Things have changed since we've had kids. There is the usual suspects; lack of sleep, the house looking like a toy tornado hit it every night, saying things you'd never thought you'd ever utter. "We don't lick toilets!"
But something else has changed, and that's feeling the urge to make each season & holiday seem magical to them.
Before, I would only change out the decor of the house for Christmas. I'd haul out totes & totes of sparkly ornaments and yards of glittery garland. It would take a long weekend to complete the change out.
Now, the nesting instinct is taking over to do this, on a much smaller level - we don't have that much storage space, for each holiday. Money is tight at the moment so it's not like I can run to the nearest home decor store and stock up on decorations. My original plan was to wait until Halloween items have gone on clearance and scoop them up for next year.
Really, that is still my plan. But I was given a great head start to stocking up on items thanks to the blog, The Review Wire & HalloweenExpress.com. They had a sweepstakes for a $75 gift card to HalloweenExpress.com and I was the lucky winner.
I had entered to put the money towards the boys Halloween costume, but when I received the email that I had won, The Husband & I had already purchased their costumes. So I browsed their decoration section and was thrilled at the selection!
I bought a Halloween wreath, a spiderweb table runner, a skull with a strobe light inside it, and two light sabers. The light sabers are going to be a Christmas gift for the boys, so I cannot comment on how well they hold up or work, but I can say they are bigger than I thought they'd be. Which is a good thing. They almost look like the real deal, and I can tell I may be rethinking my choice on giving the boys swords for Christmas.
*Click on each picture to be taken to the site*
This is the Halloween wreath. I didn't realize that it also had a few lights on it as well, which made me a bit more excited about it. A few of the bows and fern leaves fell off when I removed it from the shipping box and one or two more fell off when I accidentally dropped the wreath attempting to hang it up. But nothing that cannot be fixed with some super glue. I love the size of it, perfect for hanging on the front door. Bonus - it also has a flat back, so it will lay flat. Which means it will sit between the front door and the storm door, perfectly. I love it!
I purchased the gray skull, I thought it looked the most "realistic" of the three you could pick from. I wasn't expecting much from it honestly. But once again, I was surprised by the quality. It's made from a plaster like material and seems like it will hold up through the years. I do wish the strobe was a bit more hidden but it works.
I saw this runner and thought it would be perfect for either our dining room table or our credenza in the kitchen. In this picture, it appears to have a "whitish" backing to it, when in reality, it's all black stiching and netting. So unless you lay it over a white runner/table/cloth of some sort, you won't get this effect. Our table & credenza are both a dark wood so the runner sort of fades into the table. I love the length of it though and I plan on using it for a base for other Halloween decorations as centerpieces on our table next year.
I won a gift card in a sweepstakes to purchase my items, I was in no way compensated by either The Review Wire or HalloweenExpress.com to write this review/post. All thoughts & opinions are my own.
