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Halloween Decorations - Jack is Back!
"The Nightmare Before Christmas" inspired decor
I first watched Tim Burton's "The Nightmare Before Christmas" when my friend, Nancy told me it was her favorite. She is the first person I met who was in love with the film. And now it has a cult following and is synonymous with Halloween. The Disney Parks even transform the Haunted Mansion ride into a living version of the film during the holiday season. In fact, the holiday Haunted Mansion has become one of my family's favorite rides. It is the first ride we hit when we visit Disneyland during the holidays.
If we can't go to the Haunted Mansion...
So this year, I decided to bite the bullet and turn our family room into a miniature version of “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” I did some research on the internet. Everything from stills from the movie to pictures of the Holiday Haunted Mansion at Disneyland. I chose a few key characters to highlight: the striped snake, the monster wreath, Jack’s hill (as my son calls it), and Zero. And as a nod to the decor in the Haunted Mansion, I wanted to also do Jack’s Naughty or Nice list and the presents.
Next, I scoured the internet for any of these items in decoration form. Considering how popular this movie is and how all-over-the-place it is at this time of year, it was actually very difficult to find decorations beyond flimsy paper party decorations. I wanted more than that. Thus, I figured I might as well try my hand at making them. So I sat down and sketched out what I wanted each area of the family room to look like.
Sketches
I found that by sketching them out, I stayed focused on what I wanted to do. Specifically, what I already had on hand, and what needed to be made. It is the first time that I sketched out my decorating ideas and I think I may never do it any other way again. Very helpful.
Rounding up the supplies
Once I figured out what needed to be made, I went back to the internet to see about buying my supplies. I went all over, from Amazon to Walmart, to Michaels and Hobby Lobby. Luckily, I planned this in early September, so I had time to wait for everything to arrive. I also made sure to keep the boxes that items were arriving in so that I had boxes to wrap for the presents. Once I had everything, I made a schedule for myself of what I would create and when. This way, I did not get overwhelmed, and I made sure that every item got done in time. I also kept them a secret from my daughter so she could be surprised when everything finally went up. My son, however, I let in on everything since he is the one who watches the movie repeatedly. His input and approval was greatly appreciated!
Countdown Clock
This was the first item I worked on. It took a few hours and ended up being a lot easier than I anticipated. It is made from foam board, acrylic paint, red and black Sharpie pen, construction paper, cardstock, twine, and a premade garland. My first step was to cut out the shape of the clock (both the face and the bottom part). Then I painted just the face an off-white color. Next, I cut out the grey bottom of the clock and painted it grey. I also used a rust color to paint on the rivets. Then I glued it on top of the other piece.
Once the paints dried, I drew in the clock face and the countdown ticker. I cut out the clock hands and glued them to the clock, placing a small square of foam board between the hands and the clock face to provide some elevation for effect. Then, I laid the garland around the clock face and positioned it how I wanted. Using a small nail, I poked holes into the clock and used the twine to tie sections of the garland to the clock.
Lastly, I wrote out the "XMAS" sign and used the twine to attach it to the clock just as it was in the film. With masking tape, I secured the piece of twine to the back of the clock.
Zero, the ghost dog
This little pup is a favorite in our house. Thus, I didn't hesitate to buy him from Amazon. He is a bit large (he measures about 30" tall), but his pumpkin nose lights up! How could I resist?! Zero was actually the biggest splurge in the entire decorating process. He is hanging from a cup hook I installed in the ceiling (yeah, we'll just putty up that hole when we're done) and is hanging by fishing line so that he appears to be floating.
The wreath is one that I already had and I just spray painted black, then tied tiny plastic bones to it using black string. I tied the same plastic bones to the black garland as well.
Zero's gravestone house is constructed out of white foam board that I painted with acrylic paint. I just cut out the shapes and used the glue gun to attach them all, reinforcing certain areas with duct tape. Then I painted. It is three-dimensional which helps it to stand on its own.
Santa Jack's list and presents
The list was one of the last things I made. I used a roll of crafting paper in brown (versus white) to give it more of an old and not-cheery vibe. I trimmed the edges to add to the effect. Then, using a black Sharpie, I wrote out random names in handwriting that looks kind of Jack-like to me. I also realized that I couldn't write names of people we knew as the kids would have a field day making fun of whoever got the naughty skull mark next to their name! Then, I took a purple and an orange-colored pencil and drew the pumpkins and skull and crossbones randomly next to the names.
The presents are wrapped in whatever Halloween themed wrapping paper I could find. As an extra touch, I drew and cut out the coffin-shaped gift tags from off-white cardstock. I made sure to tell my kids right away that these were purely decoration and that they were in fact empty.
Snake and Monster Wreath
The wreath was also something I already had, though it was just a plain green wreath. So I cut out the eyes from yellow cardstock and used a glue gun to stick them to the wreath. I then cut out jagged teeth from the foam board and used the glue gun to attach those as well. Next, I added red pom poms (again with the glue gun) in random spots. The ribbon is tied to the bottom of the wreath with string.
The snake was made using orange and black striped stockings. I cut one leg off at the hip and stitched it to the foot of the other leg (be sure to cut open the toe prior to doing this so you can get the stuffing in there). Then I stuffed the body with poly-fil. I then took two paper plates and cut each into identical shapes to resemble the mouth of the snake. After fitting the plates in place, I added more stuffing to help it look more realistic. Then I stitched up the waist of the stocking. With a glue gun, I stuck googly eyes on the snake's head. The present that is in the snake's mouth is glued into place. It also serves to hide the stitching.
Jack's hill
I went back and forth on this one. At first, I thought I would create the moon and hill using large colored paper. But I wondered how much a photo back drop would be so I did some searching and found this one on Amazon for a very reasonable price. And once I measured the wall space and realized it perfectly matched the size of the backdrop, I was sold. The standing Jack doll is placed there to hide the cords for the light up houses. He was already living in my son's room, so he just got relocated on an assignment for the month.
The garland on the ceiling is the same as the one I used for Zero, except I just intertwined this one with lights (which change from purple to orange). The bats are plastic and stick onto the wall (found on Amazon).
All in all, this project turned out pretty well in my opinion. My kids are super happy with it and when all the light up things are lit, it makes for a festive place for us all to watch Halloween movies.
The only task that is left is something that was brought to my attention by my son: I have to figure out where and how I am going to store all of this on November first when I switch over to Thanksgiving decorations!