Halloween in the U.K

13331 Views 178 Replies 50 Participants Last post by hallorenescene, Nov 7, 2011

thatguycraig

Discussion Starter · Jul 27, 2009

hey guys - new the the forums..... OMGdan had me join who is a bit of a regular on here....

i gotta say, im excited as hell.... I want to be making stuff for halloween.... thinkin of custumes and such.... and thinkin of what cool stuff we can make for the TOT and the party at OMGdan's house. Last year i had a big party with load of ppl there, but we are going to "combine forces" this year and make summot big.... I'll put pic of on last year when i remember...

but it would be nice to see how many u.k forum members are out there and would be better if you would post pics of your parties/ TOT set ups etc... not excluding any other nationalities, of course.... just like to see... as we are wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy behand the americans in this holiday get up!

101 - 120 of 179 Posts

Mister P

· #101 · Jul 16, 2011

Scry said:
I may take you up on that offer, if you need any graphics doing for the event, i.e. posters etc. just pm me portfolio: http://pstrong.daportfolio.com/ free of course.

funny you should say that.

the venue has offered a facility to sell tickets online, at no extra cost, so potentially opening the event up to a larger audience. a local fancy dress retailer offered 10% for everyone who downloaded a voucher I designed, and they offered to place flyers in their store, but last year it was purely a private party.
So yes, I was hoping to design a simple flyer/poster for this purpose.

I'll pm you soon.
superb

Kristoffer

· #102 · Jul 17, 2011

halloween_sucks_in_the_uk said:
Have you travelled to the U.S a lot or do you order online? I've never been to the U.S, I'd love to visit a spirit halloween store over there. I'd think I'd died and gone to heaven.

Boo - yes, every year we go at the end of September either to Florida or to Massachusetts.

Its incredible and quite a sight for a Brit! Last time was touch and go if we bring everything back! We nearly had to come back by ship!!!

They have some incredible craft stores, one is called Micahel's, there is a thread in the general forum where folk have posted some pictures, the other is A C Moore, amazing stuff in those shops. Then of course, there is Spirit Halloween, which are huge and amazing! Alas, one needs a mortgage and a ship!

thatguycraig

Discussion Starter · #103 · Jul 18, 2011

Kristoffer said:
I was in Poundland today and overhead a conversation some of the staff were having about halloween - looks like our local branch is going to be getting rid of last years surplus stock before bringing in the new stuff.

So, ok, it may not be the best stuff going, but for a quid it aint bad, I got a load of spider web type lace cloth last year which looked really cool in displays.

krist - i actually started a thred about it last year - halloween in the ul pt. 2.... (it didnt take off) but it was about the stuff in the pound shops.

i got loads of stuff and it was pretty decient too - i mena its not like the americans, but you cant complain for the amount of halloween candles, signs, webs, jelloy window stickers, scene setters etc... its pretty decent!

thatguycraig

Discussion Starter · #104 · Jul 18, 2011

Mister P said:
thanks.
yes I have completely set this up on my own..well, with the aid of my good lady lol.
I did a house party about 2 years ago, my first ever halloween party at all (yes, never even attended one at primary school)
the year after I did the first Monsters Ball in 2010. we had 84 people attend who all paid £5 each to help me cover the costs of venue hire etc.
this year, 2011, will be my 2nd attempt. If i can pull it off the way i have it listed on that website, I'll be sooooooooo proud of myself. My work have nset up a charity foundation that they hope staff will take the initiative and organise events and activities to put money into th echarity pot. the Monsters Ball 2011 will be my contribution with all profits being given to charity.
Im hoping to attract 150-200 people at £10 per head. dunno if I'll get anywhere near that amount but gonna try lol..

sounds good!!

ive not read all the in's and out's of what your doin, but i would be scared about a £10 entry fee... lets hope theres a lot of enthusiasts wanting to come, and the best of luck with it!

thatguycraig

Discussion Starter · #105 · Jul 18, 2011

Mister P said:
if anyone in the UK is up for making the journey (maybe make a weekend of it) I'd be more than happy to send a few sets of complimentary tickets.

also - that is VERY kind of you!! If i can find the time off work, a babysitter, and the cash of course lol... i may think about that!

many thanks mister p

halloween_sucks_in_the_uk

· #106 · Jul 18, 2011

Just found this ..woah at their prices!! lol their models are terrible they don't even look like the celebs! like a bad blackpool waxworks I once visited.
http://www.lifesize-models.co.uk/category.php?cat_id=203&page=1

Kristoffer

· #107 · Jul 18, 2011

halloween_sucks_in_the_uk said:
Just found this ..woah at their prices!! lol their models are terrible they don't even look like the celebs! like a bad blackpool waxworks I once visited.
http://www.lifesize-models.co.uk/category.php?cat_id=203&page=1

Gosh, their prices are shocking - I quite like a couple of the Tombstones though, they look good and sturdy, not flimsy like some of the polystyrene ones.

We have a few Fibreglass and resin mix Tombstones, and they are incredibly better quality and stand up well even in a good wind.

halloween_sucks_in_the_uk

· #108 · Jul 19, 2011

Kristoffer said:
Gosh, their prices are shocking - I quite like a couple of the Tombstones though, they look good and sturdy, not flimsy like some of the polystyrene ones.

We have a few Fibreglass and resin mix Tombstones, and they are incredibly better quality and stand up well even in a good wind.

I liked the tombstones too, they look much nicer than the polystyrene ones. I just had a nosey at your link. I'll be buying your book when it's released in October

Kristoffer

· #109 · Jul 19, 2011

halloween_sucks_in_the_uk said:
I liked the tombstones too, they look much nicer than the polystyrene ones. I just had a nosey at your link. I'll be buying your book when it's released in October

Why thank you HSITUK ;-)

thatguycraig

Discussion Starter · #110 · Jul 20, 2011

jesus - just from the first page im shocked at the prices!

freudstein

· #111 · Jul 20, 2011

Kristoffer said:
I was in Poundland today and overhead a conversation some of the staff were having about halloween - looks like our local branch is going to be getting rid of last years surplus stock before bringing in the new stuff.

So, ok, it may not be the best stuff going, but for a quid it aint bad, I got a load of spider web type lace cloth last year which looked really cool in displays.

They actually do stock some pretty decent stuff in there. For the past few years, I have spent at least £10 a year in there.
I got some really cool party plates and napkins a few years ago, havent seen any more of them since, but they were a big hit with my friends!
We all know we arent going to find Halloween masterpieces in there, but a bit og creativiy can go a long way. And the smaller items can fill gaps around the house!
Agreed also, it doesn't hurt to stock up on more webbing!

B & M Bargains also have some pretty good stock in too sometimes. I check it out every year since I've been hosting/going to parties.

Kristoffer

· #112 · Jul 20, 2011

freudstein said:
They actually do stock some pretty decent stuff in there. For the past few years, I have spent at least £10 a year in there.
I got some really cool party plates and napkins a few years ago, havent seen any more of them since, but they were a big hit with my friends!
We all know we arent going to find Halloween masterpieces in there, but a bit og creativiy can go a long way. And the smaller items can fill gaps around the house!
Agreed also, it doesn't hurt to stock up on more webbing!

B & M Bargains also have some pretty good stock in too sometimes. I check it out every year since I've been hosting/going to parties.

Yeah, I agree, for the price of a few quid, you can get some nice little space fillers in there. I got a load of plastic skulls from one of the £1 shops last year, there was around 4 or 5 in a little bag, tacky little things, but I painted them up like Mexican Day of the Dead style, they looked lovely.

Plus, its pretty good for packs of glow sticks, which I use to illuminate our Funkins which we hang in the trees outside the house.

Wilkinsons was not so good here last year, but I was surprised at the finds in Home Bargains, they had bags of bones and all sorts of cheap goodies that could be used.

Perhaps one day we will see the likes of "Spirit", now that would be amazing!

Mister P

· #113 · Jul 20, 2011

last year I bought a huge polystyrene skull from Clintons cards. think it was about £7. looked great and had it on top of a bass speaker at my halloween bash. someone nicked it

as well as my £14 silicon mask that was on a manequin, another couple of skulls and bits n pieces.
I'll know next time!!!

Mister P

· #114 · Jul 20, 2011

actually, Im sure I also bought a couple of masks from Asda for ony about £3 each. stuck a baloon inside them to hold them up, a couple of fake eyeballs for £1 also from asda and the head looked fabby.
masks for £60+ I dont really think is worth it for the kind of purposes we're likely to be using them for.

maybe Im just cheap lol.

Xane

· #115 · Jul 21, 2011

Well a pound is worth more than a dollar ($1.61 today) so they have the advantage of "getting more money" while still being able to use the number 1.

Honestly I'm waiting to see how long it will take for US dollar stores to become $1.99 stores. I've noticed they don't have as much in the way of name brand items as they used to. Eventually they won't even be able to get the Chinese stuff cheap enough to sell for $1.

thatguycraig

Discussion Starter · #116 · Jul 22, 2011

Kristoffer said:
Perhaps one day we will see the likes of "Spirit", now that would be amazing!

now that would be nice to see!

halloween_sucks_in_the_uk

· #117 · Jul 22, 2011

Just read this online, wow some of the attitudes towards Halloween absolutely stink! what a bunch of miserable sods.

http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1396175&page=2

thatguycraig

Discussion Starter · #118 · Jul 26, 2011

halloween_sucks_in_the_uk said:
Just read this online, wow some of the attitudes towards Halloween absolutely stink! what a bunch of miserable sods.

http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1396175&page=2

booooooooooo although my mum dont aswer her door either... lol

yyx99

· #119 · Aug 21, 2011

i am looking at starting up a prop building business in the uk.

have a look at our 1stprop MIAB, how much would you pay for one. lots of ideas on other props and how we are going to build them.

ground breakers
trashcan trauma,
all using pneumatics

what do you think

froodle

· #120 · Aug 21, 2011

I'm in the Isle of Man, but the last ten Halloweens have been spent in Leeds. Leeds pretty much sucked for Halloween - we had a TK Maxx which had a few decent (though very expensive) things, but ASDA and Wilkinsons were abominable the last few years and Poundland was, well, Poundland. There were a few Halloween events aimed at students, but it was mostly the usual "hey let's see how fast we can get drunk" things, except people wore headbands with horns on them.

I would usually have a few friends over and we'd play spooky-themed boardgames and wear costumes and watch movies and eat Halloween-themed food, but it was about half-a-dozen of us and I never heard about anyone else doing similar things.

Now that I;m back home, we have the Hop-Tu-Naa festival, which is kind of a Halloween/Harvest festival combo. There's a Halloween train this year and two Halloween balls, though sadly both on the same night, poor effort. We have a haunted mansion that's been turned into an amazing resturant and a fairly entry-level museum, and they're doing Halloween tours this year too, which should be fun.

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