Plans and Radio Show

Taking photos of the faux pumpkins that haven't been carved. Picking them up at post Halloween sales, Goodwill, and garage sales. Getting harder to find older uncarved faux pumpkins in the wild. Working on possible designs for next year.

Found one more short one after the group photo. The 3 in back have base coats and a little color or distressing. We also ordered some larger pumpkins from Funkins last year. The scarecrow head has now been out for many seasons and is showing some wear. We ordered 2 possible large replacements.

Throughline on NPR has been playing the history of Halloween episode from 2021. The 50 minute episode, The Dance of the Dead, you can listen to here. It is kind of fun to relive the late 70s and 80s with the cultural changes in how Halloween is celebrated now.

Behind the scenes

A rare sunny moment on the graveyard. That fence was really only meant to survive the pouring rain of last Halloween. This year we have some delamination. Fingers crossed we might build a more sturdy fence and add a new grave next year.

Looking down from the window where the skeletons dance. Scraps from the same pink foam the gravestones are carved from keeps the faux pumpkins looking in the right direction. I use elastic to attach the pumpkins. Gives them some movement in the wind. If the wind blows one over the elastic keeps them from falling. Shelves from a 4 shelf unit sold at Lowe's allow for drainage and the correct height.

Template used for gravestone placement. The template is used to get the correct placement for the rebar. The gravestones have PVC pipe inside that slip over the rebar. The gravestone base slips over the rebar first.

In this photo photo the template was put back on to make sure the rebar was at the correct angle. Then the gravetsone slips on and nestles in the base. The bases are cut at an angle for the steep bank.

We took more video than photos this year as the only new items were the projection and the big pumpkin stack on the far side of the house. The Halloween album can be found here.

Mr. Old Fashion Halloween is retiring next summer. We are pushing back the post Halloween blues by talking about budget and plans for Halloween 2024. I hope you all had a great season. Today I start taking down the inside decorations.

That's a wrap on Halloween 2023

155 toy and candy treat bages went quickly. Moved on to candy, pretzels, and rice crispy treats. Lost track as some kids got more then 1 treat. Best guess is between 225-250 trick or treating folks. We closed up shop at 9:30. It was a really great night.