I know. I know. It’s incredibly waaaay too early to even be thinking about Halloween, let alone discussing decor for it. I get it. We’re more than 90 days out, but alas, American consumerism is ahead again. And if we’ve learned anything the past few years, it’s that the good seasonal decor sells out quick. So when I came across these ghosts for our front porch, I scooped them up. They just arrived today and darn are they sooooo good, and frankly priced right, I went to order a few more, and oh my goodenss quanties are already limited. SO, here I am, in July sharing with you guys, about these darn ghosts that I just HAD to share with you (and ideally before they sell out).
astronaut costume | astronaut helmet | ballerina costume
Last year we moved into our new (120 year old house) right before Halloween. While I have never previously been a “halloween person”, our last neighborhood (and Atlanta in general) really get into the silly spooky vibe. And on that note, I’m definatley more in the silly camp than spooky and love creating a fun, happy halloween environment for my kids and the trick or treaters alike. So in recent years we’ve really leaned into the season and I fell in love with the month of October, and the community comradery it created.
Our spider house (find spider’s here) was so much fun, that I was hoping our new neighborhood also got a little into the Halloween Spirit, and if this “non-halloween” gal is to be honest, it was one of the things we were sad to leave when moving from in-town Atlanta. Welp…nothing could prepare me for what Halloween is like in our new hood. Upon moving in, numerous (and I mean a couple dozen!) people stopped us to ask if we’ve been “warned” about Halloween. We assured all that we were more than capable of distributing candy and throwing up a couple decorations (at this point there were only a couple houses decorated and few dispersed pumpkins)…in our last neighborhood we got upwards of 200-300 trick or treaters, so we were well versed in the masses and more that willing to participate in our new “small” town’s festivities.
LOL
How naive we were. Two weeks from Halloween, our new neighborhood became abuzz with decor and outdoor decorations. From the super scary, to whimsical. Someone decked out their whole porch in lanterns and skeletons giving a “pirates of the caribbean” vibe. Another neighbor had a legit Harry Potter wizard and MTV Astronaut on his porches among others (the movie industry has come to Atlanta in the last decade and apparently with it, amazing movie props). A beautifully executed Spider House (who now are great friends of ours)…wizard houses, the Adam’s Family, ghouls, 20-story blow up cats and the list goes on and on. The creativity was inspiring and the sheer number of houses commited was impressive….I promise to share photos this year with you all. So it began to dawn on me, that maybe we have underestamated the volume of trick or treaters in our new “small” town. Luckily a week out, a neighbor really gave us the lowdown and told us to prepare for 1,500-3,000 trick or treaters.
WHAT?
Whoa, What?
Like at my house? Like total? They advised I buy candy for 2,000 then turn off our lights when we run out. “She’s joking, right”, I asked Brian. Like where on earth are we that we would possibly get this many people. So, off to costco I went to invest in more candy….because I sure didn’t want to be the first house to run out on our first Halloween here. And luckliy another neighbor advised that while some loved the chocolate and sweets, it was the cheap dum-dum suckers that most people wanted. (spoiler, they were right…I was shocked at how quickly people took those).
I ended up purchasing 2,200 pieces of candy. In previous years I was generous with handing out a few pieces to each trick or treater. Here, our neighbors all urged only 1 piece each or you’d run out quick. I obediently agreed and at 5pm we stood out front and ooed and awed at the young trick or treaters as they came up to our house. A group here, a couple there. The first hour had me questioning if we were really going to get “slammed” with people. By 6:15 I started giving two pieces each out to a couple groups of cute kids. And that’s when my neighbor across the street busted me and warned that this was “nothing” yet. She urged I ration the candy and assured me I wouldn’t be left with thousands of pieces of candy come ends night. She also said the street had an unoffical rule of lights out around 9. I stared at the obnoxious stacks of candy boxes in our front entry and honeslty stressed about what in the world I would do if all this candy was left over and how on earth this neighbor thought I would rid of it all by 9pm.
Well, 15 minutes later, around 6:30pm was a complete tsunami wave of people. Never in my life did I think my head could become cramped from looking down into a candy bowl for hours on end. Brian kept fevershly re-filling my entirely-too-small candy bowl to keep up with the crowd. I look up. There’s a line. Thank you someone says. More Candy. I look up. There is a full 20-30 person parade happening down the street. They’re all dressed in full Broadway Style Victorian Dresses and Professionally done skeleton faces. One is on stilts? There’s umbrellas and music. It’s like a New Orleans Parade is happening on the street. Oh no, need more candy. I look up again. The line for our front steps has grown. Another sincere ‘thank you’. More candy. I look up again, I can no longer spot my neighbors across the street as the streets are crammed with people. More candy. I look up again. Oh my goodness, there’s police lights. Is everything ok? “Oh yes”, Brian assures me. “You didn’t see them earlier shutting down the streets to vehicle traffic?” “Thank You” says a small voice. More candy. A ballerina. A dinosaur. I look up again. A sweet family welcoming us to the neighborhood. More candy. I look up again. A 4 year old beaming at the dum-dum he grabbed out of my bowl. More candy. More people. Another thank you. More Candy. More thank yous. “the line to our house is 100 people long” Brian tells me. He’s going to the basement to get more candy. A smile. A laugh. More candy. “What time is it????” I ask Brian. “7:15” he says. “is it letting up?” I ask. Brian runs to the end of our street to see the cross section and the parallel road. More Candy. Thank You. A smile. Brian’s back, “it’s insane” he says. “Theres a house that has a full on dance floor and real DJ in the front yard”. “Where are we????” I ask. More Candy. More cute costumes. There’s still a line. More Candy. More Thank Yous. More Candy. More Smiles. My neck is cramping. Like actually cramping from not looking up for so long. LOL. Where am I? More candy. More thank yous. Music. Another parade. “Thank you” says a boisterous child. More candy. “oh I think your son’s new to our preschool” says a kind faced woman. More candy. Neck cramping. More candy. Brian comes running to let me know we’re down to the last couple boxes of candy. The line has eased up a bit. More candy. Another thank you. A break. The first break in over 2 hours. A sigh. A smile. A group of teenagers. More candy. A family dressed as the Incredibles. More candy. A chat with a neighbor. “Can you believe it"? they ask. More candy. The last bowl is filled. A couple neighbors stop by saying they’ve turned off their lights as they’ve ran out of candy. More candy. A group of middle-schoolers. Cinderella. A few pieces of candy left. Our lights turn off. “I’m thristy" I say to Brian. A glass of ice water. A walk down the block. A DJ, a dance floor. A street still filled with people. Smiles. And laughs. A new town. A new home. And a Halloween I will never forget.
That’s the story of Halloween in our new “small” town.
SO…while yes!!! it is entirely too early to be decorating or discussing Halloween. Here I am sharing a story and ordering all the things to patiently store in my basement until our litle, small town, once again turns into a charming, joyful place where candy and neighbors meet and children run safely through the streets. Here’s the items I’m excited to add to our 2023 Halloween House: click images for links
In addition to the ghosts, if there’s only a couple things you invest in, these sheets are a MUST! For years, I’ve searched for those cute sets that I could put on the kids bed year after year, but until now never found any I actually liked. These designed by Rifle Paper are the right amount of fun, but not too cute for the older kids and not too scary for the little ones. This wreath also just arrived and honestly it’s even more adorable in person. Very large and the right amount of whimsy for us. We finally have a front porch and these witches hat will be just the thing.