I shopped for fall decor at Hobby Lobby and Michaels. Both stores were winners — just not for the same holiday.

• Michaels blew me away with its Halloween decorations, elevated crafts, and spooky themes.
• Hobby Lobby had no Halloween decor, but its Thanksgiving and general autumnal fare was hard to beat.

I started at Michaels, which felt like a Halloween wonderland.

Overall, Michaels was a one-stop shop for Halloween.

Even though Halloween isn’t my favorite holiday, I can appreciate good decorations, and Michaels went above and beyond.

The fall section was also solid, especially for faux pumpkins, cute garlands, wreaths, candles, and doormats. It had more pillows than Hobby Lobby, printed with sayings like “Give Thanks” and “Autumn Leaves and Pumpkin Please.”

For quintessential fall and Thanksgiving decor, I’d go to Hobby Lobby.

Aside from pillows and candles, Hobby Lobby excelled in the fall department, specifically for tabletop decorations, kitchen items, and outdoor signs.

Plus, it had a robust selection of kid-friendly crafts and game day supplies.

From “pumpkin spice and everything nice” aprons to those scarecrows/harvest people I never understood, Hobby Lobby had all the basics.

Nothing super special, but it gave me that warm-fuzzy feeling inside.

To properly refresh my collection, I’d have to shop at both.

Neither store covered every base — or, from the glass-half-full perspective, each store had specialties.

Since selections varied so widely, I couldn’t exactly compare prices, but I did notice a decent amount of 40%-off sales at both retailers.

Many Michaels’ deals I saw were tied to its in-house brands, like Ashland, and many, not all, seasonal items were marked down. At times, I wasn’t sure what was or wasn’t on sale, especially in the Halloween section.

Prices felt much more straightforward to me at Hobby Lobby. The store advertised “40% Off Fall Decor, Party, Floral, and Crafts” on the front door, which felt comprehensive and gave me less guesswork.

All in all, I’d have to shop at both retailers to cover fall, Halloween, and Thanksgiving; however, since the stores are in the same building, I have no issue making a Saturday of it.

Just not a Sunday, when Hobby Lobby locations are closed, and I learned that the hard way on my first attempt to shop.

Business Insider reached out to Michaels and Hobby Lobby for comment.