What can I say, I like decorating my yard for Halloween! We live near an elementary school, so the effort totally pays off in appreciation from little children.
When I first started decorating for Halloween years ago, no one else in the neighborhood was playing along. Nowadays I’ve got the next-door neighbors making a point of out-doing me and a good number of the houses all the way down the block getting into the spooky spirit!
My cornerstone decoration is Headless Mr. Man. He sits out on the front porch every year and probably startles me and my living, breathing Mr. Man more than everyone else (what is that guy doing on my front porch?!). Originally, Mr. Man did not appreciate the awesomeness of some of his old clothes stuffed with newspaper sitting in a chair, but one day a junior high kid walking to school let him know it was cool and since then I get slightly less grief from him about it.
I used to make a point of putting all my decorations out at once and then that was it. This year, I’m taking it a bit slower because I don’t want to put out the gravestones until I get the witch who crashed into the wisteria bush fleshed out a little bit better.
Next door apparently has a giant spider invasion. This guy will probably catch himself a kindergartener or two before the month is over. Come to think of it, I haven’t seen my neighbor much recently. Hmmm…
Now, I’m going to show you some photos of my all-time favorite decorations. I thought this house was the BEST and would go out of my way to drive by as often as possible. I mean, this shipwreck! You should have seen it at night! There were lights and a fan – I mean the wind – that would whip through the tattered sails.
This was the next year:
I always wanted to stop by or send them a card letting them know how much I appreciated their AWESOME decorations, but I never did. And they moved away. I still wish that I had taken a moment to let them know.
Maybe someday, I will have an incredible pirate shipwreck and sea monster in my front yard. I’ll add it to my list of things to do in-between things.
Your blog was great fun and with a lesson in the post.
I now know those little messages we tend to put off should be done when we think of them.
Right? It doesn’t really take that long to do.