The new Halloween catalogs seem to come earlier each year, as the industry second only to Christmas takes off like a witch on her broomstick for another season. Right behind the back-to-school gear in the big retailers is the Halloween Hauntquarters section, which gets bigger each year.
Outdoor Halloween Décor
Stores like Wal-Mart, KMart, and even your local grocery stores are definitely worth checking for things like inexpensive gravestones for your homemade cemetery, orange and purple lights, haunted music CDs, strobe lights, fog machines etc. All these things are great for creating an eerie effect outside. But if you really want to scare the costumes off a few trick-or-treaters, you’ll want to check retailers like Grandinroad, or Fright Catalog. Window silhouettes are an inexpensive way to create a spooky effect- light them from behind with yellow bug light bulbs. New this year are some huge window spiders that would have a nice effect. Normally the outdoor inflatables are cheesy, but they are getting better; this year there’s an oversized black cat that is pretty cool.
Indoor Halloween Décor
Creating the Haunted Mansion of your childhood Disney dreams? Start by taking down all of your ‘regular’ décor- photos, knick-knacks etc. Black creepy cloth (available from most Halloween retailers or online at Fright Catalog) is the least expensive way to ‘spookify’ a room. The spiderwebs in bags can be effective if used sparingly – the black ones look better than the white.
Get a few oversized spiders to ‘parent’ those tiny ones. Inexpensive wall mural decorations are available from many retailers to add a grave scene to your party room. Replace light bulbs with black lights. Buy a Midnight Syndicate (on Amazon.com) CD for spooky music- the “Halloween Music” CDs are often cheesy. It’s all about mood; use candlelight everywhere. Again, Grandinroad has the best collection of indoor entertaining accents – new serving plates, goblets, animated effects and lighting are fantastic this year.
Animatronics
Your Halloween imagination is limited only by your budget. Fright Catalog has animated spaceships that will float over your house (a cool $29,000.00 plus $2950.00 for shipping- scary, huh?) or a “Shake 'n' Bake” life-sized guy getting electrocuted ($7100). People rising from coffins, witches taking off from the ground – if you can imagine it (and feel like cashing in your kid’s college fund) – it exists. Paying a live teenager to spook people from a window? Much cheaper.
Read about creative Halloween costumes, Halloween parties for grown-ups, or some music for your Halloween party.
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