Life is more fun with Halloween decorations, says one Red Deer resident.
“It’s just fun to see all the little kids on the street, or people walking their dogs, stop and check it all out. They enjoy it and it makes me happy,” said Corry Whitney, whose home on Syndey Close is decked out with tombstones, lights, skeletons, witches and more.
“I don’t just do it for Halloween. I do it for Christmas. I do it for everything. I have all sorts of decor that I stick in the front yard,” she said.
Whitney puts up Halloween decorations in her front yard, and inside her home, every year. This year’s setup is a little different than in the past, she said.
“Last year, I had two very big spruce trees out front, so I knew how to string the lights, where to put the skeleton heads. We had to lose the trees because of the big winds we’ve had. They started to tip towards our house – you don’t want a 50-foot spruce hitting your house,” said Whitney.
“We chopped them down in the spring and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I don’t know how to decorate, I don’t know what to do.’ So it was a completely new creation this year.”
It took three weekends to finish decorating, she added.
“One day was probably spent putting away all the fall decor, mowing the lawn, getting rid of the leaves and that sort of thing. Then you have to come up with an idea of what you’re going to do this year,” she said.
“Certain things inspire me. It could even be something I saw on Pinterest. I set up two witches around the cauldron, with lights in the cauldron so it looks like it’s being used by them.”
Whitney owns Magical Elements in downtown Red Deer.
“I own a witch store, so therefore, I’m a witch,” said Whitney.
“Halloween for us is called Samhain and it’s a time to honour the dead who’ve gone before us, and it’s also the witch’s new year. You take stock of what happened throughout the year, what you like, what you want to keep, what you want to get rid of it. It’s just a fun night.”
Her store is also decorated for Halloween, featuring a miniature village that took about five hours to assemble.
“A lot of people set up a Christmas snow village. I do a Halloween spooky town village. It’s all based on witches, pumpkins and Day of the Dead, which is in Mexico. It’s not the same as Halloween, it’s just a time to celebrate, honour and remember your loved ones who have passed away.”
sean.mcintosh@reddeeradvocate.com
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