I can't complain too much because, in the end, my life is progressing and, maybe next year, I'll be able to do things I couldn't dream of doing this year.  It's all part of the plan, I guess.  But anyway, I'm back on this fine Sunday with Series 3 of the Holidaze Hi-C Horror Collection!!  As the banner depicts, this set is dedicated to the original Universal Monsters and is entirely retro!  I've had this planned since I first kicked off the collection, so I hope you enjoy what will be the final set of the 2013 Halloween season.

 

I intentionally avoided being too creative with the flavor names because I wanted these to have a retro feel and, to be honest, they weren't all that creative back in the day.  They were either overly cheesy, or painfully obvious.  Both of which I tried to be with these boxes.  That's not to say they aren't good, because I wouldn't post them if I wasn't proud of my work, but in order to create the right vibe, I went a different route with a few of them.

 

While I kept the characters in their original black & white form, I wanted the retro Hi-C box to represent them and their flavor in color.

 

Probably one of the most underrated Universal Monsters, but perfect for this type of project.  The flavor name allowed me to use green and yellow on a juice box and, that alone, is enough to make this one of my favorites.

 

 I call him Frankenstein, but some of you may call him "Frankenstein's Monster."  You're probably right and I'll take that on the chin, but to avoid any drama or arguments, I paid tribute to the classic "Monster Mash" song and named this "Monster's Mash" to create a Fruit Punch drink.

 

I love this one.  For this one, I did get a little overly creative with the name, but it came to me and I ran with it.  Between the flavor name and the colors, another underrated Universal Monster can't be missed.  How ironic.

 

This was the first Universal Monsters box I designed and, in all honesty, it's probably not the best.  It gets the job done and depicts Dracula and his love for blood well enough, but I could have done better.  I was just getting the ball rolling and wanted to use the most famous monster of them all to kick things off.  I'd drink it.

 

There's just something about purple, white, and black that works perfectly for a Mummy drink.  I don't know why, but I love the way this looks much more than I love the flavor name.  But it rhymed and that works enough for me.

 

Does a Wolfman drink water like a dog does from a bowl?  I have no idea, but I'm going to say yes.  He must be thirsty after all that howling, so why not sip some Wolfman Water and give yourself some flavor to soothe that sore throat.  See how much logic I have to put behind this to justify my names?

 

This one is my favorite.  The Bride of Frankenstein is far from my favorite Universal character, but "Something Blue" has been waiting to see the light of day since I first envisioned the juice box and it came out just as I imagined.  If you don't understand the reference, they claim every bride should have "Something borrowed, something blue, something old, and something new."  See the correlation?  Now we have a blueberry flavored Hi-C juice box to celebrate every and all Weddings.  If this were real, I'd expect every bride to walk down the aisle while sipping "Something Blue."

Thanks for reading (especially since I've become a ghost) and continuing to celebrate the season with me.  I wish I could get more out of it, but the next 11 days will probably be just as busy as the last.  I don't even have a costume or any ideas in mind :(  Hopefully you're all having a much more eventful October than my 2nd half has been.  If you have any stories or pictures to share and enhance the season, tweet me @HolidazeBlog.  I'll read them while I pretend to work :)

Hi-C Horror Collection - Series TWO

When I decided to kill time and enhance the Halloween season by substituting products with creativity, I never expected that the Hi-C Horror Collection would gain so much attention via Social Media.  While I love when anything on the site gains traction, my intention is always to add to our collective Halloween experience.  Thanks to Strange Kids Club, John at Freddy in Space / FEARnet, and WES CRAVEN (!) more people saw what Series 1 had to offer than I would have ever been able to reach on my own.  So, a huge thank you is owed to them, and anybody else who shared the boxes through Twitter, Instagram, on Social Media.  I always knew there would be a Series 2 but, with so many people loving the first set, I knew the pressure was on to bring it!  I used a lot of the most popular characters and films in Series 1, but I think Series 2 lives up to my first go-around.  In fact, I actually like this collection better!

First up, from Hatchet, I introduce you to Victor Crowley's "Swamp Cooler" Cherry Limeade.  The collest part about this box is the fact that it was named by Adam Green, the creator of Hatchet 1, 2, and 3.  I asked him if he had any ideas, and this was his suggestion.  I couldn't have named it better myself.  It's a great nod to Ecto-Cooler and stays true to the film.

Rosemary's Baby is one of the creepiest movies I've ever seen.  I still remember the first time I ever watched it.  It was dark and gloomy with all the lights out.  I knew I wanted to make one for this classic, and "Rosemary's Berry" just made sense.  Obviously, the box is based on the legendary cover.

"Saw Berry Swirl" was going to originally remain "Saw Berry," but I love the little red swirls on Jigsaw's Puppet and I knew I could incorporate that into the name.  I'm a big fan of Saw, and this was almost in the first set, but I wanted to save it for Series 2.

Leatherface is one of the most iconic horror characters in movie history and there was no doubt that I'd include him into the collection.  He was supposed to be in Series 1, but I illustrated him differently and didn't like it.  Originally, he was making a "sour face" to go along with his "Lemonface" flavor.  It just wasn't working and certainly didn't mesh well with his personality and reputation.  This box is much better, chainsawing through bloody lemons and all.

"Evil Red" was a pretty simple flavor name to come up with, but I think it works well.  My favorite part about this box is the way the blood drips from the star burst.  For as gory as that movie is, I wanted to do my best to add as much "red" as possible to signify that without straying too far away from being a kid's juice box.

I've never been a fan of Seed of Chucky, but I always loved the way he looked.  When I though "appleseed," I knew this was the best correlation.  Then when I read that Hi-C once had a real Candy Apple flavor, it worked out even better.  I wish I could really try this one, because I think it'd be great.

I'll admit, "The Pining" is kinda corny.  It's not the greatest name in the world, but it does rhyme with The Shining and that was good enough for me.  Besides, I needed a pineapple flavor and this was the best route in terms of finding one.  Despite the debatable flavor name, I love the way this came out.

Jumping from modern boxes to retro, I wanted to design a retro box for Psycho because of the classic black & white feel.  "Psycho Peach" is a play on word, but associating it with the film is a bit of a stretch.  Use your imagination, I guess.  But, here's a teaser -- Series 3 (or 4, depending) is already in the works and will be completely retro.  It will also feature actual images, rather than cartoon drawings, because legends shouldn't be tampered with.  That's all I'm going to say.

If you've seen The Conjuring, you're familiar with Annabelle the demonic doll.  Well, the actual Annabelle, stored away in Connecticut, is a Raggedy Ann doll.  That's the one I wanted to use for the juice box.  The flavor name, "Strawberry Banannabelle," is one thing, but if you look closely, the doll from the film is transparently hiding behind the case and over the Hi-C logo.  Just a way to bring the best of both evil worlds together.

I'm not sure how a Cotton Candy flavored Hi-C would taste, but just "Drink IT!"  In all seriousness, it would probably be pretty good.  Regardless, I wanted to incorporate a classic circus treat into the mix for Pennywise.  Prior to that idea, it was just going to be Kiwi Strawberry.  I'm happy I changed my mind.  This is one of my favorite boxes, especially because of the confetti background.

Nothing but alliteration for the flavor name, but I knew exactly what I wanted for the box.  Because Hi-C juice boxes are already yellow, I had to make it look like the original Good Guy box that Chucky came in.  This is one of my favorite boxes to date and, if anything was ever made for the new Curse of Chucky film, this would be what I want.

I absolutely love this box for so many different reasons.  "Mogwai Melon" was going to only be melon, but when I thought about the movie itself, watermelon made sense.  We all know what happens when Mogwai's come in contact with water, and if you look behind Gizmo, a mysterious Gremlin has already been exposed.  So there's a lot going on with this box and there's actually more of a story than just a design, which is why this might be my favorite box in the collection.

If you'd like to share these boxes (which I'd appreciate!) here is an Instagram formatted image for you to use.  You can also check out www.Facebook.com/Holidazeblog for individually formatted images!

I hope you enjoyed Series 2 of the Holidaze Hi-C Horror Collection!!

Jones Soda - 2013 Halloween Flavors

The rumors are true - Jones Soda Co. have brought back their Halloween flavored sodas!

Even though Jones Soda has released different varieties of Halloween soda throughout the years, I've actually never tried any of them.  Before I started The Holidaze, I overlooked treasures like this because I didn't fully embrace the season.  When I first read about these on X-Entertainment in 2006, I was in my 2nd year of College and didn't have the time or patience to keep up with every new release.  Halloween hardly lasted a night, let alone a full two months! Looking back, I wish I did it differently, because I know how happy these things would have made me.  I even picked the cans up, looked at them, and put them back down.  While the review was enough for me back then, I've since changed my mindset to go out of my way and experience things first-hand to share them here for whoever wants to read.  It fully enhances, expands, and extends the season.  So when I read that Jones Soda was bringing their Halloween sodas back, I knew it would be high on my list of spooky priorities.  Luckily, my not-so-local Target is finally stocked for the season!

The can designs are amazing!!  I've talked about Halloween soda before, mentioned what I'd like to see and how I'd do things differently, but thankfully, Jones and I think very much alike!  First, we have a "Red Licorice" flavor featuring Frankenstein.  I absolutely love the way he's designed.  The red and green contrast should remind you of Christmas, but they used so much distress, and so many grungy brush strokes, that these cans could never be confused for anything other than Halloween.  They're works of art and I'm so happy they're back with new designs!

We had fun guessing what color the liquid would be before we popped the can open.  This one was obviously going to be red, but it's a beautiful red.  It's the type of color you'd expect from any red-dyed Halloween drink.  You want to pretend and imagine that you're drinking blood.  Act as if you're in "The Lost Boys" and are about to join the vampires by drinking bubbling blood from the Golden Boned Goblet.  That's what makes these flavors so special.  I love Cranberry Sierra Mist, which is almost the same color, but it doesn't pour from the head of Frankenstein and that makes a huge difference!

You have to use your imagination and associate these sodas with the season because the flavors are odd and, chances are, you won't like them all.  In this case, Red Licorice is a bust.  It tastes more like Robitussin than candy, but has enough sugar to know the difference.  It's not horrible, none of these flavors are, but it's not something you'd drink regularly.  But that's okay!  I wasn't expecting deliciousness, I was expecting a conversation starter and a Halloween boost.  If nothing else, that's what this can gave me.

Here we have the "Candy Corn" flavor featuring a werewolf.  It's gorgeous.  This werewolf looks a bit more deranged than your usual wolf man.  One eye is bigger than the other, his hair is very unkempt, and we're not sure if he's smiling, snarling, or ready to attack.  That's what Jone Soda can do to a man.  Actually, this might have been how I looked when I finally found Halloween aisles at Target.  The only person moving faster toward the products than me was my girlfriend.  It's kinda sad how excited we get over spending money on soda and cereal!

Before you look at the next picture, guess what color the soda is going to be based on the flavor name and can color.

Ahhhh that's just awesome!  Not only is it orange, but it's a bright, almost neon orange!  Seriously, the picture doesn't do this justice.  As soon as it settled in the cup, it was as if the liquid was actually glowing.  Between the visual and the aroma, this was guaranteed to be a hit.

As soon as we tasted it, my girlfriend and I both agreed that the Candy Corn flavor is actually that of Creme Soda with more sugar.  If you swish it around in your mouth a little bit, you can tell there's a candy corn flavor, but it's not very distinct and I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing.  This is very good as it is and probably one of two that you'd actually drink on a consistent basis.

I've changed the order in which we actually tried these for a better (I hope) post, but "Caramel Apple" is actually what we tried first.  We were both very excited for this one because it sounded like a tasty flavor.  On top of that, just look at this can character.  What is he?  He looks like he's melting.  He's literally falling apart in front of our very eyes and we have no idea why.  His eye has escaped his socket and, from the looks of things, his left eye isn't too far behind.  Is he a zombie?  If he is, he'll be a skeleton before he knows it.  My only hope was that the flavor didn't do this to him.  Perhaps it was a cruel joke by Jones.  Time to guess the color and see for ourselves!

 

I was hoping for a green color.  I would have killed for a neon green color to match whatever juice is leaking out from Melt-Man's pores, but we get a dark brown color.  When it settles, it looks more maroon, but regardless it smells like Fall.

The flavor is unique.  You can tell there's a hint of caramel and apples, but it's also bitter enough to taste like Fall.  Again, it's not something I'd drink on a regular basis, but it's far from bad.  If I was having a Halloween party or camping out on a dark night, this would be the drink I'd offer friends.  They may turn it down for a Pepsi, but to truly embrace the Fall season, this is the type of drink you'd want to have.  It's not the best tasting Jones Soda , but it finds the perfect medium between Halloween and flavor.  In moderation, I like it!

In real-life and in this post, "Blood Orange" was saved for last because I had a feeling this was going to be the best flavor.  But before we get into that, we gotta give major props to Jones for another amazing can.  I love Dracula, but any Dracula colored anything other than white gets bonus points in my book.  In this case, we have a purple Dracula, with yellow eyes, and blood stains on his teeth and lips.  Plus, this is the only can that displays an actual pun associated with the can character. "Blood" Orange, get it?  I remember when Jones Soda used to do that with all their Halloween flavors, but I think they've realized they don't need to.  Just the fact that they're designed for the season with flavors associated with it is enough for us all.

I was hoping for a purple color, expected orange, but received something in the middle.  This is such an awesome color and confirms that whatever dye Jones Soda uses is better than anything I've ever seen before.  It's probably horrible for us, but so is everything else we eat and drink on Halloween.  I'll take my chances to drink a pinkish-red colored, Blood Orange flavored, Dracula canned, Halloween soda in the middle of September.  Sounds good to me!

As I assumed, this is the best Jones Soda of them all.  Imagine orange soda with a hint of something else to provide an extra punch of flavor.  I guess that's the "blood."  I've never actually had a blood orange before, but if it tastes anything like this drink then I have a new favorite fruit.  This is delicious and, along with "Candy Corn," this is something that I'd drink at any time.  If you're going to pick up any 4-pack of Jones Soda Halloween mini-cans, this is the one I recommend, most.

Finding these cans were a pleasant surprise.  As soon as I heard the rumor, I knew this would be my opportunity to finally try them.  After missing out on them so many years prior to now, I'm happy to have finally redeemed myself and picked these up.  In my opinion, these are the best can designs I've seen released by Jones and, if there was ever a year to join in on the fun, this is the one.  If we've learned nothing else this season, it's that this may very well be the greatest Halloween of all-time.  Of course, it's up to us to create memories and moments outside of trying candy, food, drinks, and cereal, but these companies are surely giving us enough gasoline to fuel our energy.

Halloween Lunchables

I don't know about you, but I have had very little luck in terms of finding any Halloween candy, costumes, or decorations.  There are a few places, like Michael's Crafts and Party City, that are offering a bit, but I like to hold off on the bigger items until October rolls around.  In September, I'm all about new items, cereal, food, and drinks before we get into Haunted Houses and spooky visits a month later.  Unfortunately, my local Walgreens and Target are still not cooperating and, for the most part, they're still focused on "Back-to-School."  Luckily, during yesterday's search, I found something that bridges the gap between Justin Bieber folders and the thrill of Halloween!

Halloween Lunchables!!

In my life, I've never had a box of Lunchables.  I was always intrigued by the commercials and, at times, found myself jealous of kids who had an awesome assortment of DIY munchies at the cafeteria table, but it wasn't something I ever had.  As a kid, I went from bringing my Batman lunchbox filled with peanut butter and jelly, Ecto-Cooler, and Ninja Turtle fruit snacks to buying a relatively good lunch from school.  There was never an in-between but, looking back, it would have been great if that in-between existed and featured a Lunchables cameo.  Buying them yesterday gave me a "Step Brothers" moment and reminded me of when they put on the night-vision goggles.  "Can you imagine if we had these when we were 12?"  Even better, I got 'em when I'm 26!

I'd heard about these Halloween Lunchables about a month ago and they've been found by a number of Twitter friends since.  Every review I heard was a good one and, let's face it, there was no way I was passing up a food product that is completely decked out for Halloween.  The box I saw pictured featured Dracula, but then I found this guy staring back at me in the frozen foods aisle.  His stale grin may not say much, but it says enough to screw over the Vampire and bring Frankenstein home with me.

Look, Lunchables are great.  Frankenstein is awesome.  But the true selling point is pictured above.  Not only are you getting an appropriately colored green witch made out of chocolate to snack on, but you're getting Kool-Aid Ghoul-Aid, as well!!!  No.. not the traditional packet we've all come to know and love, but a Ghoul-Aid JAMMER!!  These are the real deal, folks!  Just check out Dinosaur Dracula's full review of an entire BOX of Ghoul-Aid Jammers!  It's amazing.  I knew they were coming, but never expected a promotional tie-in like this.  Just imagine how cool it must feel to be a 3rd Grader, sitting at the cafeteria table, with a Ghoul-Aid Jammer and a witch head for dessert.  You instantly become the coolest kid in school, or you're getting beaten up for celebrating Halloween in September.  Either way, you'll probably be writing about it in 20-years.

Having never had a box of Lunchables before, I didn't know how to go about eating them.  I asked my girlfriend if they had to be microwaved, which led to a stare much like the one Frankenstein gave me at Target.  "Do you really think little kids microwave these at school?"  What do I know? I'm a picky eater.  I like my nacho cheese hot, but now I'm in the loop and will pretend and act as if this story isn't true.  Regardless of how out of touch I might have been with these Lunchables, I loved the presentation of both the box and the food and couldn't wait to free that milk chocolate witch from her wrapper.

I love everything about this candy!!  First of all, my box was left in the trunk for about an hour on an 82-degree day so I thought she might have melted.  Fortunately, only water makes witches melt and this lady was strong enough to withstand the heat.  Second, I'm proud of Lunchables for giving us a treat that actually resembles the one on the box.  I wasn't sure if she'd actually be green, which is the only true color for a witch, but I'm glad they didn't trick me with the box art.  This is legit!  Finally, the details are only second to the flavor.  The milk chocolate witch head is just as good as any other popular candy you're going to find this season.  In fact, I'd take this over a Reeses peanut butter pumpkin, any day!  Blasphemy, right?

After unwrapping the witch, who I've named Hazel, I placed her back in with her nacho men.  They'd attempt to protect her from an untimely demise, but I couldn't wait until all of the nachos were gone before devouring her.  Her destiny was already written, but the nachos I had prior were very, very, good!!  I wasn't expecting much out of Lunchables when it came to flavor, but these are wonderful!  I don't know if they'd fill me up, especially compared to the food I ate at 7th grade Lunch, but they're definitely tasty.  The Dracula version was a "cheese pizza" variety, but I chose this one instead.  To be honest, I might actually go back for the other.  It's that good!

For as good as everything was, nothing compares to the main event - Kool-Aid Ghoul-Aid!  After all, The Holidaze 2013 Halloween logo is based on this very drink!  I mean, when kids see this in the aisle, they won't be able to pass it up.  I often talk about Hi-C Ecto-Cooler and, for many kids of this generation, this may very well be what they remember as their "Ecto-Cooler."  I love the fact that we grown-ups (who haven't really grown up) can enjoy this drink, but I'm even happier for the kids living in 2013.  They don't know it now, but sometime down the road, they're going to look back on this Halloween season and remember it for things like Kool-Aid Ghoul-Aid Jammers, Lunchables' chocolate witch heads, Monster Cereals, and the nostalgia that they'll one day ignite.  But in the meantime, let us nerdy adults enjoy the moment and rejoice in Ghoul-Aid FINALLY becoming one hell of a Jammer!

I drank half of my Ghoul-Aid out of the Jammer pouch, but the rest of it had to be poured into my new glass bought at Target for a mean buck.  It's not really a glass, it's a plastic, but I love it and wanted to feel like a real-life, spooky ghoul while drinking out of a cup made from golden skeleton bones.  That's badass!  Of course, the Ghoul-Aid looks as amazing as it tastes.  It's a deep purple color that looks like the blood of an evil demon.  The only downside is that I finished it way too fast and now I'm craving more.  Yet another reason to go out, apologize to Dracula, and bring him and his pizza home.

As mentioned, there was no way Hazel was making it longer than the nacho men, but I only took her mouth and chin away from her.  The rest survived a bit longer before she met her delicious end, but I like how she's looking down, wondering where the hell her mouth went.  Sorry, Hazel.

If you're reading The Holidaze, you're probably a fan of Halloween and, believe me when I tell you, this is one of those products that you'll want to pick up!  One of many, this year!  I believe there was a Halloween version of Lunchables last year, but it didn't include Ghoul-Aid and that alone is worth the money.  Even at my age, this is an item that I'll remember years from now and, obviously, I tried making it more fun than it actually is to enhance the memory even further.  Target and Walgreens may be off their game, but this is another indication that we're in the midst of an unbelievable Halloween that has only just begun!

A very special thanks to Strange Kids Club, and John from FEARnet and Freddy in Space for bringing more attention to the designs than I could have imagined!