Let there be light!

Spirit Grove I featured 65 luminaries. Spirit Grove II: an enchanted forest had 32. This year, Spirit Grove III: advent of the coven could have up to 100. And instead of just orange luminaries, there will be an array of colors to accentuate the magical ambience.

These 12 will be converted into purple luminaries and hung on the tall cherry tree in the front yard

100 Candles

Just bought some submersible, led battery-operated tea lights for the Easter Egg hunt luminaries. This is the second batch of tea lights I've purchased from 100 Candles. The first batch was a big hit in last year's Spirit Grove II: an enchanted forest. 100 Candles is a first-rate company.

The Second Showing

Part 2 Coming Saturday

We will light up and fog up Spirit Grove one more time this coming Saturday for friends, family, and children who were not able to celebrate Halloween on its official day due to the inclement weather. First time we've ever done this, so it should be fun!

Late Into Trick or Treat

Early Into Trick or Treat

Right Before Trick or Treat Started

133 Trick or Treaters

Pretty amazing considering the weather was cold, windy, and rainy. 'Spirit Grove: an enchanted forest' proved to be our best yard haunt to date.

1st Wave

Preparing the Canvas

Did almost an hour and a half of raking and mowing in Spirit Grove today. Ready to launch on Thursday.

Revised Decorating Schedule

Weather-dependent, but here's a revised schedule:

Wednesday, October 24- Father & Stepmother Holidays arrive

Thursday, October 25- Tombstones, ghosts, sign

Saturday, October 27- Spray paint/glitter trees & basket; carve Jack o' lanterns

Wednesday, October 31- Leaves, Lanterns, Branches, Bouquets, Enchantress, Gnome, Fog Machine, Dry Ice, Jackos, Music, Candy

It Has Begun

Put out the first decorations for Spirit Grove II: an enchanted forest.

3 Weeks

...till the decorating begins.  Yesterday, Mother in Law Holidays and I dragged some fallen branches into the front yard to start building up the grove.

Fairy Tale

Recently, I've been listening to music which helps get the creative juices flowing for Spirit Grove II: an enchanted forest. Thought 'Fairy Tale', by Nox Arcana, was compatible with the theme.

75 Days

till All Hallow's Eve. 45 days till the first yard haunt decorations go out.  Spirit Grove II: an enchanted forest is fast approaching.

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Basket

Picked this up in someone's curbside trash pile while taking a walk during the evening yesterday.  Not sure exactly how we'll implement it in Spirit Grove 2: an enchanted forest, but it's so unique, we'll figure something out. Maybe we can build a wire arm & hand for the enchantress and fill it with lanterns for her to carry. Or, what if she carried some black fruit in it? Or, what about putting a bunch of dead bouquets in it for her to carry, as if she was putting them on each tombstone?  Or, we could just put the basket down on the ground, by the enchantress, filled with any of the aforementioned items. Building a wire limb may be pretty difficult.

I'll spray paint the leaves black and add some glitter

100 Days

till All Hallow's Eve. 70 days till the first decoration goes out for Spirit Grove II: an enchanted forest. 2 weeks or less before the first Halloween decorations start hitting the stores.

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New Additions

While Mrs. Holidays and I were taking a walk through the neighborhood on Sunday, we noticed a family throwing out some old Halloween stuff on the curb for trash pickup.  We strolled over and lo and behold, there were 4 small tombstones and some black garland.  This brings our tombstone count to 16 for Spirit Grove II: an enchanted forest. I will also use the garland in the display.  Last year, Mother in Law Holidays found a mannequin in someone's trash pile, which we used as the enchantress for Spirit Grove I.

Halloween Tree

Maybe I'll have to end up going with purple lights on the two artificial trees in this year's yard haunt. Then, I could use the clear Bethlehem lights on the enchantress.  As a result, I or CFO Holidays wouldn't have to purchase any orange string lights. Originally, I was thinking of using all orange lights for Spirit Grove II: an enchanted forest, but these purple lights are striking, and we have purple-looking lights from Spirit Grove I.

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6 Months Till Halloween

Can you believe it? 6 months have already passed since Halloween 2011.  At that time, Mrs. Holidays was about 4 months pregnant with Pee Wee in the Womb Holidays. 6 months later, Baby Holidays is 4 weeks old.

Last year's Halloween yard haunt was dubbed "Spirit Grove", and as usual, the outdoor display was graciously hosted by Mother-in-Law Holidays.  Grandmother Holidays was in attendance for her first yard haunt, and Father & Stepmother Holidays made the long trip out to help with the festivities. I believe it was Father Holidays' first yard haunt. He helped set up the display and cut dry ice. Stepmother Holidays, a Halloween buff, helped set up the display and counted all the trick-or-treaters.

We had a record 215 trick-or-treaters, even with some passing wind gusts and rain showers. In 2010, we had 148 trick-or-treaters with our "Wild West" theme, and in 2009, we had 210 trick-or-treaters with our classic Halloween theme.

My close friend arranged a splendid playlist of ambient-type music, which added a mystical feel to the event. This year, we will be largely repeating last year's theme, with a few, strategic alterations.  Officially speaking, the title of this year's Halloween yard haunt will be "Spirit Grove II: an enchanted forest".

So, without further ado, here are some pictures with commentary mixed in.

A frontal view. This year, I'm thinking that I might bring the tombstones in a bit closer to the walkway for a more intimate feel. In addition, I'd like to buy some orange, submersible tea lights to put in the 8 hanging lanterns leading up to the door so that I can have dry ice bubbling over the top of each one. I'd also like to rake up most of the leaves for a more pristine, intentional-looking appearance.

 

 

 

  

 

Left frontal view. Can you see the enchantress?

Right frontal view. This year, I'd like to put two artificial trees behind a couple of these tombstones. It will help to balance a 'leftside-heavy' display. I'm also thinking that, since Mother in Law Holidays had planned on throwing away the trees anyway, I might spray paint the leaves black, put some glitter on the leaves, and hang a few Halloween ornaments on them.

Right side. Last year, I bought 50 lbs of dry ice. This year, I'm going with 100 lbs since the yard is so large. I'm also going to take Father Holidays' advice and start pumping the majority of the dry ice as it begins to get dark, which is about an hour into Trick or Treat night.

In front of the door, right before trick-or-treating began. This year, I'm thinking that I might use our two fog machines by the door so that the dry ice can be focused on the yard. I'd also like to hang several lanterns on the bushes next to the front door for added light.

Looking out to the right from the front door. The hooded enchantress was a manequin that Mother in Law Holidays found on the side of the street. This year, I'd like to tape some orange or clear Bethlehem lights to her cape to really highlight her. I'd also like to move her closer to the walkway & tombstones.

Mother in Law Holidays bound up some dead flowers from her backyard garden and leaned them up against each tombstone. I'd like to spray the bouquets with glitter this year for a more enchanted appearance.

Same picture as above, but with the flash on. Most of the tombstones were reused from the 2010 Wild West haunt, but with the help of two friends visiting from Germany, we added a few extra. One thing I'm considering for this year is laying out a couple of strands of orange lights on the ground around the tombstones. With more dry ice and fewer leaves, this might make for a sparkly display. Or, I might just put the lights on the two artificial trees.

Blurry, I know, but gives you a sense of the glowing lights at night. We had 65 lanterns (glass jars), each with a single battery-operated tea light inside. This year, I'm thinking of buying about 40 more tealights, so that I can put two in each lantern for a greater glow. Also this year, there probably won't be any purple lights. The vast majority, if not all the lights, will be orange.

Last year, we had 6 bats and 6 ghosts hanging from the trees. We'll do the same thing this year, except I'd like to hang some of them closer to the ground, right above a few of the tombstones if possible. Also, instead of putting so many of the lanterns on the ground, I'd also like to hang some of them from the trees to give the appearance that they are floating in the air.

Our faithful, but disarticulated Blucky.

A view from the front door. Can you see all the cars & vans pulling up? Father Holidays had his hands full passing out candy last year. This year, he'll have Baby Holidays snuggled up next to his chest, as he doles out the goodies. Hopefully, Baby Holidays will be in a good mood for the big event.

As visitors streamed up the walkway all night, Grandmother Holidays and the crowd of family & friends gathered around her, got to watch the spectacle from the sun room behind the bushes.

A view from across the street. The kids just kept coming and coming. Truth be told, we'd do our annual yard haunt whether 5 or 250 trick-or-treaters showed up. It's just so much fun to see all the kids and their families enjoy the display.

'Spirit Grove II: an enchanted forest' should be even more fun this year as we fine-tune things a bit. Grandmother Holidays will hopefully be in attendance again. Father Holidays and Stepmother Holidays will once again make the cross-country trek to participate in the festivities. Baby Holidays will get to experience his first Halloween outside of the womb, and Mrs. Holidays will not be dealing with exhaustion and "morning sickness". And once again, Mother in Law Holidays will solidify her beloved status as a beacon of community camaraderie, exquisite artistry, and Halloween spirit.