Halloween 2022 post-mortem

Now that a few weeks have gone by, I have some thoughts about what worked and what didn't...

• The tape and plastic wrap ghost: Great in theory, not so great in practice. She was very susceptible to wind messing her up, but with the dark light on her, all the bugs in central Texas took up residence inside her and died... 
• So for next year we are ditching this one
• The floating heads: Worked better than I hoped for, but next year I will hang them where they are less likely to get bird crap on them...
• The Mast: Worked as intended, but it got a bit beat up. For next year, I need to come up with a better way to mount the flag pole (it kept blowing off) and a better rope ladder...
• The ghosts as their own area in the yard: This did not work. Was too isolated and did not flow the way I wanted it too...
• The fog chiller - This worked well, but it ended up being really windy so the fog never had a chance. I do think I am going to go bigger with the cooler next year. Maybe something like a barrale or something...
• The fog cannon: This was the most popular addition for the party and Halloween night. I do think I will take a look at using a 1000W high density fog machine next year and may shorten the hose and add a 6 inch circular fan in side to blow the fog out more forcefully, especially if I can find a way to sync the fan and fog maker.
• The outhouse: Looked great, kept blowing over in the wind. Solution for next year, L brackets and a decked over pallet...

Overall, I was happy with how things looked. the gazebo entrance worked perfectly in drawing the trick or treaters into the graveyard to get their candy. We had more families come through than ever before and they all loved it. So what about next year? Aside from the changes I mentioned above, my wife, close friend's and I came up with a few ideas to ramp things up even further next year:

• Have a table and chairs set up - Rickety looking and weathered, with 3 pirate skeletons playing poker with piles of pirate coins glued into piles on the table...
• Get the biggest dragon skeleton I can find that is not insanely priced and have it leashed with yet another skeleton (maybe a 3' tall one) pulling the leash while waling backwards...
• Build a 10 foot (ish) long bow of a pirate caravel complete with a deck and bowsprit and rope rigging and giant hole in the side. Maybe have a skeleton hanging upside down in the rigging... Maybe name it the Revenge (10 points to whomever gets the reference)
• Rope lights in orange or purple to mark paths in the grave yard and around the shipwreck, etc.
• Have a pair of pirates sword fighting in a crazy manner of some sort using their left hands. One can be wearing a mask, the other with sign asking if you have seen a six-fingered man... (10 more points possible here...)

So that's a wrap on Halloween 2022. It was a ton of work and did not quite go how I wanted, but no plan survives first contact, and the weather with 10 days in a row of 30-35+ winds showed that nature still get's the deciding vote, no matter what we may think or plan...

We are in the midst of decorating for Christmas as I type this, so pics will be coming soon. There have not been any real projects yet, unless or until I can find for cheap a used children's playhouse that can be repainted gingerbread brown, with cookies and candy added... More to come as we close out 2022!