Thrift and Yard Sale Shopping

[DemonSlayerMau]

Anyone find anything good and Halloweeny at a yard sale or a thrift store? How about the local antique store? I saw some cool Halloween-esque things at the antique store, and if I see anything that catches my eye this summer when people have their yard sales around town, I just might get it.
Thrift stores may have things that the other stores wouldn't have, including good old vintage halloween decorations.
If I find anything affordable that fits my halloween decor style, or even stuff I could use to make new decorations, I'll probably get it.
Of course, I won't be giving up any of my Halloween things. I really can't wait until I have my own place, so I can display them all without getting yelled at.

[TK421]

I haven't been searching the thrift stores yet this year, but two years ago I found a great rocking chair for one of my porch witches, and it was only $12. A little wood glue and a clamp overnight and it was as good as new!

I'm curious, you mention "once you have your own place." What do you have now? Parents, apartment, rental, roommates? My college roommate was pretty understanding about my Halloween habit. Although, he was the one that started the, "no decorating before October 1st rule."

I have loved Halloween my whole life, but once I got my own house, it really kicked into high gear. I decorated my parent's place every year when I was at home, and then I'd decorate my apartment in college. After college, it was pretty much the same thing, some simple decorations here and there.

But once I bought a house!! Wow!!

Now the trick is finding enough storage for everything in the off season. I wonder if the wife would let me keep the tombstones on the front lawn all year round?

[DemonSlayerMau]

I live with my dad and grandma. It's my grandma's house, and she does not hesitate for a second to remind me! She's kind of old fashioned and thinks Halloween is the Devil's holiday.
She at least lets me hand out candy, as long as I'm the one to buy it. I have to admit though, the house could pass for a haunted house by itself without the decorations. It's over a hundred years old, people have died in here...including my grandfather who died in the room I'm now in.
I'm in college right now hoping to get a better career, I have a two year degree but it's an individual studies degree, so now I'm going for something a little more specific. Unfortunately where I live, all I can find is part time and temporary help...and the way the economy is...it's gonna be tough.
I decorate my room for halloween though. So at least one room in the house is ready for halloween spirit. Hahaha.

[litemareb4xmas]

I'm a thrift store yard sale junkie, I have so much stuff I've found I couldn't begin to list it.
Right now I'm trying to refrain from a deal at a pawn shop, it's a giant fogger like they use at rock concerts, at least a 1500$ machine, and it's $150, if I could get the guy down another 50 I'd snag it. Problem is I have 4 brand new small ones and 2 or 3 old ones, my wife may kill me.
And there's the not knowing if I'll have enough power at the new house. I've been borderline blowing a fuse as it is!
But imagine the fog!

[litemareb4xmas]

Forgot to mention the most thrift store around here at least stockpile halloween stuff, last year I kept asking for a month, finally they said they had no-one to lift it down from the shelves, so I offered to help out, in exchange I got first choice, I made out well that day!

[TK421]

Bill,

What pawn shop are you going to? I'll go pick up that industrial fogger tomorrow if I can!

I'm not moving, and I could really use it. Right now I run three little ones. I also really need to build a good fog chiller this year, so I need to start looking for an old cooler I can convert.

[litemareb4xmas]

check yer pm's Tk

[TK421]

I checked my PMs and responded. Thanks!

[DemonSlayerMau]

Wow, that does sound like a great deal. Gives me ideas when I get my own place. A fog machine sounds like it'd be great for a grave yard scene.
What sort of things did you get that day when you had to help lift things down?

[litemareb4xmas]

oh some pumpkins, a few gravestones, can never have to many of those, ok I may be close, think I'm up to about 30 pumpkins now, can't really remember what else.
Yes a fog machine is critical. Someone has discovered away to tap into the controls so I can have a fog machine sequenced into the lightshow w/out having to buy the expensive dmx device, so I'm thinking of a cannon, although ya need a good pirate display for that, so maybe not for me.
Running a chiller on your machine is important too, it keeps the fog lying low rather than just poof up in the air.
You can get the walmart/target machines for about $20, I found 4 this year day after halloween at Target so I snagged em all, so that will bring me to 7. Spensers carries em year round too.
Another very important thing is lighting, colored flood lights, blue-green-red even yellow, they all add mood to your set.
I just found another 6 floodlight holders on the xmas clearance rack for .25 each, so that will bring me up to about 15 floodlights.

[litemareb4xmas]

oops my bad again, hope ya read before I edited, too many things going on at once at the moment!
I was checking your website and it said you were 23 so I thought i was someone else I was replying too.

[DemonSlayerMau]

I'm no expert at wiring things. I'm really looking forward to having my own place...I swear I'm gonna decorate for EVERY little holiday.
There are these people who I like to drive by, and they really do have a display for every holiday...Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valintines, St Patty's, Easter, you name it, they have it. I think they put the most effort into the Christmas one though.
Thanks for the tips, I'm gonna wait until I get my own place for a fog machine. What I'd really like is one with a skull on it like my stepfather has, but you don't find them anymore like that.

[litemareb4xmas]

Well like I was saying before I got confused, check your area for a haunted house, they are usually run by a needy charity and always need help, so since ya can't do a big display on your own, go help out, I did last year and had a great time, learned a lot, scared a lot of people, and we raised 8k for the boys and girls club.
They had a huge barn basement turned into a wild maze!
Or maybe your Grandmother wouldn't mind you decorating a lot more if you did it to raise canned food for her church foodbank. Look for the angle that might turn her around!

[TK421]

Never say never, DemonSlayer. I see several various "skull foggers" on ebay. I'm sure when you're ready with your own place you can check ebay and find what you want.

[TK421]

That's a good point. Look for the right angle.

Some people in my neighborhood that we were nuts, but once we started the canned food drive, people really started to come around. And it helps with the local paper, too.