Larry Avila used to not decorate his house each Halloween.
That quickly changed this year as the Odessan who lives with his wife and two kids on Desert Ridge decided to go all out with the décor.
“We had done some small (decorations) since we’re kind of new to the area,” Avila said. “This is probably the first year that we’ve started decorating more.”
The Avila family, which moved from El Paso a few years ago, is one of many around the country who have embraced Halloween decorations.
This year, their yard includes a giant skeleton, a giant werewolf, a spiderweb and a few inflatables including one of the character Baby Yoda from the Star Wars Disney Plus series “The Mandalorian.”
There’s also a spider that’s suppose to spook trick or treaters.
“The wolf, if you walk close to it, it’ll start howling,” Avila said. “The skeleton moves its eyes. The spider is supposed to jump towards people after stepping on a sensor.”
They’re hoping to add more before the end of the month.
Avila says what got him started on going all out with this year’s décor was his inner child.
“I guess it’s mostly me,” Avila said. “We all have that inner kid inside of us. Now that I’m older and I want to start decorating more.”
But he also does the decorations for his children.
“I guess it’s for the kids,” Avila said. “But it’s also for myself because I like the Halloween decorations. I like seeing kids passing by and watching the decorations.”
Obviously, the decorations haven’t been cheap and Avila wasn’t afraid to give an estimate about how much he has spent on this year’s décor.
“I can tell that it’s expensive,” Avila said. “It’s probably about $1,500 to $2,000.”
That’s not including the electric bills.
However, it’s been a labor of love for Avila.
It all got started when he and his family were shopping at The Home Depot.
“It was a random day,” Avila said. “We were at the Home Depot and we saw the skeleton and I said ‘hey, I like that, that’s pretty neat.’ I saw all the other Halloween decorations they had going on and I wanted them. I think it’s more of an investment than anything. I’ll keep on adding more.”
While Halloween is coming up, Avila says he’s not going to be quick to take down the decorations.
In fact, he plans to at least keep the skeleton up through Christmas.
“I’m going to add a little Santa Claus hat and see what more I can get for it,” Avila said.
He said he hopes his house becomes known as “The House with the Santa Skeleton.”
The Avilas are far from the only people who have decorated their house with Halloween decorations this year in town.
That includes his neighborhood.
“Different people have their own themes going on,” Avila said of his neighbors’ decorations. “It’s all fun.”
Avila says people have stopped by to look at his decorations.
“Mostly when we’re outside, people will stop by and say they love it,” Avila said.
He hopes to add more before the end of the month.
“It’s hard to get some of the stuff,” Avila said. “Some people buy the stuff early. But the prices have gone up.”
