# Vampire theme for 2015



## Mogwai (Jun 10, 2014)

This will be our third Halloween party and second time doing a theme. Last year was zombies, this year is vampires.

We're going to be decorating the garage, back yard, lounge, kitchen / dining, hallway and bathroom. So far, we've decided to make some big red gothic windows (to go over the actual windows) and most likely a cemetery with some big gates for outside. Those are the big projects we're working on, but there's still a lot to think about and plan for. It's not particularly easy getting props here in Western Australia and postage from overseas is stupidly expensive, so we'll be DIYing the bulk of the decorations. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. We're going for an elegant gothic vibe, and want it to be scary as well.


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## AussieBoo (Jul 2, 2014)

Hey Mogwai. i look forward to watching your progress.

Yep I totally agree with the props issue. There are sooo many awesome props overseas that we just can't get because the postage costs more than the actual prop. While Halloween props are becoming more available here with Lombard and other party shops, the props aren't exactly high quality stuff yet some can be quite effective and I have found some awesome props especially from Lombard. However, some I purchase and rework it to give it a higher quality look. lol.

I'm doing my first proper theme this year (Haunted Hotel) so I'm extremely excited about it. So good to see another Aussie on here that's just as crazy as me. lol.


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## Hilda (Jul 31, 2011)

Here is a Vampire theme thread some of us added to last year. There may be some ideas for you on here. 

http://www.halloweenforum.com/hallo...-lair-seeking-inspirational-photos-ideas.html

There are also other threads linked there, and some links to member's Vampire theme pinterest boards!


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## booswife02 (Apr 2, 2013)

Here is my Vampire Pinterest Board. I hope it offers some inspiration 
http://pinterest.com/berniceeast/vampire-castle/


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## thenightmarefamily (Nov 20, 2014)

You guy's going classic elegant Dracula vampires, or 30 Day's of Night - Blade Vampires?


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## a_granger (Oct 21, 2012)

This thread got me thinking vampire decor obviously, and the idea of vampire family photos popped into my head. But of course you wouldn't find any thing that normal so I thought how about along a hallway mounting or hanging small jar of ash and the fangs of lost family members... Uncle Archer DeMont 1234-2003. Just a thought.


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## ooojen (Sep 4, 2014)

Jumping on so I can keep up with the thread. I love the theme! I've been a Dracula fan since I was a little kid.


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## Mogwai (Jun 10, 2014)

AussieBoo: nice seeing another Australian on here  It can be helpful to get the perspective of someone that understands the struggle to get Halloween stuff here, haha. I'll have to check out that shop. Like you said, even if a prop doesn't look great to begin with, you can still work with it sometimes. Love your theme, looking forward to seeing what you come up with.

NightmareFamily: we're going for an elegant gothic look. So more Dracula, Interview with the Vampire, etc.

Love everyone's suggestions and advice so far. I picked up some red and silver Halloween goblets and a bag of plastic rats yesterday at the dollar store. It's a start


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## ooojen (Sep 4, 2014)

I like lots of candles, LED if there's a chance of them being tipped over. Candelabra are great-- bigger the better. If you can find some at flea markets or on AU ebay, you might get a deal. Also if you have or can find a tall spindle you can transform a table candleabrum into a floor-standing one. 
Draping fabric is good. Sometimes you can find tablecloths or satiny sheets on sale, and get the fabric cheaper per yard than you'd get at fabric store. I've never gone fabric shopping in Australia, but here in the US it tends to be pretty expensive.
You probably have at least a bathroom mirror, maybe more. Last Halloween I had an unsuccessful go at covering mirrored closet doors with a frosted plastic film (like Contact Paper, but not that brand) with a ghostly figure behind it, but in the past it has worked with smaller mirrors. 

a_granger- thanks for that tip! I have it down on my Halloween "to do" document, along with your name to give you credit if I wind up posting pictures


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## Hilda (Jul 31, 2011)

ooojen, I still need to figure out how to make standing candelabras. The ones in the Halloween stores are so expensive and rather cheap looking for the price.

A_Granger's suggestion about photos reminded me. A forum member, Kelloween, altered some vintage photos so the people look like vampires. They are breathtaking. I used some and I altered a photo album for on my coffin table to look like a Vampire family photo album.















If you want the link to Kelloween's album, I can provide you with same. You could upload photos and put them in black or silver frames. That would be gorgeous!


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## Mogwai (Jun 10, 2014)

ooojen: Fabric is very expensive here. More so than in the US, I believe. I'm counting on being able to find cheap curtains and tablecloths second hand. Can usually pick up a lot of lace / net curtains, so that could be useful.

Hilda: How would you go about altering the photos in order to make them look like vampires? I was thinking about getting some of those holographic type changing portraits, but so far I've only seen very small ones so I'm not sure how effective it'd be. So perhaps making my own pictures is the way to go.

I'm going thrift shopping tomorrow. I'll be on the lookout for candelabras, ornaments, fabric and anything else that looks suitable.


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## Hilda (Jul 31, 2011)

Mogwai said:


> Hilda: How would you go about altering the photos in order to make them look like vampires? I was thinking about getting some of those holographic type changing portraits, but so far I've only seen very small ones so I'm not sure how effective it'd be. So perhaps making my own pictures is the way to go.


Mogwai ~ Welcome to Halloween Forum by the way!! 

I don't alter photographs myself. I was inspired by some really neat photographs my talented friend Kelloween did. She was gracious enough to share them here in an album. (I provide link to album below.) I printed them out the size I wanted, and you can use photo paper, but I used glossy modpodge painted over them to give them an old glossy, slightly smeared, look to them. 

You can print them and slip them into tabletop frame or hanging frame. Instant 'vampire' feeling in your room. 

http://www.halloweenforum.com/members/kelloween-albums-creepy-photos-i-altered-.html


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## a_granger (Oct 21, 2012)

Just a little inspiration!


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## AussieBoo (Jul 2, 2014)

Mogwai said:


> AussieBoo: nice seeing another Australian on here  It can be helpful to get the perspective of someone that understands the struggle to get Halloween stuff here, haha. I'll have to check out that shop. Like you said, even if a prop doesn't look great to begin with, you can still work with it sometimes. Love your theme, looking forward to seeing what you come up with.
> 
> NightmareFamily: we're going for an elegant gothic look. So more Dracula, Interview with the Vampire, etc.
> 
> Love everyone's suggestions and advice so far. I picked up some red and silver Halloween goblets and a bag of plastic rats yesterday at the dollar store. It's a start


Thanks Mogwai - you can check my progress under the thread name "Edenhope Hotel".

Yes Lombard is a good one for Halloween. They put out their Halloween stuff in October so it's not a year round thing however they can have left overs from last year in the back of the shop so would be good for you to pop into one and check it. I believe you have a Lombard store in WA. You can also purchase any left over items online if that helps but keep an eye out beginning of October online and in store  

There's also some good online Oz costume/party shops that have increased with Halloween items over the years. I'll post some links on here for you shortly.


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## Mogwai (Jun 10, 2014)

So I went thrift shopping a couple of days ago and came home with quite a lot of good stuff.






















These were $3 each. I'm going to use the big dress for my costume, and the other most likely to dress a prop figure.








I'm going to try to make these into haunted busts. Any ideas for that? I was thinking of styling the hair, then painting the whole things light grey and maybe adding some blood to the eyes or making vampire bites on the necks. Not sure on that one yet.

I also got a whole bunch of net curtains and one of those net canopies that usually hangs above a bed. Definitely a lot to think about.


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## ooojen (Sep 4, 2014)

You found some excellent stuff! Looks like you're off to a great start all around!


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## Mogwai (Jun 10, 2014)

Thanks, ooojen  I'll be collecting more stuff all the time and working on what I already have, so I'll keep posting in this thread whenever I have something new. I've been checking back almost every day to see everyone's great ideas as well.


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## ooojen (Sep 4, 2014)

I have an area I decorate as Dracula's suite. Feel free to browse the album if you like.
http://www.halloweenforum.com/members/ooojen-albums-dracula-s-room-first-year-2014-a.html
I have a few additional items for him now-- a floor candleabrum, fabric to drape behind the bed's headboard, a bat mask to rig up outside the (upstairs) window, and I'm working on a fake wolfskin rug.


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## Mogwai (Jun 10, 2014)

I love what you did for Dracula's suite. It's so convincing. We've had an antique mantle in storage for years and we were planning to get it out for Halloween to make a false fireplace. Hopefully it'll look good. Great work


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## ooojen (Sep 4, 2014)

Thanks, Mogwai! I had fun putting it together! I didn't put too much money into it, but instead tried to use smaller items to dress up items I already had. I also concentrated the bat and dragon stuff that I had into that area. 
Your mantle sounds like it will be great! I hope you'll share pictures when you get it in place.


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## Mogwai (Jun 10, 2014)

Hey guys  Another quick update;









Ordered this bat mask on eBay last week and it arrived today  What do you think? We're going to use it to make a figure to stand outside the bathroom window.


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## printersdevil (Sep 7, 2009)

I love it! He will spook a lot of people and he is so original.


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## ooojen (Sep 4, 2014)

That's a coincidence! It's the same mask I mentioned I'm going to be rigging outside my Dracula's Room window! I guess it was made to be a window-peeper-- lol!
What do I think? I think, Excellent


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## Mogwai (Jun 10, 2014)

ooojen: That is so funny. You'll have to show me how he looks in yours 

I searched through a lot of pretty bad quality vampire masks before I came across this one. I liked it instantly and had to buy it. My sister came over yesterday and although she is normally terrified of any kind of mask, she said this one is 'cute'. Kind of discouraging, haha. But just wait until she sees him on the night


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## ooojen (Sep 4, 2014)

I agree with you! It has good potential creepy factor. The bathroom window, as you planned, is an extra-good place, because people are (generally) alone in there. It really provides and adrenaline rush when you think you're alone and suddenly you see a pair of eyes staring at you out of the darkness!


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## Mogwai (Jun 10, 2014)

Exactly  We're thinking of filling the bathtub with some red water and putting some floating LED tealights in, and putting a black lace curtain over the window. The tub is right in front of the window (it's also a really big window) so it should look pretty creepy, I hope. 
A lot of people have a bit of a fear when it comes to bathrooms. I guess it makes sense when you think of all the horror movies that use bathrooms as a setting in scary scenes. It always makes it fun to decorate the bathroom when you know how spooky it can be.


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## printersdevil (Sep 7, 2009)

We did our master bath one year as a spider room. Lots and lots of webs and spiders of all sizes suspended in the web. The corner jetted tub was filled with webs and a spider cocoon wrapped around a man. We removed the light over the two sinks and added green bulbs. The green glow and the webs gave a great effect. Although many used the hall bathroom all night, still a lot would duck into this bathroom since it is right off the kitchen dining area. It startled quite a few people and we had lots of positive comments about it.

I think your red with the black lace will also have that cool effect.


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## Mogwai (Jun 10, 2014)

printersdevil: That sounds great! I've always wanted to do a spider room but it's never really fit into our theme. We have a large poseable black spider decoration that we're probably going to have emerging from our attic in the hallway this year. Maybe we could make the hallway spider / bug infested? Hmm. We do have 100+ plastic roaches to use, haha. Do you have any pictures of yours? I really like the idea of the spider cocoon.


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## printersdevil (Sep 7, 2009)

You can also make spider sacks out of white tights or better white women's hose stuffed with spider webs and some small spiders placed in there. I will look for pics. I remember not getting the spider guy, but should have some of the room itself. We have done the bath that way several times.

Here is a link to my Facebook page with the spider bathroom. This is the first year and in the tub I just stretched a DT plastic tablecloth with spiders over the top. I think the other bath was a bat room that year.

Hopefully this link works, I made this album Public so I think it will.

Spider bathroom and other old decor


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## Deadna (Oct 19, 2002)

I did a spider bathroom one year and had one of those thunder/lightening boxes hidden which activated once the light was turned on. The noise it made caused a drop spider to go off right over the toilet.....so fun!


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## Mogwai (Jun 10, 2014)

Deadna: That sounds really scary. I bet it startled quite a few of your guests


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## bethene (Feb 12, 2007)

,Mogwai, I'm enjoying this thread, can't wait to see how you pull it together! the mask is great! (funny ooojen has the same one! ) you got wonderful things thrift store shopping! !

do you have beauty school vinyl heads? I used one once,put bite marks on her head, and used her as a victim...

welcome,BTW!


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## Wolfbeard (Sep 22, 2008)

The vampire theme sounds like a lot of fun!

Here are a few ideas from a vampire scene we did for our party about 12 years ago. The vamipre hunter got lucky against one vampire.
Feel free to use these ideas. It is hard to see, but I made fangs for the "Bucky" skeleton to make him the "victim" of the hunter.


























Eric


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## Mogwai (Jun 10, 2014)

bethene: Thank-you  Unfortunately, those would be rather difficult to come by over here. I could probably do something similar with a polystyrene wig head though? Hmm.

Wolfbeard: I love your staked skelly! He's very expressive. Those skeletons are not common over here. I don't think I've ever seen one in stores, not even in October. I would really like one though, they're very versatile. I'll have to see what I can find. Your room set-up looks great, nice lighting.


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## Erzsébet (Sep 16, 2013)

I had a vampire masquerade two years ago, so blood and related things everywhere.  I concentrated on this gothic-victorian-blood-theme in decorations and food, and our outfits.
I had blood-filled glass cupcakes, blood in syringes, bloodsalsa for batwings, blood-eyeball punch etc. Loads of led-candles, masquerade decor (masks, fabrics etc), I had glass bottles filled with blood from different victims and labeled them as such (Girl, 15, virgin, y.1456), I made "ancestor" busts from old rubbermasks and paverpol, handed out little vials of blood as a party favor. I also built a spider room, in our bathroom, I made a huge 2m wide spider to hang from the ceiling, lots of small ones underneath and on the walls, cocoons and a severed hand cover in web, red lighting. One of my friends couldn't go pee bc it was too much spiders!  (Luckily we have other bathrooms as well).


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## Mogwai (Jun 10, 2014)

That sounds fantastic, Erzebet. I really like the idea of labelled blood bottles. I might use that idea for the spice rack I posted a photo of earlier.

I also like that you incorporated the 'blood' theme into the food. We have a tiered fountain punch bowl I want to fill with red punch


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## booswife02 (Apr 2, 2013)

I actually found a lot of great party and food ideas on pinterest while searching twilight party.


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## Mogwai (Jun 10, 2014)

booswife02: I'll have a look now. The colour scheme (black, red, white) for Twilight is fitting for our party, if nothing else. I've been on the hunt for vampire-y desserts especially, but a lot of the ones I've come across have been more directed at children's parties


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## booswife02 (Apr 2, 2013)

Yes definitely check out twilight parties. You can just switch out the twilight character stuff but their have been some great recipes games and decor on those twilight theme parties


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## Mogwai (Jun 10, 2014)

I'll have a look. Thanks


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## ooojen (Sep 4, 2014)

I'm not a Twilight fan (too old for that! lol!) but I searched for food images on your recommendation, booswife. You're spot on! There are some really gorgeous, elegant table spreads under that heading. Good suggestion!
Personally, I'm a bit of a foodie, and presentation matters to me. I want a Halloween buffet that looks Halloweenish, but I don't want the food to look unappetizing. There'll be no flayed faces or bloody intestines for my buffet, even though I can admire someone else's creativity with that sort of thing. It can be difficult to combine spooky, with elegant and delicious-looking!


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## Mogwai (Jun 10, 2014)

ooojen: I know what you mean. I've seen quite a few people, on here and elsewhere, discussing their disappointment when their guests wouldn't touch the themed food because it looked too gross! The only thing I would consider making a bit more 'scary looking' would be the desserts. You can use Jello molds and other things to make some interesting stuff. You just have to make it look edible and tasty too, haha.


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## Ani's Horror (Dec 12, 2013)

first prop looks awesome


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## Mogwai (Jun 10, 2014)

Hey everyone, sorry I haven't updated in a while. Things are coming along nicely. I've ordered a few props, have been working on a few DIY projects and have nearly completed my costume already. I'll photograph what we have so far when I can and keep everyone up to date with the progress. 

We're considering calling the party 'Vampires, Villains & Victims'. The decor will still be mostly focused on vampires, but we'd like to give our guests the opportunity to create costumes based on all kinds of dark and monstrous figures from history and classic horror stories, stuff like that. I'd still appreciate any suggestions you might have! We still need a lot of ideas for props, food... basically everything, haha.


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## Mapleton Manor (Aug 2, 2014)

OMG .....Let my son pick our theme for this year and he chose Vampire slayers. I am going as VanHelsing and the wife as Anna Valaria....and my son is going as Blade. I made the swords for both of them and they turned out great. And I am also going to hand make VanHelsings crossbow for me. Found a great Leather Trech coat at the good will and it will all look great.....MAN I CANT WAIT UNTIL HALLOWEEN to post pictures of us.


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## Mogwai (Jun 10, 2014)

harboe: That sounds fantastic. Would love to see your costumes when they're ready


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## Edward (Sep 24, 2010)

This was my wife and I 4 years ago at our party. We took a break from the horror scene and went with different types of themes for 3 years, this year we will once again resurrect our inner vampire and come up with a new twist for our costumes.


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## ichasiris (Aug 8, 2014)

I'm thinking that I will be doing Victorian Vampires as my theme for 2016. Hopefully I can refer back to this thread then!


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## Mogwai (Jun 10, 2014)

ichasiris: I hope there's something here you find useful. I'm starting to build props now so there'll be a lot more photos and ideas here when they're done


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## girl77 (Oct 25, 2009)

Here are some photos of my first Halloween Party. It was "True Blood " themed. but might give you some ideas for Vampire stuff.


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## Mogwai (Jun 10, 2014)

girl77: Looks great! We're definitely going for a similar style and colour scheme.


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## Mapleton Manor (Aug 2, 2014)

Here is a picture of our vampire theme from 3 years ago.


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## booswife02 (Apr 2, 2013)

Harboe I love that pic! Looks like you guys had fun
Girl77 your party looks awesome. Especially love the fangs on your little one haha...


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## Mogwai (Jun 10, 2014)

Harboe: I love those costumes! It looks great.


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## Mogwai (Jun 10, 2014)

Hey everyone. Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I've been quite busy. Here's my most recent purchase:















He's about three feet long, so definitely one of my bigger store bought props. I ordered him on monday and received him the following day. His eyes light up bright red, his claws move and he makes an evil laughing sound. I'm very happy with him and think he'll add some scariness to our theme. My only complaint is that there is very obvious messy glue on the fur around his face. Fortunately my guests shouldn't be able to see that, as they won't be too close to him and it'll be reasonably dark, so I don't mind too much.
What do you think of him?


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## ooojen (Sep 4, 2014)

Very creepy-- good find!


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## Mogwai (Jun 10, 2014)

Just another quick update. Made this to stick over the window in the toilet to make it appear like a stained glass window.









It's just a sheet of A3 card, cut into a design and covered with black duct tape for sturdiness and to make it look a little neater. Then just purple cellophane taped onto the back. Just a quick little prop. I'll be making some more of these on a much larger scale later for our front windows.


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## Mogwai (Jun 10, 2014)

Found these in the Halloween decorations we have stored away. The raven has red light-up eyes and the owl hoots loudly and turns it's head, it's motion activated. We're going to have the raven in a bird cage, and the owl will probably be perched on the window sill above the toilet, so it will be activated as people open the door / enter the room


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## Mogwai (Jun 10, 2014)

Got a couple more props the other day:

















Hope I'm not posting too much on here  haha


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## ooojen (Sep 4, 2014)

Mogwai said:


> Hope I'm not posting too much on here  haha


Not at all! It's always fun to see what others are gathering for their decorating setups! It's good to see that the options are increasing in Australia (and the UK, too.)
Do you have an equivalent of TJ/TK Maxx?


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## Mogwai (Jun 10, 2014)

Thanks, ooojen  I'm definitely seeing more Halloween items around. Certain things are still hard to come by or very expensive here though. We went hunting for more stuff this afternoon and saw quite a lot that we'll likely pick up later in the week. And no, I don't believe we have anything like TJ Maxx here in Australia. In the UK (where I'm originally from) it's called TK Maxx but I haven't been in the UK for around 10 years so I'm not sure what they sell?


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## ooojen (Sep 4, 2014)

I mistyped-- knew it was TK, but must have been anxious to type those x's -- haha! There's a thread on TJ Maxx and associated stores. The whole thread is fun, but I linked to the page where it really starts to warm up in the Halloween decor department 
http://www.halloweenforum.com/gener...jmaxx-marshalls-canadian-counterparts-15.html

So you used to have Halloween in autumn, then? I know I'd find the difference quite an adjustment!


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## ferhiljoe (Sep 8, 2015)

spotlight has lots of skeletons roughly $15 each and these are glow in dark
is there Costco in w a ?? the one we have here has lots of Halloween items,especially skeletons,gravestones,etc
for the kids you can get boxes of lolly body parts 100 piece for $8.95
hope this may help


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## Mogwai (Jun 10, 2014)

ooojen: Oh, right, haha. Great, I'll take a look at that thread  I never actually celebrated Halloween in England, but Autumn in general is missed. Where I live now, we basically just have summer for 3/4 of the year, haha.

ferhiljoe: We looked in Spotlight a couple of days ago and saw skeletons and other items we'll probably return for this week  Unfortunately I don't think we have a Costco in Perth. That's a shame  Thanks for your suggestion though.


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## Mogwai (Jun 10, 2014)

Hi again, everyone. Just thought I'd upload a few pictures from last night. Unfortunately I didn't manage to get many photos during the evening so most of them were taken after the guests left, and the photos don't really do justice to how it looked in real life.








My sister and I in our costumes (I'm the one on the left) - she ended up winning the best costume prize!


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## Jenn&MattFromPA (Sep 4, 2013)

You & your sister look great! I love that people really dress up for your party! You created a spooky feel to your rooms with that neat lighting in the lacy fabric. I like that. Thanks for sharing!


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## ooojen (Sep 4, 2014)

Love it! What great decor, and what a great-looking bunch! I agree that it's fun to see people so dressed up. People put _some_ effort into costumes for our party, but nothing like that! 

Unfortunately I didn't get my bat mask hung up-side-down looking in the window, but I did get him full of Great Stuff and topping a newel post.


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## Mogwai (Jun 10, 2014)

Thank-you  We had a lot of great costumes this year. My sister's partner works in a theatre so he managed to get some great costumes for himself and his friend;









ooojen: we also didn't get him outside as the weather didn't permit, so he went indoors instead;


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## Mogwai (Jun 10, 2014)

Some more photos:








This greeted people at the door...








Our bathroom had a bath full of 'blood', red lighting, bugs and vines everywhere to give it a creepy, rundown look








My false stained glass window over the toilet, with an owl on the sill








My partner and I posing by candlelight, haha


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## Mogwai (Jun 10, 2014)

Sorry for all the pictures, haha. Just a couple more;








This is what the winners got as a prize. Lots of vampire themed candy (chocolate fangs, bloodsucker bubblegum, etc) as well as a blood orange flavoured drink, vampire incense, blood shot glasses and a horror compilation DVD. I wish I got a good picture of the actual gift box I decorated. Maybe one of the guests got one.








This is the only picture I have where you can see it slightly. That's the quiz winner holding his prize on the left, haha.


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