New Additions to My Spooky Halloween House & Link Up On the Edge #316
I was never really into Halloween until I had kids. And even then, it wasn’t a holiday that appealed to me. I would indulge all of the children’s costume whims and take them begging for candy even though my preference was always to stay at home and just buy bags of candy for us to enjoy without the door to door beggary. But as the children got older, they became so enthusiastic about Halloween that I could no longer get by with my measly generic attempts at holiday spirit. And when you can’t beat them, I find that joining them is much more rewarding anyway. So join them I did and now we have one of the most decorated homes in our neighborhood. We are striving to become the Griswolds of Halloween!
We began our Halloween porch decorating in 2019 with the giant spider webs and the kids’ carved jack-o-lanterns. The following year, we transformed our unicorn, cow, and gorilla costume heads into gory hanging animal heads that swing from a hula hoop attached to the front porch ceiling. Last year, we added the spooky inflatable clown and skulls and the tombstones. Then we borrowed the creepy soldier skeleton from Jeff’s co-worker (which he loaned to us again this year). In keeping with our annual tradition of adding a few new Halloween decorations each year, this year we added the two smaller posable skeletons, the giant furry spider, and the purple and orange twinkle porch lights.
The more we add each year, the more fun compliments we receive around the neighborhood. Last year, we even won a prize in a community Halloween porch contest hosted by a young boy from our neighborhood. He is so cute! He has a Facebook page for all of the Halloween houses and then he picks his top 3 favorite ones and delivers a giant bag of candy to each of those houses. I do hope he does it again this year because it is such a wonderful way to bring our community together in celebration of things that spread joy and happiness!
Do you celebrate Halloween? Do you decorate and dress up? What Halloween traditions do you have?
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Keeping it on the edge,
Shelbee
Joining these Fabulous Link Parties.
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
I am a midlife woman, wife, and stay-at-home mother of 2 boys and 2 cats. I have a passion for helping other women feel fabulous in the midst of this crazy, beautiful life.
48 Comments
Pamela
Your house looks fabulous and everyone appears to take part and enjoy the festival. But I have to admit I have never enjoyed Hallowe’en, I’m a complete wuss and can’t bear anything spooky. Fortunately, it’s not a big holiday over here! My husband always says I expect everything to be rainbows and unicorns!!
Pamela
http://www.style-yourself-confident.com
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Pamela! Oh, I much prefer rainbows and unicorns over Halloween spookiness and gore! But these boys of mine do like all the creepy stuff! I can tolerate the creepy as long as it is all fun and silly and completely over the top ridiculous. Once we get into true Halloween horror, I am out! I will be looking for rainbows and unicorns to save me.
xoxo
Shelbee
Jill
We used to go all out for Halloween decorations when our daughter was younger but haven’t in a few years. I love all of your spooky decor! Your porch and yard look great!
Jill – Doused in Pink
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Jill! I suspect we will probably stop decorating when the kids get older, too. But it is super fun for now! Have a wonderful weekend!
xoxo
Shelbee
Jennifer
Really love the decor!
Jennifer
Curated by Jennifer
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks, Jennifer! Have a fabulous weekend!
xoxo
Shelbee
Natasha Mairs
Thank you so much for featuring my top 10 decorated pumpkin post
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
It was my pleasure, Natasha! Thanks so much for joining the party. I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
xoxo
Shelbee
Michelle
Oh Shelbee this is fantastic! Halloween is one of my favorite holidays because of the decorations. And the kids are really cute in their costumes. That said, we don’t celebrate in any way. Grandkids live on the west coast, and being on the edge of town, we don’t get any trick or treaters. So I appreciate you sharing all of your scary goodness!
Michelle
https://mybijoulifeonline.com
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Aw, thanks, Michelle! We have tons of kids in our neighborhood and get a constant flow of trick or treaters for the entire 3 hour duration. We always run out of candy before it’s over though! I suppose I should learn to buy more candy, but everything is so darn expensive right now! Happy Halloween!
xoxo
Shelbee
Laura Bambrick
This looks awesome! If I were a kid, I would definitely want to go trick or treating there!
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Aw, thanks, Laura! We also play spooky Halloween music outside on trick or treat night which is really fun! My neighborhood has tons of kids, too, so we get lots and lots of visitors!
xoxo
Shelbee
Di
Love your spooky decorations, Shelbee! I’ll bet it’s so much fun for your kids and the neighborhood. Enjoy your week and thanks for sharing!
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Di! I really appreciate that. We have definitely have fun with this holiday!
xoxo
Shelbee
Nancy
Oh how I love Halloween. Such a pity we don’t do a thing about that here. I love horror. And the way you decorated your home! What a joy!!
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Aw, thanks so much, Nancy! It is so much fun! I wonder why Americans are the only ones who go all out on Halloween. It doesn’t seem to be a thing anywhere else in the world!
xoxo
Shelbee
Sally in St Paul
That is so much fun, Shelbee. Loving the skeletons in camo and the big-ass spider webs!
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks, Sally! We have so much fun with our Halloween house. Next year I want to get an even bigger spider for on the roof!
xoxo
Shelbee
Rosemary Davis
Great Halloween decor!🧙♀️🎃 It’s easy to see that your house is a fun place to be on Halloween!
Rosemary
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Rosemary! We do have a lot of fun with it. I also like to play Halloween music on the porch during trick or treat. That’s always fun and it draws more kids our way when they hear the creepy music playing!
xoxo
Shelbee
Pat
Wow Shelbee, your house looks so festive for Halloween! My grandchildren would love to visit for Trick or Treat!
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Pat! My favorite part of Halloween is seeing all the excited kids in their creative costumes. Send all the kids to my house! Happy Halloween!
xoxo
Shelbee
Joanne
Your decor is fabulous! We don’t do anything to celebrate Halloween as I’m pretty sure my boys only dressed up to get candy (much like I did as a kid!). It has never been a favorite holiday as I tend to scare pretty easily.
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks, Joanne! I scare much too easily as well which is why we keep our creepy decorations fairly mild and more on the silly side than the scary side. I never enjoyed trick or treating as a kid because I thought it was weird to knock on strangers’ doors and take candy from them! I would much rather just go buy the candy I like and enjoy it quietly at home. I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
xoxo
Shelbee
Mica Away From The Blue
We don’t decorate for Halloween or do trick or treating here in Australia but it does look very fun! Your decorations are adorable!
Thank you for the link up! Hope you are having a great start to your weekend 🙂
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Mica! I think Halloween really is a very American holiday for some reason! We have fun with it, for sure. I hope you have a lovely weekend.
xoxo
Shelbee
Julie
Ohh I’m loving all this wonderful Halloween decor! Epsecially the spooky solider. I wonder if hubby has an old no longer standard issue uniform we can use to do something similar.
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks, Julie! Old Army gear is so great for things like this! Although some people have expressed mild offense to our soldier skeleton. But I figure if it was my husband’s idea and he is not offended as a retired soldier then it should be okay. We are bound to offend some people with anything we do anyway! Happy Halloween!
xoxo
Shelbee
Marsha Banks
I am not a big fan of Halloween (long story…I’ll have to email you sometime). But, I can always appreciate a Griswold decorating job for any holiday! I think it’s fun you all are involved in the decorating! I bet your boys’ friends think you’re the coolest mom ever! Thanks for the link party!
https://marshainthemiddle.com/
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
A Griswold anything is bound to be fun, right?! Haha. We should set up a video chat sometime so we can share our long stories with each other! Just because we can’t have a coffee date in person, doesn’t mean we can’t have a virtual coffee date! And I don’t know what my kids’ friends think of me. They seem to like my house though because they always want to be here!
xoxo
Shelbee
Tamar Strauss-Benjamin
So fun! The web is awesome.
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks, Tamar! Have a wonderful weekend!
xoxo
Shelbee
jess jannenga
I love your decor and yes, that clown is spooky! Reminds me of “It” by Stephen King! You guys have done it up! I am sure I would feel that way if I had kids- get more into it . We had fun last year, sitting outside and passing out candy and dressing up the dogs. I can’t sit long now, so we will have to see how it goes this year.
enjoy your weekend!
jess xx
http://www.elegantlydressedandstylish.com
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Jess! I love when you get the pups all dressed up for Halloween! That is so cute and so fun. What a bummer that you are still experiencing pain when you sit. Sitting is one of my favorite activities! Continuing to send healing energy your way, my friend.
xoxo
Shelbee
Jeremy@ThirstyDaddy
Looks awesome. The candy is great of course, but one of our favorite parts of trick or treating is checking out the decorations people put up around the neighborhood #pocolo
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Jeremy! Oh, I do love the candy as well but my favorite part is checking out all the costumes when the kids come around on trick or treat night. We have some very creative folks in our neighborhood! And we do also love driving around looking at the house decorations. Happy Halloween!
xoxo
Shelbee
Patrick Weseman
That so very cool. I love it even though I am not a Halloween person. I know that your house is the best on the block.
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks, Patrick! Our house is fun but there are some folks in my neighborhood that take it to the next level!
xoxo
Shelbee
Lizzie
I LOVE your decor! It looks so good! Definitely gets me in the Halloween spirirt 🙂
Lizzie
http://www.lizzieinlace.com
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Lizzie! Happy Halloween!
xoxo
Shelbee
Lauren Renee Sparks
I love a theme – and seasonal decorating/ dressing, etc. I’m glad I’m not alone!
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Aw, thanks, Lauren! It’s fun to be festive and silly!
xoxo
Shelbee
Emma Peach
How fun! I love your spooky decor! Thanks so much for featuring me Shelbee!
Emma xxx
http://www.style-splash.com
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Emma! It was my pleasure to feature you. Have a lovely day!
xoxo
Shelbee
Suzy Turner
Last year, we had a surplus of pumpkins, so we decided to turn them into jack o lanterns which we lit a few evening around Halloween. It was fun, but this year, we’re in a different house and don’t have any pumpkins growing in the garden lol. We also don’t have kids, as you know lol, so there’s no-one to encourage us to decorate. However, when we move into our new house in a couple of years, I hope to decorate every holiday throughout the year lol!!
I just LOVE your house decor for Halloween. It’s freaking amazing!!
Big hugs
Suzy xx
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Suzy, thanks so much, my friend! You don’t need kids to get inspired for festive decorations! Although it does help to have the children prompting us. Haha. Our plan is to live a bit more remotely once the kids move out so we may stop decorating then. If there’s no one around to see it deep in the woods in our future mountain home, I guess there’s no point to it. Unless…we turn the whole place into a spooky haunted experience deep in the mountain woods! Happy Halloween!
xoxo
Shelbee
Michelle
Oh wow, this looks so fun! I love the huge spider webs on your porch – I wish porches were popular here in the UK as I know I would decorate them hard!! Popping by from Sunday Sunshine Blog Hop 🙂
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Aw, thanks so much, Michelle! We really have a lot of fun with our Halloween decorations! We drove around last night looking at other houses to get some ideas for what to add next year. I really want a humongous spider for the roof but the kids want a 12 foot skeleton! Maybe we will get both! Happy Halloween!
xoxo
Shelbee