Monday, September 30, 2024
Lowe's Halloween 2024 Part 2
Had to get some landscaping supplies at Lowe's today and saw that they've already got their Christmas decor on display, but they also had way more Halloween props out than what they had out back at the end of July. While some of the stuff is really nice looking, it's all rather pricey. It's starting to make what we spend on building our own props and mannequins look "frugal" in comparison. Also have to wonder about the longevity of these mass produced props and decorations for the long haul. We have a set of 6 life sized "Haunted Headstones" made from wood that we ordered from a specialty vendor for ~ $960 with shipping (they're heavy) back in 2000 and we're still using those headstones 24 years later!
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I would think you might be lucky to get 10 years out of most of these. But I would not know as like you, I prefer to make most of my own stuff.
ReplyDeleteWe have one example of life span. We bought a standing static female zombie prop from Spirit Halloween in 2012 (for $129) that we use annually with different masks and costumes. After only 6 years, the metal base stand welds to the legs broke and we only set up the haunt for 2 to 3 day max for Halloween. In 2019 we built a wooden base with two PVC pipes mounted to it and were able to salvage it. We also had the 2011 Spirit Halloween "Gatekeeper" that had a sticker price of $170 at the time, but we may have used a 20% off coupon. The motion activation sensor failed us on Halloween night, so the red LED eyes never lit up nor did it the prop talk, only the mechanical arm lifting the lantern worked (arm motor was AC/DC, lantern was battery powered, so a mish mosh of tech). The prop itself was just an odd shaped metal stick figure that didn't take form until the robe and cloak were put on it. We used it one more time in 2015 statically, and that was the end of that. We've stayed away from those big standing animatronic props sold in stores ever since!
DeleteWe also had a latex over metal wire armature peg leg pirate skeleton we recall we purchased from Halloween Express online for our 2006 haunt. Want to say we paid around $80 or $90 for it. It was very difficult to keep standing. It only came with a small metal base that the skeletal leg/foot slipped over a small metal post, the peg leg was "free standing". Even the first time we used it in our pirate themed haunt in 2006, we had to tie a string around its waste and secure it to a shrub behind it to keep it from falling over. We managed to use it for another 9 Halloweens dressed as other characters, but it always required a tether to keep it standing and it always fought us during haunt setup. We retired it after 2015, believe the latex started tearing off around the armature and were glad to be rid of it!
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