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Happy Halloween!!!

By Hillary McNabb | Wednesday, October 31, 2007, 10:21 AM

The big day has finally arrived! Halloween is here! I hope you’ve all enjoyed this blog over the last month or so. You should keep your eyes peeled though, because this blog is being winterized.

I will keep it going through the winter holidays and give you advice on stringing up the lights, shopping and gift ideas and more. So come back and check it out in a few weeks.

But before I wrap up (hahahaha, mummies are funny to joke about) for the season, one last bit of bargain advice:

Shop now for next year! Much like any holiday, the best deals can be found once it’s over. Go now (as in today!) and buy up some of the basic things that you know you’ll use again next year (fog juice, garlands, lights, etc.). It’s also a good time to pick up the higher-priced items you didn’t want to pay the full price for during the season. Whether that’s a new fog machine, bleeding candles, inflatables, generic costume accessories or other decorations. Most stores already have their Halloween merchandise marked down to at least 50% off if not more. So check it out. You might even find next year’s costume or party theme while you’re at it!

Happy Haunting! I mean, hunting. :)

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Halloween TV specials

By Hillary McNabb | Monday, October 29, 2007, 03:42 PM

When I was a kid, I remember always having to be home in time to watch “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” on TV around this time of year.

It’s on tomorrow night (Tues. 10/30) at 8 p.m. on ABC so set your DVR (or VCR if you’re still old-school like myself).

Many regularly scheduled shows will be airing their Halloween-ish episodes this week including: The Big Bang Theory, Pushing Daisies, Bones, Reaper, Kid Nation, CSI: NY and others.

When can you catch some horrifying (or sometimes delightful) Halloween TV or movies?

TV shows: It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown - Tuesday 10/30 AT 8 p.m. on ABC

Scooby-Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf - Thurs. . 11/1 at 10:00 a.m. on the Cartoon Network and Sun 11/4 at 4:00 p.m. on Boomerang

Scooby-Doo meets the Boo Brothers - Tues. 10/30 at 10:00 a.m. and Fri. 11/2 at 10:00 a.m. on the Cartoon Network

The Haunted History of Halloween - Tues. 10/30 at 11:00 p.m. and Wed. 10/31 at 3:00 a.m., 12:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. on the History Channel

Movies:

Young Frankenstein - on Fri. 11/2 at 10:00 p.m. & Sat. 11/3 1:00 p.m. on TVLand

Halloween - on Wed. 10/31 at 10:00a.m. and Thurs. . 11/1 at 2:00 a.m. on AMC

Halloween III: Season of the Witch - Wed. 10/31 at 6:00 a.m. on AMC

Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers - Wed. 10/31 8:00 a.m. & 4:00 p.m. and Thurs. 11/1 at 4:00 a.m. on AMC.

Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers - Wed 10/31 at 6:00 p.m. & 10:00 p.m. on AMC

Halloween H2O: 20 Years Later - Wed. 10/31 at 9:00 p.m. on FX

Halloween: Resurrection - Wed. 10/31 at 7:00 p.m. on FX

The Fear: Halloween Night - Wed. 10/31 at 1:00 a.m. on SciFi

The Amityville Horror - Thurs. 11/1 at 10:00 p.m. and Fri 11/2 at 4:20 a.m. on Turner Movie Classics (TMC)

Scream 3 - Mon 10/29 at 6:00 p.m. on AMC

As for favorites, you may laugh but I love to go back and watch the 11th episode of “Dawson’s Creek” entitled “The Scare”. Really about Friday the 13th, it’s still a scary-ish episode that always makes me think of Halloween. My favorite Halloween movie though has to be “Hocus Pocus.”

So what’s your favorite Halloween classic? Whether it’s a movie, a TV episode or other, I want to know!

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Mowed over decor

By Hillary McNabb | Monday, October 22, 2007, 10:54 AM

After an unfortunate run-in with the lawnmower (not my fault - blame lies with a family member who shall remain nameless), my cemetery looked a little worse for the wear…

In short, I lost a section of fence (slightly warped but fixable), 3 or 4 tombstones (hello styrofoam floating all over the yard… love this windy Ohio weather), a fake black rose (must leave flowers for the deceased) and a strand of lights.

After noting the work it would take to repair the damage, I decided to replace all of the white lights on the fence with blue lights and lower them to ground level to give a spookier appearance.

BARGAIN ALERT! Instead of buying boxes of lights labeled for (and sold in) the Halloween department, check out the Christmas sections. Most stores have their Christmas decor out already and lights tend to be cheaper there. You may not find orange, but you’ll almost always find blue, green, red and even purple there. At Wal-Mart a box of 100 purple mini lights in the Halloween section will cost a little over $3, in the Christmas section, those same purple lights are $2 a box. The same goes for most similar stores in the area. So check around and save a little bit of money! Christmas decor can usually be found in the Garden Center area.

I also added a green floodlight to illuminate the tree. I kept the white lights that came with the arch on and left them set on a fade in and out setting but added a strand of blue lights with them so that when the white fades out, the blue still glows.

All in all, the cemetery looks better. So I guess I should really thank the nameless family member, right?

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Sale on Bath & Body Works Halloween items

By Hillary McNabb | Wednesday, October 17, 2007, 11:07 AM

BathandBodyWorks.com is having a sale today on their Halloween merchandise. It’s online only, but there are some good deals to be had if you like their stuff!

One day online only sale items!

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Halloween decoration photos!

By Hillary McNabb | Wednesday, October 17, 2007, 10:49 AM

I’m nearly done with my Halloween decorating. I’m sure I’ll add a few more finishing touches in the next week, but for the most part, it’s done.

Click here for photos and detailed pricing for most of the items I used to decorate this year.

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Reader photos

By Hillary McNabb | Tuesday, October 16, 2007, 01:10 PM

After my last post “Patty” commented and said “You really should get down to Fairborn where (I presume) the owners of the Foy Halloween stores have went hog-wild with their displays at their own home.”

She offered up a few photos of Foy’s Halloween decorations:

Thanks, Patty! Anyone else snapped photos of local Halloween decorations? Share them below!

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Have you decorated yet?

By Hillary McNabb | Monday, October 15, 2007, 11:55 AM

As of today you have around 2 1/2 weeks until Halloween on Oct. 31. Have you decorated for it yet?

Over the weekend I saw lots of homes and yards decorated with lights, cemeteries, inflatable everything, lighted spiderwebs and bats (these seem to be popular this year).

I saw a lot of inflatable globes filled with spinning ghosts or other ghoulish creatures.

If you’ve decorated, snap a few photos and share them.

Check out these Halloween decoration photos people have already shared!

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