3 Months

...till Easter. I'm really looking forward to a second year of decorating for this holiday. Baby Holidays will be nearly a year old by then. I'll probably focus on the cherry tree and 'Moses' basket for decorations. More details to come as the time draws near.

Happy New Year!

More Decorations

Mini-Tree on loan from Mother in Law Holidays

Added a little red garland to the fireplace

The Holy Family: courtesy of Mrs. Holidays from back in her undergraduate days as an art major

As you can see, we're going with a more humble display this year as Baby Holidays is keeping us incredibly busy. But maybe that's a good thing since this is the season of profound humility.

One Week Till Christmas

The Wagon of Christmas Cheer is back for its second year

Added some boughs to the Nativity set & St. Nicholas luminary

Cookie Party Canceled

Poor Mrs. Holidays got pretty sick so we had to cancel this year's party. Now, the focus turns to the Blessed holiday.

Christmas Cookie Party

In one week, we'll be hosting our annual Christmas Cookie Party. We'll be adding some more decorations throughout the week. Stay tuned.

Advent Calendar

Courtesy of our very good friend in Germany.  Can you see who's underneath #6?

St. Nicholas Day: Night Video

St. Nicholas Day: Daytime Setup

St. Nicholas Eve Luminary

St. Nicholas Day Coming

St. Nicholas Day is in two days. In honor of the famous 4th century Bishop, I will put out some extra outdoor yard decorations. I'll post some pics & maybe a video as well.

Filling Up

Need to start filling in the middle & lower portions next.

Tree Skirt

I'll be keeping this out on dry days.

1st Wave: Evening Pics

1st Wave: Daytime pics

After Mrs. Holidays, Baby Holidays, and I watch a little of the local Holiday Lights Parade, I'll take some more pics this evening, with the lights on.

1 Week

...till Thanksgiving. The day after, I will launch the first wave of decorations for The Magic Tree. As was the case for Easter and Halloween, I will add more and more as the weeks progress.

Hints

Without giving too much away, I'll just say that 'The Magic Tree' is going to have a lot of light and a lot of ornaments on it. Work on it has already started, in fact. I'm thinking of enhancing it in other ways too. Stay tuned. The fun will begin after Thanksgiving.

The Magic Tree

This will be the theme of our first annual outdoor Christmas display. 

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.

Happy Halloween

It's finally here. Taking the day off of work to set things up for the yard haunt. Looks to be a cold, cloudy, and breezy day with some intermittent showers. Should be great for showing off the lights in the display. It will be Baby Holidays' first Halloween too.

Happy Haunting!

Weather Getting Better

Wind is dying down. Not raining/snowing/sleeting. Halloween Night could be better than expected. Father Holidays and I will start getting to work in the morning.

Halloween Eve

Pretty stormy here due to Sandy. Just hoping the power doesn't go out. Looks like it'll be a cold, wet Halloween tomorrow. Not expecting a record crowd this year.

Halloween Forecast

Day Oct 31

43^°FHigh

Rain

Chance of rain:

70%

Wind:

WNW at 15 mph

Humidity:

86%

UV Index:

2 - Low

Snow:

0 in

Sunrise:

8:00 am

Moonset:

9:40 am

Moonphase:

Waning Gibbous

Rain early... then remaining cloudy with showers in the afternoon. High 43F. Winds WNW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 70%.

Pumpkin Preview

5 Day Forecast

We could handle this, especially considering the East Coast and Mid-Atlantic states will probably be getting hit by the Hallocane/Frankenstorm.

Day Oct 31

41^°FHigh

Showers

Chance of rain:

50%

Wind:

WNW at 16 mph

Humidity:

80%

UV Index:

2 - Low

Sunrise:

8:00 am

Moonset:

9:40 am

Moonphase:

Waning Gibbous

1st Wave

1st Halloween Weather Forecast Is Out

42 degrees, cloudy, 10% chance of rain, light to moderate wind.

This would be a bit chilly, and we wouldn't be able to see the Moon, but it would probably be dry, without a lot of wind, and with the clouds, Spirit Grove's lights would start glowing earlier in the evening.

Definitely a forecast we could live with. We'll wait for the updated 5 day forecast on Saturday.

Preparing the Canvas

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

Fall Leaves

Taken from our backyard. Halloween magic is beginning to enter our world. Can you hear it?

Legend of Sleepy Hollow

Taken from Father in Law Holidays' neck of the woods.

19th Century Village

This evening, Mrs. Holidays, Baby Holidays, and I went back in time to celebrate All Hallow's Eve. We'll definitely be coming back again next year.