homes
Saturday, October 26, 2002
Family Joins Growing Craze for Halloween Decorating
By Barbara Chavez
Of the Journal
The wreath is hanging on the door, bright lights are strung across the windows and the luminarias are ready for lighting. Is it already Christmas in New Mexico?
No — but it's just five days until Halloween, and many people have apparently decided not to wait for Christmas to make their houses festive.
Click to enlarge
Click to enlarge
Halloween decorating has been gaining in popularity over the past several years, and discount stores, fabric stores, department stores and home improvement centers are basking in the glow of America's eagerness to haunt their houses.
Stores are selling everything from strings of novelty lights with ghosts, skeletons and jack-o'-lanterns to lawn sculptures and window displays.
The Gonzales family started two years ago by decorating the inside of their West Side home, but soon they moved to the yard.
This year, they have a huge black widow light across the top of their garage door. A spooky ghost dangles from a tree and all the front windows are festooned with Halloween lights.
They have some sneaky reflector lawn ornaments that flash when car lights hit them. A sign in the yard states the warning: "Beware! This house is haunted."
"We started buying Halloween stuff a couple of years ago," said Andrea Gonzales. "All you could ever find at the stores were those sticky decals for walls. But not anymore. Now, you've got aisles full of decorations."
Good treats
In addition to lights and dangling spiders, witches and ghosts, you can spend a lot of money on more elaborate decorations such as eerie coffins, strobe lights and fog machines. Depending on the size of the equipment you buy, you can spend anywhere from $20 to more than $100.
Party City has an adult-sized mummy that sells for $100 if you need something to put in your coffin, which by the way, can be used indoors or outdoors.
Andrea's husband, Ruben Gonzales, said the best part about decorating for Halloween is watching the children's faces when they come around on Halloween night.
"They always stop to look at the ghost, and they know that we like Halloween," he said. "I think it gives them a little laugh when they come up the walkway. Plus, they probably know we hand out some good treats."
Walk into their home and you find Halloween decorations including more lights, window decals and lots of candles.
"I just buy them at different stores and my mom also gives us lots of stuff because she likes shopping for Halloween," said Andrea. "We got some things at Wal-Mart and other things at Dillards. It's amazing what they sell now."
In all, Gonzales said the family has probably spent about $200 on Halloween decorations.
A string of lights can cost anywhere from $4 to $12, depending on where you buy them. But there are also lots of ways to decorate without spending a lot of money.
To make Halloween luminarias, use traditional brown bags and either paint them Halloween colors or make cutouts of jack-o'-lanterns, witches or anything scary.
And most important, said Ruben Gonzales, "Don't forget to carve a pumpkin."
The oldest of Halloween decorations is a must for Halloween night, she said. But don't carve too soon or your pumpkin will cave in.
The Gonzaleses found stencils to create really wicked jack-o'-lanterns. With three children, ages 6, 5 and 5 months, carving night turns into a big deal.
"We usually buy three or four pumpkins to carve," he said. "It's sort of a mini-contest at our house to see whose is the best. The kids love to do their own thing and me and Andrea get pretty creative about it."
