Countdown to Halloween - Oct. 31 - Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

Hope you all had a Spooktacular Halloween night! We had over 240 trick or treaters this year, it was quite a night! Time to relax with leftover candy - HA!

Now to start planning next year! If you're in the mood to get a jump start on next year's festivities, check out The Vintage Halloween Store - we've got sales going on and be sure to order our 2014 Halloween calendar full of vintage postcard witches and fanciful postcard sayings.

 

Jenn:)

Countdown to Halloween - Oct. 30 - Nancy Drew Halloween Party

Nancy Drew

Blackwood Hall 

Halloween Party 

I selected the spooky Nancy Drew classic book, The Ghost of Blackwood Hall, #25 in the series as this year's Halloween party theme. This year was my 5th annual Nancy Drew Halloween Party and I set out to recreate a little bit of Blackwood Hall as the setting. 12 of us gathered at the house for an evening of spooks and treats with a ghostly theme. We dined on an old favorite, Parmesan chicken, penne Alfredo, salad with all the trimmings, rolls, chips and dips and salsa, peanut butter chocolate cream cheese ball with cookies and crackers, and for dessert: rice krispie treat cupcakes, popcorn balls, pretzel sticks dipped in chocolate, and Reese's peanut butter cookie cups. Sleuth Pam from Canada also brought us some delicious chocolates from Canada and Maple Sugar candies! Bess would have been in Heaven--except for the luminous green "poison" punch! Yum!

We played a quicksand trivia game for prizes, a nifty crossword puzzle based on the book, and we held our annual treat bag gift exchange. We also took photos with photo booth props and glowing glasses--the ones on the porch without the flash have a very ghostly effect! The porch was the hidden elevator in Blackwood Hall complete with green glowing specter and to the side was the secret room that opened off the elevator that had the skeleton, magic props, mannequin, and scary looking cat. The front window silhouette was a take on the second cover art shown above with Nancy standing apart from Bess (who says "Eeek!") and George with the flashlight. The house was decorated with ghosts, pumpkins lit the walkway and hung from the trees with lights inside, and 2 large scarecrows guarded the entry to the porch with crows perched on their arms. Inside the back of the elevator was a jar of green "poison" just like was left with Nancy in the elevator by the villainous Brex Brothers! I passed out goody bags to everyone with treats and Blackwood Hall buttons.

I loved creating all the "ghostly" decor, so enjoy some pics from the party:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jenn:)

Countdown to Halloween - Oct. 29 - Vintage Halloween Collections

Sharing Vintage Halloween Collector Len's collection this week--so fun and festive! Check out Len's blog.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jenn:)

Countdown to Halloween - Oct. 28 - Vintage Halloween Ads

Vintage Halloween Noisemaker Ads

Here are a couple more ads I saw at eBay for vintage noisemakers being offered at Gellman Bros. They are a treat!

Jenn:)

Countdown to Halloween - Oct. 27- Vintage Halloween Ads

Vintage Halloween Ads

I noticed these ads on eBay recently showcasing vintage noisemakers and party horns. The hats are fun to collect too. The ads are a great way to see what was available on a given year.

Jenn:)

Countdown to Halloween - Oct. 26 - Vintage Halloween Collectibles

Whether it's blow molds, noisemakers, games or other party decor and ephemera, collecting Vintage Halloween is a treat :) But it can be tricky too! Here's some fun items I've seen at eBay this season.

Jenn:)

Countdown to Halloween - Oct. 25 - Vintage Halloween Postcard?

My cousin Amber and I used to make fun of what we called "tacky" postcards - when we were kids going on summer trips with the family, we stopped in at a place in Amarillo that had a book of "Tacky Postcards" and they were hilarious. Does this one qualify? Probably so. Is it a Halloween one though? It does have an owl and mentions a ghost, so, maybe.....

Jenn:)

Countdown to Halloween - Oct. 24 - Carving Faux Pumpkins

Bruce sent me some photos of his pumpkin carving on faux pumpkins--from Funkins to those he has purchased at Michael's. The key he says to carving, is to use a hot knife as it will carve like slicing through butter! 

 

 

 

Jenn:)