Last year, I took my Halloween and Christmas decorations to the next level, all because I was inspired by the talented residents in my city who decorated their homes. Every year, the city of Burbank has a Halloween decorated house contest, and because there are many Burbank residents who work in the film and TV industry, the artistry and creativity exhibited are significant. For whatever reason, I was swept up in the festive energy of Halloween last October, and I made close to a dozen excursions to various neighborhoods in Burbank to see all the decorations.

During prior years, all I did in terms of decorating my place for Halloween was to put up wooden plaques of Jack Skellington and Sally at my front door, display three plastic skeletons (cat, Dachshund dog, and a rat) on the railing around my second-floor balcony, and string up orange and purple lights on the balcony. Last year, I added a 6-foot-tall Jack Skellington, a matching Sally, and a matching Zero, all three of which hung near the front door entrance. My place really stood out because I was the only resident in my community who put up any Halloween decorations, but my friends and I really enjoyed seeing those decorations. This year, I will be adding another element which should be a lot of fun to have as part of the display.

My Halloween decorations on Halloween 2025

Then as Christmas approached last year, I was inspired to continue the Nightmare Before Christmas story theme by adding an animatronic Jack Skellington (dressed as Sandy Claws) at my front door. I also switched the decorations on a 4.5-foot tree which I always put in my den area so that the Nightmare Before Christmas theme pervaded the tree. I also created a spiral at the tip of the tree to mimic the shape of Spiral Hill. The results were truly fantastic!

My front door display for Christmas 2025

I ended up with so many Nightmare Before Christmas ornaments and decorations for the 4.5-foot tree that it ended up being a bit overloaded, so this year, the decorations will adorn a 6-foot pencil tree. The 4.5-foot tree will undergo yet another decorating facelift, and I am truly excited for what I plan to create when I put that tree up in late November of this year. I know it sounds like overkill to have THREE Christmas trees (I have a 7.5-foot cashmere tree as the main tree) in the house this year, but I am having fun with all of it. Thank goodness I have enough space in my garage to store all the items!

This was a great launching point for the Nightmare Before Christmas theme inside the house!