Once again we continued a tradition and went shopping for after Halloween specials. We had a lot of success but felt the pickings overall were smaller than they had been in recent year. Perhaps the retail stores did not order as much this year as they had in past years (or maybe they all had a banner year and there simply was not a whole lot that did not sell during the Halloween season).

Our stops included Spirit Halloween, Halloween City, Walmart, Home Depot, and Michaels and despite there not being as much as previous years we believe we have one of our better hauls which included a creepy doll, a John Doe prop which rises up, snoopy in a pumpkin, another slimer, several Pennywise items, and a net full of skeleton fish for our skeleton boat.

Lots of fun and a good start to the 2020 Halloween season Continue reading “After Halloween Sale 2019” →

We had one of our best Halloween turnouts this year and the weather, despite weather alerts, held on long enough for a great evening of spooks and goblins. While there was a little rain, it was light and very manageable.

For the second year in a row James helped hand out candy and did a really good job getting into the festive spirit of the holiday. James had only a half day of school today so he took the time to carve a pumpkin which was really haunting and truly the icing on the cake for this years display.

As we had done in the past we brought out more decorations from the house for the trick or treaters and we received many compliments on the display.

Continue reading “Trick or Treat 2019” →

James just hosted his 9th Halloween Party and everyone had a blast. Once again the Magic Mirror was the big hit, along with a creepy rocking horse. Some of the new items this year were the skeleton boat (which took up the whole back room), the new Pennywise (just like in the movies, a new Pennywise comes out every 27-30 years or so), and a flying witch (who we named Rhiannon after the Fleetwood Mac song). The party went on most of the afternoon with people coming in and out all day so it never got too crowded. Playing the “IT” movie also kept some of the kids upstairs which also freed up space in the bedroom. We noticed that if there was a theme this year, it would be “IT” as a couple kids dressed up as the clown, there was an IT cake, and the movie played three times upstairs (to different audiences). I guess its true, everyone loves a clown.

James hopes to see everyone next year Oct 17th, 2020 for the big 10th party! Continue reading “James Halloween Party 2019” →

The first week in October has traditionally been the day we set up the outside decorations, and thankfully the weather held out and we were able to get everything up and the garage cleaned up as well.

Once again we are using the spider and the horse and carriage but this year we have the luxury of not having to work around the lamp post which was removed when we had sod put in a couple months earlier. We think it makes it look more balanced without the post and are very happy with the results.

The indoor decorations are up as well and can be seen in the promotional video for James Halloween Party.
Continue reading “2019 OutsideHalloween Decorations” →

The haunted garage sale has sure come a long way and we were glad to be there for the ride. When we first went there it was in Belleville, then it moved to an Ice Rink in Canton, this year it moved to the Dearborn Community and Performing Arts Center – the same location James Dad graduated from some 40 years ago.

The parking was much better than the ice rink (plus so much closer to our home than either of the other two locations) and we had a blast there checking out the new and old Halloween decorations We did not buy alot (no room to put the stuff) but as always enjoyed the atmosphere as there were many people dressed for the occasion including Pennywise. James got a couple Goosebump Books, Mom got some funny Halloween artwork, and Dad got a Godzilla T shirt.

Continue reading “Haunted Garage Sale 2019” →

We had a surprise on a visit to Walmart when we noticed that the Spirit Halloween store in Canton was already opened and while they did not have all the new items that were going to be available for 2019, they did have enough to make it worth while. Lots of scary clowns this year and a large water display in the center of the store that looks like it will be an underwater type of haunt, most likely using lamps that create the illusion of an under water lair so it should be unique and interesting.

Looks like its going to be a banner year for Halloween, although even we must concede that its a wee bit early. Looking back at last year it was at least 3 weeks later in the year (Aug 17 2018) when the first Halloween store opened.

Continue reading “First Halloween Store Visit of 2019” →

This year was a team effort for handing out candy as James, Mom, and Dad took shifts doing the work. We had the gargantuan spider out front on one side and the skeleton horse and carriage on the other side. Both sides were completely encased in a creepy fence (actually the fence from the back yard sawed in half horizontally and every other board removed) Not only does the fence make the yard look like a creepy graveyard, it also provides some protection of the props from curious visitors.

This year we also eliminated the pumpkin blow molds which made room to create the graveyard. It was a little sad to see the blow molds go but we had used them for the last decade and most if not all were purchased at garage sales. We did save the tombstone blow molds however, since they fit the new theme of a fenced in grave yard.

A pretty decent turn out for trick or treat this year, and the weather was ok which was a pleasant surprise compared to the last 5 years.

Continue reading “Trick or Treat 2018” →

Once again we hosted James Halloween Party and once again everyone enjoyed themselves at the party. The party started at about 1:30 and ended about 7pm and had a parade a guests coming through during this time. James had plenty of friends show up, some from Lincoln Park, some from VIP Camp, some from Annapolis, and some of our neighbors which made for a great time. We had some new props on display trying to keep things looking fresh and keeping the surprises coming. One of our new items was an animated Michael Myers, something Mom had wanted since she first saw it at Manuels Taco. Also new this year were some evil toys in a box along with an evil rocking chair. All in all a great bunch of fun.

Please note that the video below is a multiple video playlist, to play from the beginning simply click play, to view the list and jump around click the upper left corner of the playlist with the three horizontal lines.

Continue reading “James Halloween Party 2018” →

Once again we visited the haunted garage sale, this time in a new location – Canton. When we first went it was in Belleville (which is our favorite location because there was plenty of parking) then it moved to an ice rink in Wayne and finally this location. Parking was poor at best but we managed to make it in. James and Mom both found some great deals and the place had a good atmosphere. As usual there were many unusual items and a pretty good selection, however the parking is really starting to be an issue and we hope it improves as we were very lucky to get a spot and were actually about to give up. All in all a fun day as we all had fun!

Continue reading “Haunted Garage Sale 2018” →