Goblins abound: A new take on holiday cheer
By DAVID BUCKNER
DCN Reporter
Brenda Rolandson stands in her front yard and is ready to work on the house. Not in the way you might think, however. Instead of paint buckets, hedge trimmers, or shingles, Brenda is equipped with lights and inflatable goblins.
Rolandson is preparing for her favorite holiday of the year, Halloween. A blow up Frankenstein about 4' tall sways in the breeze in her front lawn. A skeleton’s bones are scattered around a carriage driven by a spooky creature. Along the deck, Rolandson places nick nacks, Jack – O – Lanterns and strings of lights.
“On some days I can spend two or three hours on it,� says Rolandson. “I try to make it more of a theme. The carriage is brand new this year.�
Rolandson, who has worked at St. Luke’s Hospital for over 15 years, decorates for the holidays as a hobby. While many people decorate the outside of their houses for Christmas, Rolandson goes all out for Halloween.
“Halloween is probably my favorite,� says Rolandson. “I love the costumes and I get to meet people and the parents of the kids.�
Rolandson says she primarily decorates for the neighbors and kids. One neighbor, Shawn’s Hair Associates, brings in even more people from outside the neighborhood to enjoy Rolandson’s yard. Rolandson says that is where she gets the most compliments.
Sandy, a stylist at the salon, says the customers enjoy watching Rolandson display her decorations. “Really nice� and “It’s so cute� are the comments from the people passing by.
“That makes it all worth it right there,� says Rolandson. “They look forward to it.�
Rolandson walks around the yard and props up some of the inflatables that fell over during the night.
For Rolandson, it’s always a work in progress. When she sees a hole in the decorations, she fills it with a new item, spending roughly $200 each season to make it look different.
Over the last three years, she has accumulated more than enough decorations to turn heads on the street, especially drawing in trick-or-treaters on Halloween night.
“I probably got close to 70 kids last year,� says Rolandson.
After a few days of work and a combined 15 hours of decorating, Rolandson is finally finished, at least for this year. After sun goes down, she makes her way across the street to take in her work. In a long line of houses masked by darkness, one glows bright, ready for candy seekers on Halloween night.