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How I Prepared for Halloween this Year

Allie Westphal
Hailey Seipel
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Winona chapter.

I began my Halloween decorating journey when I went to the dollar store in search of a pizza pan. I did leave with my pizza pan, but I also left with 20 decorations that were adorned with ghosts, skulls, and pumpkins. I started decorating as soon as I got home by taping garland around the living room, hanging stuffed ghosts, and draping cheesecloth on the walls. I had to ask my roommate if it was okay to do so first, though, because it was the middle of August.

 

The previous tenants of my apartment left plant hooks in the ceiling, so I took that opportunity to hang my lights, cheesecloth, and the Dollar Store ghost that we so lovingly named Bob. In all honesty, I’m pretty proud of my decorating skills, and I dubbed the corner of my living room as the “Ghost Jail.”

 

 

I didn’t just limit my shopping to the Dollar Store—I hit up Walmart, as well. Luckily, I often monitor the self-checkouts that are by the seasonal department when I am at work and can keep an eye out for awesome decorations that were sure to set a statement. The brain ice cube tray, solar-powered pumpkin guy, and my ghost wall projector are among my favorites.

 

My brain ice

 

Because I had the last weekend of September off, I decided to take a trip up to my hometown in Woodbury to visit my family. While I was there, we made a pit stop to Trader Joe’s, which seemed to have everything pumpkin spice from the floor to the ceiling. I went around the store numerous times to see if there was anything that appealed to my Halloween-loving self before I settled on gluten free pumpkin bread mix. I’m not gluten free, and neither is anyone in my family, but the display of this product made my mouth water. Maybe I’m just a cliche Midwestern girl, but anything pumpkin spice instantly has my attention.

 

 

Oh, you thought any of my little creature friends could get away with being boring? Wrong.

 

I have two fantail goldfish: the Calico is named Nico and the gold one is named Wanda. I think they’re cute. They like to eat teeny tiny shrimp, they like to greet me in the morning when I wake up, and, best of all, they have a spooky home! Originally, I bought window clings just for my windows, but I found out that putting them on Nico and Wanda’s tank would make even my pets festive!

 

 

Every week after cleaning their tank, I put a new set of clings on it to change it up a little bit. During week two, I caught Nico trying to eat the blood spatter because he thought it was food (you can watch that super short video here).

 

Like almost every girl on the planet, I love candles. I created an altar-like set up of Halloween candle holders around my Gummi Bear lamp (by the way, if you’re reading this, Heather—thank you!) that showcase pumpkins, ghosts, and two Dia de Los Muertos skulls that remind me of my love for Disney’s Coco.

 

 

I’m lucky that I have two windows in my bedroom that I can decorate to spread a little spirit to my neighbors. In one of my windows, I have some figurines, window clings, a plant, and I also taped lights around the frame. In the other window, I simply just taped a film over the glass to make it appear as if two skeletons were peering out.

 

 

Now that October is coming to a close, it makes me a little sad to think about putting my spooky decor away. I love going to the seasonal aisle at the different stores and looking at the different costumes, decor, treats, and cards that are adorned with skeletons, ghosts, bats, and the like. But do you know what makes me feel better? Knowing Christmas is right around the corner! Oh, gurls and bois, you already know I already bought stuff to get into the Christmas spirit. ;)

 

 

Sources

Allie is a senior at Winona State, majoring in Social Work and minoring in Child Advocacy Studies. If a professional were to ask her what her goals in life were, she'd probably tell them that she wants to work in a high school helping teens. However, her less-professional goals are to own a Tesla and to shop exclusively at Target and Ikea. In her free time, Allie can usually be found scrolling through TikTok and fighting social injustices, both of which are known to make her late to work.
Hailey Seipel

Winona '20

| 2018-20 Club President/Campus Correspondent | Hailey Seipel is a senior at Winona State University who is studying Applied & Professional Writing and Journalism. She has been passionate about writing ever since she was little, and a dream of hers is to author poetry, sci-fi and romance novels. Until then, she is interested in working as a creative/blog writer, technical editor or project coordinator after graduating. In her free time, Hailey enjoys listening to music and reading leisurely.