Recently, a piece of Hello Kitty merchandise has been causing a ruckus on and offline: the Hello Kitty Halloween throw blanket. The plush blanket shows several Hello Kitty motifs, each one themed around the Halloween holiday.
While this may seem like a simple piece of Hello Kitty merchandise, it’s launched a firestorm, with customers going to stores like TJ Maxx and Marshalls daily to try to secure the blanket. Employees, too, are interested in this blanket, with several users virally alleging to have discovered an employee conspiracy to hide the blankets from customers.
Others suspect that there’s a bigger scheme afoot, with some claiming that people—including employees—are buying the blankets in order to resell them for a profit. eBay listings for the blanket frequently reach at least $50, with some users attempting to resell the blankets for $100 or more. For context, the blanket retails in the store for around $19.99 to $24.99.
Now, another user has sparked discussion showing the lengths she had to go to acquire one of the blankets.
@_yayag I been going every day since i found out about these blankets, but no luck until now i can’t believe i got them! #fyp #fypシ #viral #hellokitty #hellokittyhalloweenblanket #hellokittyhalloween #hellokittylover #hellokittyhunting #homegoods #homegoodsfinds @hellokitty ♬ never be yours kali uchis – Kali Uchis Fan Page
In a video with over 858,000 views, TikTok user Yaya (@_yayag) says she got to the store several hours early in order to get the blanket. As the store’s opening time approached, a line formed—and once the door was unlocked, Yaya and several other customers went rushing to the blanket section to secure one of the blankets.
Eventually, she was able to find them—though she notes that the blankets appeared to have been hidden “like an Easter egg hunt for grown-ups.”
Eventually, Yaya was able to purchase several blankets.
Workers at stores like HomeGoods have reported issues with customers eager to purchase the Hello Kitty Halloween blankets.
“Omg yesterday I had a customer approach me looking for the Halloween hello kitty blanket. I told her we didnt have it and she says ‘can you go search boxes in the back? I know you guys can do that. I seen it done on Tik tok, and all I have to do is ask,’” wrote a user on the r/TJMaxx subreddit. “Ummmm??? No. Lmaooo. Idk what’s going on with the hello kitty lately but its crazy!!”
Some even claim that disputes over the merchandise have led to in-store brawls.
“So, today at work…we kept getting phone calls about hello kitty merch,” reads another post on the subreddit. “Our MODs even put up a big sign about the hello kitty stuff, and we still had customers fighting in the store over the blankets, plushies, mugs etc.”
Stories like these are echoed across the TJ Maxx subreddit. One user alleged their store gets calls about the blankets 3 to 5 times per day. Another simply dubbed the item the “h*ll blanket.”
Back on Yaya’s TikTok, some users offered theories as to why the blankets appeared to be spread out throughout the store.
“Some employees get annoyed with those that show up early in search of items and hide those HSA items for fun,” offered a commenter.
“I used to work at homegoods & we were told to spread them out so that everyone got a fair chance & they didn’t all just go to once person,” said a second.
The Daily Dot reached out to Yaya via TikTok comment and HomeGoods via email.
