# Too Early for Halloween?



## bradbaum (Jul 26, 2008)

My wife was griping slightly as I hung this guy up and set out the countdown sign.






61 days until Halloween - anybody else setting up yet?


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## EvilLump (Jul 27, 2009)

I will be setting up this weekend, Great looking FCG!! I will be building one within the next couple weeks. I like to keep adding something new every week untill the Main event.


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## bradbaum (Jul 26, 2008)

Thanks - I bought it in a lot of props this summer, all I had to do was rig the LED eyes to a wall wart so I could turn it on and off with a timer.


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## jdubbya (Nov 6, 2005)

bradbaum said:


> My wife was griping slightly as I hung this guy up and set out the countdown sign.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


IMO it's early to set up. Still August, but it's a matter of personal preference. My wife would do more than "gripe slightly" if I put anything up this early. We normally start the first week of October and gradually add stuff over the weeks.


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## steveshauntedyard (Nov 16, 2008)

I really want to start setting up now but still too early. I do how ever have a ton of stuff already in the living room. I will set up the last week of September or first week of October. I will add stuff up until Halloween. You are the man!


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## ScreamingScarecrow (Oct 1, 2008)

If your family & neighbors don't mind then nothings too early!
How about people who leave their Christmas lights on till March!!


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## GothicCandle (Mar 26, 2007)

Great ghost! 

I think end of August/beginning of September is fine to start setting up. I plan on getting all my Halloween stuff out mid September. I never like to wait till the first of October. Frankly, when i have my own place, not living with mom, then I will have a few props out all year long. Nothing extreme, just a few decorations.


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## RandalB (Jun 8, 2009)

I clear the garage and start building Sept 1st, setup October 1st, Large Animatronic props go out last week in Oct. 

It's never too early tho...

RandalB


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## debbie5 (Mar 2, 2007)

(remembering that I still have my Independance Day swag lights up..) Too early. Everyone groans if/when I put even some stuff out before Sept. 15.


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## farewell_goodbye2u (Aug 22, 2008)

Lol. I love this thread. I usually start putting stuff out in the yard on Labor Day and plan to do so this year as well. My neighbors actually look forward to it and come to watch each year. The most depressing day of the year for me is the day that I have to take everything down. =( If I could i'd leave most up all year long. lol. I love Halloween! So I say, if you want to put it out now.....go for it!


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## MotelSixx (Sep 27, 2008)

I started a few weeks back; got up facade, fence, crypt, about 30 tombstones, and carriage. Neighbors and passers-by anticipate and support the early setup.


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## steveshauntedyard (Nov 16, 2008)

MotelSixx said:


> I started a few weeks back; got up facade, fence, crypt, about 30 tombstones, and carriage. Neighbors and passers-by anticipate and support the early setup.


Wow rock on Dude!


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## jdubbya (Nov 6, 2005)

MotelSixx said:


> I started a few weeks back; got up facade, fence, crypt, about 30 tombstones, and carriage. Neighbors and passers-by anticipate and support the early setup.





steveshauntedyard said:


> Wow rock on Dude!


Yeah, Dave has the jump on all of us
I told a friend of mine to drive by his house as he already had stuff up. They asked me if I was kidding!
Told them "Nope, He's got the fever.":jol:


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## joker (Sep 25, 2007)

Since I'm not doing my home haunt this year I've been busy over the past month getting things ready for the charity haunt. 97% done with construction. 

I think I'd be going crazy this year if I was still doing the home haunt not starting till late September. I've already had to move stuff out of the garage, living room and entry way just to have room to work on more props:googly:

It doesn't really sound like it, but 5000 sq. ft. haunt is huge, especially in comparison to my haunt that I was doing in my apt.


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## dasjman (Sep 10, 2008)

I have most of my pre-planning done as far as what I am going to build for this year, and I suspect I'll start building in a week or so. This is the time of year that my wife looks at an empty salsa jar and says "I suppose you want to keep this." Heh. We also had a very hot summer and our two new pear trees didn't fare to well. She wanted to know when I was going to remove them and return them. There is no way I'm digging up perfectly good dead trees in my soon-to-be cemetery! I also kept all the tree and bush trimmings from the spring, which will do well around the graves!


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## Spooky1 (Aug 25, 2008)

By our Community Association we're not allowed to have holiday decoration out more the 30 days before or after a holiday. So even if Roxy would let me put things up earlier than October, the community association wouldn't.  Which is fine for me, I don't feel a need to put thing out, yet.


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

What Spooky1 said Personally, I don't like seeing holidays celebrated too far in advance - it feels to me as if it takes away from the actual event somewhat. It's probably a carryover from elementary school days, when decorations were put up in our classrooms only for holidays that occurred within each month. September was fall leaves and back-to-school; October was black cats, witches, pumpkins, ghosts; November was Pilgrims and those turkeys made from your hand prints (remember those?); December was reindeer, snowflakes, and Santa; February was hearts and valentines. We really looked forward to the changes each month, and the anticipation was certainly part of the fun.

On the more practical side, putting things out early increases the risk that those things won't be there for the actual event. Our nephew told us one of his neighbors used to decorate for Halloween early until some of his props were stolen. That put an end to the practice for him.

For those who have extensive haunts, I understand the need to get a headstart because of the amount of time involved in setting up. We're a little less ambitious and have become extremely proficient in getting the bulk of the yard things set up in one day (and taken down the same night).


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## Creeper (Nov 7, 2008)

I've just been clearing out my haunt area and starting the new projects for this year. I'll be setting up inside the garage/sunroom and in the backyard from now on through October, but nothing will be visible from the street until I start on the front of the house, usually the first/second week of October.


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## GPSaxophone (Sep 6, 2007)

ScreamingScarecrow said:


> If your family & neighbors don't mind then nothings too early!
> How about people who leave their Christmas lights on till March!!


On or up? Usually the lights are frozen to the ground in January and February. It's also too icy to setup the extension ladder to get lights off the roof until March.

I take my lights down on the first day it's warm enough to do so.


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## Hauntiholik (May 17, 2006)

GPSaxophone said:


> On or up? Usually the lights are frozen to the ground in January and February. It's also too icy to setup the extension ladder to get lights off the roof until March.
> 
> I take my lights down on the first day it's warm enough to do so.


Hey, it's not that cold man! hehehe
Just throw on some shorts and flip flops and go out there!

We have to have our lights down pretty quick due to the HOA.

Back to the topic....
I agree with the other people. It's only too early if your neighbors disapprove or your HOA has issues or if your props walk away unexpectedly.


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## turtle2778 (Jul 9, 2006)

I'll start mine on Sept 1st for the inside and possibly the village i still havent decided to do it yet. I decided to give myself a to-do list and a timeline for each thing to be done so that way the few weeks before halloween can be used for tweaking lights and sound placement for outside. Last year was just SOOO unorganized and out of control, i got to the point where i was like screw it, im done. I had a party planned and 2 days before it I still had NOTHING up in my house. Luckily my mother and her best friend came down and saved the party, by kicking my butt in gear and helping me get everything out in a day. I won't have that this year so I have to stay ontop of things. I FINALLY got the fever this year, it was a tough struggle with money and person issues to focus on halloween, but I LOVE THIS FEELING!!!


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## Joiseygal (Sep 3, 2008)

I usually wait until October 1st. I will put a little out each day as October 31st approaches. I usually like to go out each night and spend it doing something in the yard to make it better. Sometimes I will change a location of a prop five different times until I find the place I think it will look best. I also do a lot of tweaking with props because they might not look the way I want them to when I actually set them up in the yard. I'm getting nervous I only have a month to make any new props and finishing existing props. Yikes!!!!


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## wandererrob (Aug 8, 2007)

Each to their own. Personally I like to start putting things out a little at a time starting roughly Oct. 1. But props to you for taking the iniative


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## DarkLore (Jan 25, 2009)

I'm with The Association and Roxy....30 days. Or maybe the turn of the fall solstice. Sept is the fall leaves and back-to-school.

If you can't wait until Sept, you really should seek help.



Spooky1 said:


> By our Community Association we're not allowed to have holiday decoration out more the 30 days before or after a holiday. So even if Roxy would let me put things up earlier than October, the community association wouldn't.  Which is fine for me, I don't feel a need to put thing out, yet.


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## trishaanne (Aug 20, 2005)

I usually start decorating around October 1, doing a little each day. The back yard, where the maze/haunted house is, doesn't get done until a few days before Halloween because of the massive wind storms we usually get around here in October. This year, however, I'm going to have to start around the middle of September because my time is severely limited with the grandkids here 12 hours a day!


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## MotelSixx (Sep 27, 2008)

The guy at the other end of the block set up his cemetery while I was at work. So thats 2 significant sized starts to halloween within one city block by sept 1.


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## jdubbya (Nov 6, 2005)

MotelSixx said:


> The guy at the other end of the block set up his cemetery while I was at work. So thats 2 significant sized starts to halloween within one city block by sept 1.


Well, he has to keep up with you now doesn't he?

That's pretty cool though. I guess since September 26th and 27th are a weekend, I could start setting up then. So at least I can say I'm setting up this month.


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## steveshauntedyard (Nov 16, 2008)

ScreamingScarecrow said:


> If your family & neighbors don't mind then nothings too early!
> How about people who leave their Christmas lights on till March!!


Some leave them up year around


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## nixie (Sep 17, 2008)

I like to wait until October, but I wouldn't have a problem with seeing some decorations going up this early. The inside of my house looks like a yard haunt at the moment. We've hit that point in the season where the completed projects are filling the house and in a panic to finish, we've given up on entirely cleaning the mess from the ongoing projects. We don't have storage or lots of work space, so that's just how it goes. Previous year's props are stashed around in whatever storage we do have, but I think after this year we're pretty much screwed... We'll start setting up when we get back from vacation around Oct. 7th. We try to get everything planned and ready to go ahead of time so we can have the bulk of it set up in a day so it seems like it magically appeared, then we tweak and fuss for the rest of the month.


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## dasjman (Sep 10, 2008)

My main problem is that my wife, while giving me the freedom to do this, draws the line at leaving her car out of the garage. This makes it a mad dash to get the walk-through part set up in one day. I can get my half of the garage done in advance. To make the time constraints worse, this year Halloween is on a Saturday, which means I’ll have to stop down at some point for a couple of hours to attend the kiddo’s soccer game.


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## fick209 (Aug 31, 2009)

I generally start my indoor stuff around mid-september -something to occupy me while I'm watching the MN Vikings lose
I sat down a couple weeks ago and come up with my theme and plans for this years Halloween. This long Holiday weekend coming up I will begin the new prop building, and maybe even start on some of the repairing of older props. 
My outdoor stuff usually starts on October 1st. As soon as my American Flag comes down and it is replaced with a skull and crossbones flag, all of the the neighbor hood kids will be constantly walking past seeing new additions to the graveyard each day and trying to get a peek in my garage to see what I'm working on.


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## Chrysaor (Jun 21, 2009)

First time builing anything for halloween, but would prolly start putting it up a week before Halloween.

I tell you what is to early, the fact the some shops here in the UK are putting up Christmas Decorations as of last week!!! :|


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