Halloween at Plum Grove
We are DEAD serious about Halloween here at Plum Grove.
But seriously, we get so much joy from celebrating this Holiday and have made it an annual tradition to go ALL IN with spooktacular decor, fall foliage, and of course, some fabulous costumes!
This House is definitely a must-visit for trick-or-treaters on Halloween night and we hope they leave delightfully frightened!
The Perfect Haunted House
Let’s be honest here - first and foremost Plum Grove is the perfect Christmas House…BUT second in line, the Perfect Halloween House. It totally has the whole creepy-victorian-haunted-house vibe going on, complete with a red-glowing tower and a coven of witches gathered around the giant sugar maple tree in the yard. And did you notice the witch in the attic watching the children as they approach the front door? She is fabulous and is sure to terrify you or you get your money back. Hahaha!
Mums the Word
Our philosophy at Plum Grove is: “It’s not done until it’s overdone.” So that means we need MANY mums, cabbages, and pumpkins…I mean, can you ever have too many mums?
The BIG show stopper (besides the witches of course) is the Wagon Display in the corner flower bed. Nathan gets stressed every year about the evolution of this Fall display…”will it be as good as last year?” he says. But thanks to Philip’s expert design and zhuzh-ing skills (aren’t you obsessed with this word?!), the level of pretty never disappoints!
So the alyssum (the beautiful white blooms pillowing front and center in this pic) - there was a Whole Debate when we were creating this display in the corner bed. Nathan was all about jerking it out of the ground, and Philip was adamant that it would last until November and be a beautiful texture with the autumn decor. Obviously, Daddy P won this argument and Nathan is so glad he did. Side Note: although preferring full sun, sweet alyssum is resistant to cool temperatures and last well into the fall season.
It’s ALL About the Witches
Like no joke. People are completely OBSESSED with The Witches!
They are loved fiercely by the Palatine Community and are literally the first topic of conversation when meeting folks for the 1st time….like, “Hi! I LOVE your witches!” They are all anyone cares about and at the end of the day, can you blame them?
We first purchased these ladies 4 years ago with some hesitation from Philip…but, as you can see, Nathan convinced P it was a good idea! They are a HUGE hit and folks just can't get enough. We’ve been adding more to the coven each year and now each tree in our side yard is magically complete.
A Spooktacular Tablescape
This was so much fun, y’all…and isn’t that the whole point? I think for me, Halloween really gives you permission to get a little kitschy with your decor and that’s exactly what we did with this fun tablescape. The center candelabra leans into the whole Victorian-Haunted-Halloween and the turquoise candles perfectly tie into the bowls - which are turquoise - kind of unexpected, right? The pumpkins on the plate add some texture and whimsy and of course who doesn’t love a couple of skeletons and spiders hanging out?! The wood bowls were actually made from one of our maple trees we had to take down - they are absolutely precious to us and we love the warmth they bring to this setting. They also make for great dinner party conversation!
A “Wicked” Fun Time
There is so much pressure, ya’ll! Last year’s Ambiguously Gay Duo costumes really set the bar high and we were seriously racking our brains trying to figure out what to wear this year - ha! Given the overall witch theme at Plum Grove…we decided to continue this very-popular-theme into our wardrobe as characters from our favorite musical, WICKED!
Okay - here’s the thing - I guess Nathan can be a little more “girly” than Philip…at times…SO everyone was expecting N to be Glinda and for P to be Elphaba. We have to keep folks on their toes around here and let’s face it, P made a fabulous Glinda, beard and all! Yes, Philip’s feet were totally killing him at the end of the night (heels are no joke, ya’ll!) and Nathan’s green makeup was as painful as you could imagine (we’re still trying to get the green out of the pillowcases!). But in the end, it was totally worth it. :)
And of course…we can’t forget the most adorable Flying Monkey! Lucy still has not forgiven us but we just couldn’t help ourselves…that hat is EVERYTHING, right?
The Big Night
So. Many. Cute. Costumes. But one of our favorites was the matching Glindas…we seriously love the adorable look on this cute little girl’s face! And of course the sky graced us with some absolutely spooktacular color to match the mood of the evening. Thank You for everyone who came out to Plum Grove - you are the reason why we do what we do. Until next year!
xoxo, P+N
