What's your Halloween game plan?

For me, it all depends on if I'm planning any big changes or not. If I'm sticking with my graveyard, skeletons, ghosts, etc. then I don't do much in the way of planning or buying. All I have to do is some general tweaking and rearranging to keep things fresh, maybe try some new lighting techniques - one thing I've yet to be completely happy with - and I'm good to go. That's what I did last year. Where's the fun in that, you ask? Well, there isn't any! Not much, anyway. So this year I am changing things up and instead of the traditional graveyard I'm going with Nightmare Before Christmas. Mostly because it's a great chance to put my artistic skills to work, which I haven't done in the last few years, and I really need that right now. So, when do I start? Right about now! I have a lot of drawing, painting, and pumpkin carving to do so I plan to get going in the next few days.
One thing I try to be careful about though, is planning too early. I've learned in the past that if I plan a whole new theme and start on it before mid to late summer, I'm likely to be sick of it before October. Timing is everything! I could never be a year round haunter, for that reason alone.

We usually start seriously talking about what we're going to do in late spring, however this year we started in March and immediately began working on those projects we had decided on. Our plan was to casually work on them throughout the year, so we weren't swamped in the last 2 months prior to HW. I'll let you know how well that works out in November. We have already culled down the projects list, as it was too much to do.

We decorate the front yard and the entire lower level of our house, as well as some in the backyard for the main party. We've also made the wonderful decision to change all the decor every year, so no two years are the same. We may use the same props, but used in a different manner. That makes for more work, and I wonder how long we'll keep doing that before we decide to make some scenes reoccurring. My hope is that we'll eventually have enough stuff to work with that we don't have to keep making everything from scratch, but that's still a few years away, I think.

In the beginning of October, I start writing my checklists for showtime, which is a list of things that need to be done in order to bring it all together (light torches, turn on outside lights, turn on outside audio, turn on thunder and lightning, etc.). If I didn't have this checklist, I'd forget too many key parts.

Because we started this year in March, we've been hitting the thrift stores looking for things to use as props or make into props. That's made it a little easier, as we can spread out the expenditures and only have to hit one or two stores a week.

When I first started (2010) I would make purchases in September and spend about 4-6 weeks assembling items for display. Through the years my displays have grown a lot more complex so it takes me most of the year for planning and production (unfortunately I work solo - no help yet). I plan each haunt a year in advance so I have time to purchase materials before they are no longer stocked. To save time I try to use pre-made (off-the-shelf) items as much as possible and modify them (example: black plastic cauldron = purgatory cauldron, reference original post at http://www.halloweenforum.com/halloween-props/147907-bubbling-cauldron-skull-base-2-0-a.html).

My themes are usually based on Halloween / Horror related literature, art or cinema. To stay organized I keep a list of themes and ideas and I’m constantly sketching and making small “prototypes / models”. I start by figuring out each (plan layout) and what props will need to be constructed. I then generate a completion / task list which is loosely followed (you can’t rush art). Then the fun part happens – building the props. For me Halloween isn’t so much a holiday as it is an art show.

I’ve attached images of a typical plan layout, prop sketches, and photographs of the completed prop.

This is my second year home haunting. Like the previous years where I made my own costumes, I kind of come up with my theme and the specific projects I want to do in January/February/March. This year is Sleepy Hollow/ Salem/ Halloween in New England, I have about 10 props I want to do and had a rough idea of them in January of this year. Then like people who posted before me I spread it out to weekends at my leisure. Sometimes I'll go 3 or so weeks without doing anything related to it, and other times I will end up working on it an entire weekend. I do understand that sometimes it feels like a chore rather than a hobby, that's when I reevaluate whether it's a project for another year or if I can be happy with whatever has come out artistically/mechanically at this point. That said, I have 75% of my props completed, and plan on setting up October 1st. I also have a "anytime" and a "fall" shopping list, obviously it is difficult to get funkins at Michael's in February, so some things have to wait till the season- last year Big Lots had decorations immediately after the 4th of July.

I started planning on June 1. I chose the theme and sort this year's props, décor and costumes from the rest. I pack the rest away. I make lists of things to buy and construct. I also make sketches of the different 'scenes' - graveyard, front yard, etc. Then I do grunt work like changing and checking light strings, priming and painting tombstones, building life sized props etc. I start putting stuff out in the front yard on Oct 1. I also do the ladder work and light set up then before it gets too cold or windy. The rest of October is spent shopping for whatever tools, extra props etc. I need. I plan the after party menu and go into overdrive. I have to take a week off work in the days leading up to and a couple days past Halloween. The day after, I take the front yard down and eat candy. The next day, the rest comes down and I rest.

I think about it in late June, start plotting and looking for ideas in July, waiting until stores get rid of their back to school junk in August and by October I'm usually decorated and set up...I pick up a few things here and there if I spot them or hear talk of a new item.

This year I'm a bit at a loss as I was hoping to find a lot more vintage Halloween items at yard sales...I've only found a single Halloween item and it wasn't vintage. I did manage to buy a box of 1950s "cooky" cutters that have lovely Halloween graphics on the box and inside. They're just metal shapes...bat, cat, pumpkin...that sort of typical stuff but I love the box. I got it off of eBay for a deal. I also bought that set of "vintage" inspired Halloween character blocks I was going crazy trying to find them last year...ChristmasTraditions has them in stock...or did when I got them. Bit disappointed on the quality. I thought the characters were painted on...they're cheap stickers...and some of them have damage done to them during shipping. For the price I paid, I'm not happy. I think I might try my hand at painting them...I'm not much of an artist any more but if I have an image to go off of, I can usually do fairly well...has to be better then the stupid stickers.

But yeah I was planning on doing a vintage Halloween theme. I don't think I have enough items to do that yet but I'll see...maybe a small display is in order.

Anyways plans:

- Look for craft fairs/harvest fairs/farm tours
- Save up some money for limited edition foods/candy
- Try and track down the complete Halloween and Friday the 13th series on blu ray (Wal-Mart supposedly has the Halloween set for $40 right now...IF you can find it in stock that is!)
- Lurk in my Dollar Trees till I find all their Halloween items I want
- Find some new fairy lights for around my computer monitor
- Somehow figure out a way to use my new computer tower LEDs in my Halloween display (they're green so maybe mad scientist or something)
- Don't start decorating until October (last year I felt pretty tapped out...I think I started to early.)