Contest Reminder!

Just a friendly reminder while I'm working on the next post for Project Halloween that I currently have a Halloween contest where you build your own Halloween display and show it off on your blog. In case you need a refresher, here are the entry details:

1. Create a Halloween display. It can be made of anything you want ... candles, figures, lights, posters, movies, candy, etc just as long as its something that reminds you to enjoy and embrace the fall and Halloween season.

2. Write a blog post about your display and leave a comment on the original post (http://cardboardclubhouse.blogspot.com/2016/09/the-2016-halloween-mood-display-and.html) with a link to your post.

3. Entries are due by 11:59 PM October 21st. The entries will then be randomized 13 times and the winner, which will be announced on Halloween itself, will get a bubble mailer full of cards for his/her collection (since this is a sports card blog by day of course).

I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's entries!

Obligatory card:

Five Cheap Trick Or Treat Bags

I'll come right out and say it, these bags are really cool, even cooler considering they were nearly a steal at 20 cents each. Yes, you read that right, they were 20 cents each from the local grocery store. Cheap Halloween goods like this were what the original Halloween videos my friends and I did were based upon (side note: those will be posted up come October) so this will be like going back to my roots as I review these. Quick aside, there were actually six different designs to choose from, however the sixth one contained a giant spider on the front of the bag. Since I want nothing to do with spiders in any form, be it cartoonish or otherwise, I opted to leave that one at the store.

Bag #1 - Jack O'Lantern: Here's the first bag, pretty simple if you ask me. Just nothing more than a jack-o-latern pattern with a generic orange background and a black bottom. These bags have the same feel and are about the same size of a small popcorn bag that you would pay about six dollars for at the movie theater with no refills. To be honest, there's not much else here to talk about aside from this bag serving as a good model to use when carving your pumpkin this fall.

Bag #2 - Haunted House: Someone really put some effort into this one. On the front alone, you've got a mummy, a giant jack-o-lantern, a ghost, a super creepy mansion, a dark sky, the outline of a creepy old tree and presumably bats flying above the mansion. Now if just looking at this bag doesn't get you in the Halloween spirit, I don't know what will. After I took the picture, I noticed the side of the bag has pumpkins running all along the side of it. I definitely give this one a top score for creativity.

Bag #3 - Happy Monsters: I have no idea on if "Happy Monsters" is the official title of this design or not, I'm simply calling it that because these creatures seem incredibly thrilled to be plastered on the front of this bag. It's just got this fun, happy, Monsters Inc. feel to it and I'm sure any elementary school kid would be proud to carry this around during trick or treat.

Bag #4: Party Favors: Need some cheap, generic Halloween party wallpaper or something funky to decorate your work cube with? Then go grab yourself some of these! This one definitely gives a vibe of a Halloween party with jack-o-lanterns, evil looking suckers, tiny bats, and generic candy in the form of Tootsie Pops. I'd say this one is probably my second favorite behind the haunted house bag.

Bag #5: Squiggles: Here's the last bag, a simple Happy Halloween graphic centered on top of some black, white, and orange squiggles. While not exactly the most inspiring design, it definitely has more character than it's cousin, the plain orange jack-o-latern bag we started things off with. Heck, even the pumpkin looks thrilled to be part of the proceedings.

Overall, I'd say for 20 cents a piece, you definitely can't go wrong here. I'm hoping I can find some other cheap goods to pick up during the season as these were great!

The 2016 Halloween Mood Display (and a Halloween Contest!)

It's that time again! It's time for the reveal of the annual Halloween Mood Display!

A bit of backstory first ... I started doing this in 2014 when my Halloween spirit was really low. Why it was so low that year, I'm not sure. So I took a spare table and got inspired by the Halloween mood tables that Matt from Dinosaur Dracula does every year and created my Halloween mood table. Needless to say, that was an instant spirit lifter. Last year, I wanted to do another table but seeing as my son likes to get into things within his reach, I opted to use a ledge on an archway between my living room and kitchen and it turned out pretty well.

This year, I decided to use the same ledge for the display ...

Here's a before picture, a blank canvas, ripe to be built on with some crazy Halloween decor

And afterward ....

Behold, the 2016 Halloween Mood Display! Let's take a tour ....

A must for any Halloween display is activities. My blu-ray box set of the Halloween series is a must and I grabbed a few other movies as well. Even though it's hard to see, the other films are Friday the 13th, Signs, and Evil Dead 2. This is also the Ghostbusters portion of the program with the Slimer figure I bought at Horrorhound earlier this year, Winston hanging out in Ecto-1, and Ray looking from afar.

A closer look at Winston chilling in the car and sharing a word with Jason Voorhees.

Here's the centerpiece as I described previously, the Spookytown Gas N Ghoul. I went back to Michaels and grabbed a few accent pieces that were 40% off. I think the orange trees and the road sign give it an extra creepy feel. I'll admit, I'd be a little freaked out if I rolled up to this place in the middle of the night.

The land of horror icon Funko figures. Returning from last year is Billy from Saw, Ash from Evil Dead, and Michael Myers. New this year to the gathering is Freddy Krueger and the Mummy.

Finally, a Trick or Treat flavored candle, which really candy corn and butter cream, from Yankee Candle and my wife's melted wax warmer which she has loaded fall flavors into.

After building this, I definitely feel the Halloween spirit more than ever, and so will my living room as it will be covered in the glow of candy corn lights from now until I take this sucker down in November. I would definitely encourage you to take an afternoon and make one of these for yourself, even if it's not as big as this.  Speaking of which, I think I'll run a little contest for this ...

To enter, simply build a Halloween Mood Display of your own and write a blog post about it, similar to what I did here talking about the things you included, maybe even how it helps you get in the Halloween spirit. Leave a link to the post in the comments below. As a reminder, your building it for no one but you. It just needs to be something that reminds you to embrace the Halloween spirit and enjoy the season. Since this is a baseball card blog by heart, your prize will be a bubble mailer of cards from your favorite MLB team.

If you need some tips on how to build one, check out my mood display from last year here and also feel free to check out past mood tables of the person who started this whole thing, Matt of Dinosaur Dracula, here, here, here, and here.

This contest will be open from now until October 21st. Those who entered will be tossed into a randomizer that will be randomized a lucky 13 times and the winner will be announced on Halloween itself.

Let the fun begin!