Is your neighborhood decorated for Halloween? (Lynchburg, Springfield: new house, buying, university)

[normie]

Wow, my street's really going all out this year. I've never seen so many of the houses putting up orange lights, tombstones, big fuzzy spiders, and (of course!) spider webs on all the bushes. We've gone Halloween crazy!

What's your street like? Lots of decorations? Lots of pumpkins but not too many other decorations? Or nothing at all?

Also, are people carving/painting pumpkins this year or just putting them out on the steps in their natural state?

[South Jersey Styx]

This is our first Halloween in Winchester and people seemed pretty festive in our neighborhood. Lots of decorations, cobwebs, headstones, a couple of giant ghouls, etc. Most of the businesses downtown are decorated too. The pumpkins I've seen so far are "natural" and placed on stairs, front porches, etc. Pumpkins are really affordable here. I've seen big ones selling for $3-$4. I actually bypassed buying pumpkins in NJ this year b/c they're priced lower here.

We usually eat our pumpkins after Halloween. So I'm not carving mine this year. I do have those Halloween bags (like the ones they use in the SW) with lights in them. Lots of lights on the front porch and I'll have blood-curdling music playing. Didn't put some things up this year like the bloody brains and Caution police tape.

[LynchburgLover]

Originally Posted by South Jersey Styx

This is our first Halloween in Winchester and people seemed pretty festive in our neighborhood. Lots of decorations, cobwebs, headstones, a couple of giant ghouls, etc. Most of the businesses downtown are decorated too. The pumpkins I've seen so far are "natural" and placed on stairs, front porches, etc. Pumpkins are really affordable here. I've seen big ones selling for $3-$4. I actually bypassed buying pumpkins in NJ this year b/c they're priced lower here.

We usually eat our pumpkins after Halloween. So I'm not carving mine this year. I do have those Halloween bags (like the ones they use in the SW) with lights in them. Lots of lights on the front porch and I'll have blood-curdling music playing. Didn't put some things up this year like the bloody brains and Caution police tape.

Will is also be your first Christmas? Wait until you see Washington Street and the neighborhood off Whittier Avenue all lined with the luminarias! It's pretty -- Christmas Eve.

[South Jersey Styx]

Originally Posted by LynchburgLover

Will is also be your first Christmas? Wait until you see Washington Street and the neighborhood off Whittier Avenue all lined with the luminarias! It's pretty -- Christmas Eve.

Yes, our first Christmas! That's one reason I did not put up all of the Halloween decorations -- b/c I am concentrating on the holidays! I bought a new tree last year (7.5') before I even bought the new house (because I figured I'd have the tall ceilings which I did end up with! ).

I also read in the paper that there's a parade and tree-lighting ceremony in the downtown walking mall after Thanksgiving? I hope there are Historic House holiday tours as I would love to see that, especially some of those mansions.

We're already planning for New Year's Eve since downtown has the festival, bands, and fireworks!

[LynchburgLover]

Originally Posted by South Jersey Styx

Yes, our first Christmas! That's one reason I did not put up all of the Halloween decorations -- b/c I am concentrating on the holidays! I bought a new tree last year (7.5') before I even bought the new house (because I figured I'd have the tall ceilings which I did end up with! ).

I also read in the paper that there's a parade and tree-lighting ceremony in the downtown walking mall after Thanksgiving? I hope there are Historic House holiday tours as I would love to see that, especially some of those mansions.

We're already planning for New Year's Eve since downtown has the festival, bands, and fireworks!

First Night is fun although the last couple years were soooooo cold.

Preservation of Historic Winchester does the Holiday Houses. Preservation of Historic Winchester, Inc.: Holiday House Tour (http://www.phwi.org/hht.html - broken link) and, of course, there's Historic Garden Week in the Spring.

Winchester really is a delightful community.

[South Jersey Styx]

Originally Posted by LynchburgLover

Preservation of Historic Winchester does the Holiday Houses. Preservation of Historic Winchester, Inc.: Holiday House Tour (http://www.phwi.org/hht.html - broken link) and, of course, there's Historic Garden Week in the Spring.

Thanks for sending this! Looks like a blast, especially that Preview Party!

First Night is fun although the last couple years were soooooo cold.

We live downtown so figured we could walk, go back home if needed, and head back out. Already have the fur boots and long underwear ready to go!

[CaliTerp07]

There are a handful of homes in N. Springfield that went all out! Orange lights on the house, giant pumpkins/spiders/tombstones, green porchlight, etc.

I'm not a big halloween person--I don't like the creepiness of it. I put some happy jack-o-lantern lights in our front window, and there are pumpkins on our front porch, which we'll carve on Sunday afternoon My sister created an awesome University of Maryland mascot pattern for me to carve on my pumpkin, so I'm super excited!

[Caladium]

The luminarias are very big on my street, too. We have long walkways and long driveways, so they look really cool here. A few houses have "graveyards". One has an elaborately decorated yard.

The rest of the houses mostly have a string of orange lights or maybe the blinking eyeball lights in the bushes. Almost every house seems to have at least one pumpkin or scarecrow.

[normie]

Those neon green spiderwebs are everywhere this year. Looks like they're the favorite way to decorate bushes (when rain isn't predicted).

I see very few carved pumpkins, but a fair number of painted pumpkins a la Martha Stewart.

[CaliTerp07]

Originally Posted by normie

I see very few carved pumpkins, but a fair number of painted pumpkins a la Martha Stewart.

Can you carve them early? I'm in the habit of carving them on Halloween day (we're doing ours this afternoon). We always did it that way growing up, because they'd start to rot and fall apart after 24 hours. Maybe that's not an issue here, since it's much colder out than california?