When do you start decorating ?

[Samhain]

I start putting up inside decorations in late August or early September.
The outside stuff doesn't go up until the first week of October.
I'd put it out earlier, but my neighbors would talk...

[Andybev01]

I'm almost embarrassed to say this but my house-mates are out of town until Tuesday and I'm contemplating taking my secret (okay, not so secret) stash of decorations out of the closet and putting them up until Sunday. The other, larger decor is down in the barn, which is spooky enough on it's own.

I'm going to watch Poltergeist, GPCB, and the Roseanne Halloween DVD. and if Courage The Cowardly Dog comes on 'toons, I'll make time for that as well.

[Pumpkin_Man]

Andy, I wouldn't feel too embarassed by that and I'll tell you why. You would not believe the number of people who have "Christmas in June/July" parties. Even bussiness have "Christmas in July" sales, and some of the cable stations love to rerun all the Christmas themed episodes of tv shows during the Summer seasin, particularly in July. 2nd in line is Thanksgiving. I have seen at least 5 Thanksgiving themed episodes of various tv shows this June and last May. Now as annoying as I find that at times, a lot of people love it, and I also imagine they would get quite annoyed when I put our one of my plastid jack o'lanterns when the 13th of the month falls on a Friday.

My niceses are as enthused about Christmas as I am about Halloween. It's not too uncommon when I phone them or go to their houses to visit them, and there would be Christmas music in the CD player. March, June, July, October, even the week right before Easter, they would be listening to Christmas music because they would have the bug.

They share that attitude with lots of other people. In fact, Christmas and Thanksgiving are the only two holidays that are notedly celebrated during the off season. I've never heard of an "Easter in September" party or a "Halloween in April" party.

Mike

[Andybev01]

How about 4th Of July in January?

[Samhain]

That's just the thing. If people start getting shook up about Christmas a few months ahead of time, nobody says anything about it. It's all good. However, if you break out your Halloween decorations and start going through them (just looking, not putting them up) in late August, something's wrong with you.

[Andybev01]

Like Queen Victoria said "F*** 'em if they can't take a joke."

I came up with a simple but effective decoration.
NOw that you can get those LED votives almost anywhere, put one in one of those thin plastic candy holder JOL's and they glow beautifully. Since there is no heat or flame they can go anywhere.

I'm thinking of lining the dashboard with some, on a pad of fake grass.

It's an "02 Beetle so there is plenty of acreage to cover

[Pumpkin_Man]

That's a great idea. Speaking of decorating vehiches, almost every year I put a scare crow with a Jack O'Lantern head on my motorcycle and make him up lime the "Headless Horseman." My car, on the other hand, a little Chevy Aveo, really doesn't lend itself to Halloween decorating.

And I am going to start making Halloween preperations in August regardless of what people think.

Mike

[Wicked Witch]

I have already started working on some of my Halloween props. DH and I will probably put in about 100 hours each this year making things. We have decided to kick our display up a notch and are really having a blast with it.... We have a pretty neat cemetary but the wind gets so bad here that it destroyed some of my styrofoam headstones last year so we replaced them with wood. This year - we went ahead and replaced all of the foam head stones with wood. We already have them cut out and engraved. Most of them have been painted to look like stone - but we have had a wet spell and have not been able to paint the rest and I cannot justify spray painting in the house. LOL That project has been a lot of fun - I have found out that I am pretty good with a router and that I really like power tools. LOL DH has been a really good sport - he likes Halloween but not quite to the extent that I do.... He does not quite understand how I can sit and read and plan all year long the different props/settings/themes whatever that I would like to do each year.

But, for me nothing goes out in the yard until the 1st of October and we constantly build up until October 31st - the kids in the subdivision kind of get a kick out of watching the process.

[Morticia]

I try to wait until the very end of Sept. or the first week of October to put stuff up inside. We don't put up the outside stuff until Halloween. Don't want to lose any of it.

[Wicked Witch]

This will be our 5th year here and we have been really lucky and no one has messed with our yard decorations since we have moved here.

[shanda]

I have already started repairing old props, making new ones and gettin rid of the junk beyond repair. I put up my tree (A Christmas tree that is covered in orange lights, pumpkins, straw, autumn leaves with a fall grass plume at the top. BEAUTIFUL!!!) in September . I also start decorating the inside of my house in Sept.
I wait until October 1st to put up the outside decorations. I mean the 1st. I take the day off of work and start first thing in the a.m. Rain or Shine!!!
Scary Halloween comes down first weekend in Nov. but the fall, autumn, pumpkin stuff stays up until December.

[Pooder]

You are my people!!! This topic has made me so happy. I have been thinking of what to do this year for decorations and what my little girl will wear.

[shanda]

Oh Yes! We have already been searching sites. My dd is 10 and she wants to be little bo peep this year. A change for her she has been a witch for the last 3 years. She was a princess every year before!

My son is 12 and he wants to be the Geico cave man this year. Also a change since he has been something/ someone with a gun every year of his life!!!

My 18 yr old dd has been something with a short skirt and her ta-tas on display for the last 3 years. She prob will stick with the same this year.

$$$ wise we have to start in July. I wish stores started sooner too!!!

[Wicked Witch]

My DD (17) is going to be Robin Hood this year - last year she had to work.... very tragic she had planned on being a Dark Fairy.... DH - well he has not decided if he is going to dress up - I have a very hard time getting him to do that.... (Spoilsport) I think that I am definitely going to go with the Sorceress from last year but kicking it up a notch. I am starting to get things sooner this year too - especially if I can find coupons for Michaels/AC Moore/JoAnns... I just wish Home Depot, Radio Shack and Lowes had coupons too.... LOL Has anyone ever built a prop face using Fimo or Sculpy clay? If so - was it easy?

[shanda]

If you get a seasonal Halloween store like Spirit or Halloween Express near you, and smile and tell the workers your evil plot, they may give you the wig forms that masks are displayed on.

Thats what I do. They are white and foam and very easy to adapt to your projects.