Cool trend in Halloween decorations - Christmas lights

Clinton Street - Multi-colored lights with carefully applied webbing

Halloween decorations are going up fast and furious in my little hamlet of Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn. People go a little nuts around here this time of year and Carroll Gardens is home to some of the coolest Halloween decorations anywhere.

Part of the fun is spotting the trends in Halloween decor. Last year it was giant, fuzzy spiders and body parts (check out my Halloween Round-up 2011) and this year a new trend is emerging: Christmas, or "twinkie" lights, applied with a generous hand.

White webs, white lights, white ghosts - spooky!

Of course, Halloween fanatics (and you know who you are) have been using Christmas lights since the dawn of time for their festive displays, but this year the effect seems to be going mainstream.

These are no Yuletide leftovers. Sure, there are the classic, white Christmas lights, but there are also colored lights - one color per strand - in hues like purple and orange! Huzzah!

For the spookiest Halloween look, though, nothing beats white on white - sparkling white lights wrapped in wispy webs and a skull or two - especially when everything's swaying in a cool, autumn breeze.

How to decorate a fire escape for Halloween? Add lights & voila!

And if you're wondering, "Just how do I decorate a fire escape for Halloween?" look no further than a few strands of colored twinkies and an extension cord. This fire escape on Court Street also boasted a line of mini light-up Jack O'Lanterns, if you want to get fancy about it.

Who knew that one day it would be socially acceptable to have your Christmas lights up year 'round. Let's celebrate!

Halloween round-up 2011

Halloween was Fang-tastic this year! (pumpkin on a Cobble Hill, Brooklyn stoop)

Happy day after Halloween! It's been a super-fun Halloween season and I thought I'd share some of my favorite moments of October, 2011 with you.

First off, a big shout-out to my Twitter friends and my friends on Facebook. I know that when it's time to discuss the relative merits of smooth vs. warty pumpkins or the true meaning of Play-Doh Ghosts, you guys will jump into the debate! Thanks.

Also, it was really fun talking to the variety of journalists who interviewed me and wrote articles about me and my Halloween book, Real Family Halloween Fun. Many of these folks are Halloween nerds themselves and I had some hilarious conversations with rather well-respected newspaper people and bloggers about bloody eyeballs and things like that. Special shout-out to the hardcore Halloween fanatics like 365Halloween.com and AEIOU ... and Sometimes Why for letting me be part of the spooky gang. 

I spent October talking to all of you about Halloween. (Sound like fun? Yes, it was.) When I wasn't discussing things like the history of National Candy Corn Day, I was out in my Brooklyn neighborhood taking pictures of the Halloween decorations.

Genuinely scary skeleton on Clinton Street 

Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, is a bit of a Halloween epicenter, drawing trick-or-treaters from all over Brooklyn - and the trick-or-treating starts at 2:30pm! Residents here really know how to show their Halloween spirit, and it was easy finding great decorations to share with readers. 

Some trends in decorations this year:

• giant, fuzzy spiders

• elaborately etched pumpkins

• body parts, often in planters

• using spider webs for blankets and veils

• flat witches that have supposedly crashed into windows

And then, just when we should all have been making candied apples and shopping for the perfect halo, along came a freak snow storm on 10/29/11. They said it was coming but we didn't believe them. This was Dave's reaction:

Luckily, NYC didn't get hit as hard as Westchester county or parts of New Jersey, where one of my friends got 19 inches of snow! In Brooklyn, the snow was all melted by Monday and trick-or-treating commenced directly after school.

Angel, Black Ninja, Red Ninja

And much candy was had by all. And a shocking sugar low was had at around 9pm, despite the pre-trick-or-treating snack. Oh well, it's only once a year.


My kids loved making all the crafts and recipes this year. My daughter is particularly deft at all this and likes to be involved with all aspects of my projects. When I cautioned her to be careful with the glue on one craft she informed me, "I'm always careful." Come on, Mom, get in the game.


Thanks to everybody for the fun & support. See you next year!


Maggie

To the victor go the spoils.

Halloween Decorations in Brooklyn, Part VI

Not big bikers. (Clinton St.)

Greetings from sunny Brooklyn, where Halloween decorations grow like well-tended roses, particularly in Carroll Gardens.

Scary skeleton with devil horns. And look at that clown! (Carroll Gardens)

Giant tree spider will carry off your children. (Carroll Gardens)

Sleepy little monster head (Carroll Gardens)

Web-covered rat (Clinton St.)

Come, sit next to me on the AC. (Carroll Gardens)

Look at this nice couple ...

... AGH! Good one! (Carroll Gardens)

Balcony friend (Carroll Gardens)

Another balcony friend (Carroll Gardens)

Just hangin' around (Clinton St.)

Me, too! (Carroll Gardens)

Big, scary bat (Clinton St.)

Is there a kid in there? (2nd Pl.)

Happy Halloween!

Halloween Decorations in Brooklyn, Part V

Here, I'll just water these plants and .. AGH! (Clinton St.)

Greetings from sunny Brooklyn, where people go a little crazy on Halloween.

Let me out of lawn. (Carroll Gardens)

A lot of warnings (Carroll Gardens)

OK, OK, I'm scared. (Carroll Gardens)

Just hanging around (2nd Pl.)

I see you up there. (3rd floor, Clinton St.)

This guy thinks he's funny. (Carroll Gardens)

This guy got carved early and is already degrading. Obviously the work of ...

... children! This is what our Jack-o-lanterns look like, too.

And speaking of children, I like this plain old pumpkin with just one, tiny giraffe sticker on the back. (Cobble Hill)

This tree did look kind of naked without the Frankenstein wrap. (Carroll gardens)

AGH! Giant spider escaping 2nd floor window. (Carroll Gardens)

Festive funeral wreath. (Carroll Gardens)

The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind. (Carroll Gardens)

You got the multi-color spiderweb pack? Me too! (Carroll Gardens)

Green webs, just like in a real old house. (Cobble Hill)

It's weird when you feel like warning the skeleton about the big, red hand. (Clinton St.)

Just plain scary

Happy Halloween!

Halloween Decorations in Brooklyn, IV

Death bath, 2nd floor windowsill (Clinton St.)

I'm happy to report that the Halloween decorations in Brooklyn are going up fast and furious now - so fast that it's hard to take pics of them all! Here'a a selection from a recent constitutional.

Probably the best Halloween decoration ever (Carroll Gardens/Cobble Hill)

Companion to best ever, also pretty darned good (Carroll Gardens/Cobble Hill)

The purple theme - always appropriate (Carroll Gardens)

Brown spiders, that's new to me. (Cobble Hill)

Nice doorway! (Carroll Gardens)

Twinsies (Clinton St.)

Please, Noah More! (Clinton St.)

Rats hanging from their necks are always a nice touch. (Carroll Gardens/Cobble Hill)

Unique purple tree web (Cobble Hill)

Skully with veil made from webs (Clinton St.)

I see you, weird metal Jack-o-lantern!

More to come. Happy Halloween, everybody!