Tricky Pete review – put a little Halloween on the shelf

REVIEW – My wife and I have become enamored with Halloween in our older years. We love decorating and handing out candy to the neighborhood kids. When my daughter told me about a Halloween-themed product the company she works for was selling, I was eager to see it and write a review for The Gadgeteer. Imagine a certain elf that kids and parents have come to love in the last 20 years. He sits on shelves, mantles, and spies for Santa, moving around at night so the kids can find him during Christmas time. Now, imagine this same fun, mixed with a little mischief and pranking at Halloween time. Meet Tricky Pete and his sister Evil Joy.

⬇︎ Jump to summary (pros/cons)
Price: Tricky Pete: $29.99; Evil Joy: $29.99; Evil Joy’s Shadows (Binky, Boink, and Boo): $13.99 each or $26.99 for all three; Tricky Pete book: $12.99
Where to buy: TrickyPete.com

What is it?

Tricky Pete and his sister Evil Joy are Halloween-themed plush toys centered around mischief and clean spooky fun. Each October, they “rise from the pumpkin patch” to pull off pranks and seek out candy, then play hide-and-seek until the next day. The entire line contains other characters, a book, music, and tons of online content.

What’s included?

• Tricky Pete or Evil Joy dolls – sold separately.
• Evil Joy’s Shadows (Binky, Boink, and Boo) – sold separately.
• Children’s book – sold separately.

Design and features

Tricky Pete and Evil Joy are the creation of Danny & Marianne Rhodehamel of the Tricky Pete company, a small company in the Orlando, Florida area. (Full disclosure: My daughter works for Danny & Marianne.)

Tricky Pete and his sister Evil Joy are pumpkin-headed dolls made from hard plastic for their heads and soft cloth and stuffing for their bodies. They flop and droop, which adds to their fun. They are each about 12” (30.5 cm) tall from toe to their pumpkin head stem.

The story of Tricky Pete and Evil Joy is that they emerge every October 1st and play tricks and pranks during the night, especially if they are given candy, and specifically candy corn. Parents move Tricky Pete and Evil Joy around their home to hide them, or pose them for the kids to find each day during the Halloween season.

Similar to the popular Christmas elf toy (you know the one), Tricky Pete is a Halloween twist on that new tradition of hiding the elf and finding him the next day, albeit with a playfully sinister theme of pranks, tricks, and candy stealing.

Tricky Pete’s story and lore are playfully explored with a very active YouTube channel, an  Instagram page, Facebook, and TikTok, all linked on their website, TrickyPete.com. Also, parents can sign their kids up for free coloring pages on the website.

There are a few very fun blog posts on the website. These posts show creative ideas for Halloween, and a fun tromp through history showing Tricky Pete at some very important historical events. Very funny and imaginative.

Evil Joy has three favorite “shadows”, or minions that do her bidding. They can also be hidden around the home for added Halloween activities for the kids. They are small plastic figures about 3” (7.6 cm) tall, and each has a different color scheme.

There is a children’s book that accompanies the dolls and lore. It is very well written and illustrated. It is kind of a storybook/instruction manual for parents to follow along with in the nightly activity of hiding and creating mischief that Tricky Pete and Evil Joy have wrought upon the house.

Final thoughts

The idea of having a Halloween-themed version of the Christmas elf tradition is loads of fun. It’s not as creepy or scary as a lot of Halloween decorations and activities can be. It’s wholesome, silly fun for the whole family, young and old alike. I especially liked the backstory of Tricky Pete and Evil Joy on all the social media platforms. I can’t wait until October comes.

What I like about Tricky Pete

• Well-made and packaged
• Great backstory and lore
• Lots of content on various social media platforms
• Kid-friendly, not too spooky or scary

What needs to be improved?

• Nothing I can think of

Price: Tricky Pete: $29.99; Evil Joy: $29.99; Evil Joy’s Shadows (Binky, Boink, and Boo): $13.99 each or $26.99 for all three; Tricky Pete book: $12.99
Where to buy: TrickyPete.com
Source: The sample was purchased. Tricky Pete did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.

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