September 23, 2011 Halloween Wish List

The interior Halloween decorating is about "finished." Of course that is a weak and faulty opening statement for a blog post, as we junkaholics will openly admit that our decorating is never finished since we are constantly on the look out for more junk to add to the collections! Speaking of junk, I was able to hit the flea market one good estate sale so far this weekend, and I can't wait to show you what I found. My next post will have all kinds of new finds and decorating ideas to blog about, but tonight I thought it would just be fun to search the internet for some dream-vintage Halloween items that I'd love to find on my treasure hunts and create a post about them. There are so many things I love that this post could go on forever, so I've just broken them into a few categories that I feel make the perfect Halloween. Many of the items on my wish list can currently be found on Ebay or Etsy if you are interested in them. I get so excited looking at all of the wonderful websites and blogs which focus solely on vintage Halloween! A lot of the old things I want are quite expensive so I am going to rely on my tried and true method of luck to help me find these for quarters somewhere, someday. Maybe I'll just make a list and leave it in the pumpkin patch for the Great Pumpkin on Trick-or-Treat!

Dear Great Pumpkin... I'll take it all!

You gotta have treats for Halloween...

So sweet.... and so pricey, selling for about $50. Not too many
of these hanging around I suppose...

And costumes...

Very old masks and creepy costumes

And scary stories...

Always on the hunt for Halloween books from any era, new or old. This
one is from the mid-50's

And creepy noises...

Halloween noisemakers and toys are hot items. Vendors probably won't be
swayed to come down out of the $15-$50 on these
 but you might luck into some at a yard sale for cheaper

And lots of old decorations...

Misc. Beistle decorations

Beistle die cuts...who knew? Anyone who is alive can remember these paper/cardboard cut outs that were "must haves" in Halloween decorating long before the days of sticking faux crows in vintage birdcages and glittering pumpkins in Martha Stewart style. And when I say, "who knew?" I really meant it, because I decided to search for some of these on Ebay last year and was shocked to find many of them selling with up to 20 or more bidders paying anywhere from $5 to over $100 for a single decoration depending on the era and popularity of the image. I was just looking to incorporate more memories into my Halloween decorating to share with my family and to fit in with the vintage look I love. I had no idea they were so popular! But what's not to love about them? For many of us, these decorations were synonymous with school fall festivals, class parties,  and fond memories of childhood Halloweens when many a spooky jointed skeleton would meet us as we knocked on a stranger's door asking for a  "trick-or treat."

Here are some more of the Beistle Co. die cuts from my generation. My mom hung

these on our windows and doors each year and my teachers also had them on bulletin

boards in the classroom. My husband remembers the same ones from his schooldays.

Love the old honeycomb decorations too!

 And cupcakes...

As I mentioned in my Fabulous Fall post, my mom was awesome (she still is) at creating memories and traditions, and she always made a huge deal over Halloween and holidays.  One thing she did without fail was make spooky-themed food and treats, especially yummy cupcakes. Each year she topped them off with some of the toppers in the pictures below. Since she was also a vintage junkie and collector, a lot of the toppers she used were already oldies when I was a kid. My husband and I were looking at some of the pictures of various toppers and we each have memories of different ones from school fall festivals and elementary school classroom parties as well. 

And of course you just have to have games for Halloween parties!

I've been hunting for some old Halloween games to actually play
at our Halloween parties.  I was really excited to find that some people are selling
printable versions that you can make yourself, so I know what I'm doing next week!

And spooky lighting...

More vintage blow molds (not to be confused with modern ones you can buy at Wal-mart)

And an antique "How to Halloween" instructional guide (that's what I call them) like this Dennison's Bogie Book!

 A first edition Dennison's Bogie Book from 1912, valued at about $2000 (I'll take any edition). These Dennison books are historic little jewels in that they have everything you could imagine a  Halloween from 100 years ago to be like. 

...And lots of imagination and creativity!

So this is why I love the internet and modern technology even though I am a romantic dreamer of vintage times and vintage things. You can still enjoy looking at all the images and reading and learning about these books and other memorabilia online until that lucky day when you can get your grubby little fingers on whatever it is you have been looking for! And I am hoping that time might come for me at Court Days in Mt. Sterling, Kentucky during the second weekend of October. This 100 year old flea-market/trade festival has just about everything, including vintage Halloween (and Christmas)!  I got pretty lucky last year and I'm already getting the feeling that this year is going to be awesome! 
http://www.mtsterlingcourtdays.net/


 Until then, happy haunting, and happy hunting...and no doubting the Great Pumpkin whatever you do!