Katharine Wall loves to decorate her house for the holidays.
Strings of Christmas lights act as the reins for the skeleton reindeer who are pulling the coffin sleigh, the killer wreath has been hung in the alcove, and Mr. Oogie Boogie is ready to deal with Santa Claus.
Itsa国际传媒檚 all part of Wallsa国际传媒檚 Nightmare Before Christmas themed house, and quite timely given this year is the 25th anniversary of the Disney movie.
sa国际传媒淚 love decorating. I love themes,sa国际传媒� she says. sa国际传媒淚t was great to combine my joy of decorating with my love of holidays and my obsession with Disney into one thing.sa国际传媒�
Katharine and her husband Johnathan recently moved here and this year was the first time theysa国际传媒檝e decorated for Christmas and Halloween in Chilliwack. Each year they pick a theme (usually Disney related) and piggyback their Halloween decorated house with their Christmas decorated house for that year.
sa国际传媒淥ur themes are always Halloween and Christmas, so we only choose themes that can be carried over,sa国际传媒� she says. This year they chose Tim Burtonsa国际传媒檚 The Nightmare Before Christmas.
The Walls make about 90 per cent of the decorations themselves.
sa国际传媒淲e try our best to use as much recycled stuff as we can,sa国际传媒� she says. sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 cheap and I would rather not create unnecessary waste.sa国际传媒�
Leftover PVC piping was used for the wrought-iron fence, pieces of plywood make up the skeleton reindeer, and free scraps of wood were used to build the Christmas presents.
Katharine does the planning and designing while Johnathan cuts out the designs and builds the larger decorations.
sa国际传媒淗e can pretty much build me anything that Isa国际传媒檓 asking for within reason,sa国际传媒� she says.
And the interior of their house is decorated, too. Hand-made ornaments are hung from the tree across from a Jack Skellington mannequin. A handmade recipe book turned to the sa国际传媒渨ormsa国际传媒檚 wart soupsa国际传媒� page, sits atop a hand-built desk.
It takes the Walls a whole year of planning and building to decorate their home for Halloween and Christmas. They begin in January every year. They have a week of vacation and relaxation, but also a week to plan the upcoming yearsa国际传媒檚 theme. Each month they task themselves with projects to complete.
Itsa国际传媒檚 a lot of work, but itsa国际传媒檚 worth it.
sa国际传媒淭heresa国际传媒檚 a part of it that obviously feeds me, and I really love it but I also love seeing peoplesa国际传媒檚 faces,sa国际传媒� says Katharine. sa国际传媒淚 know how magical it can besa国际传媒� itsa国际传媒檚 the same way I feel when I walk down the streets of Hogsmeade at Universal (Studios). I love when the adults or kids come and they are so excited because this is something theysa国际传媒檝e seen on a TV, but now they can actually touch it. Thatsa国际传媒檚 such a cool feeling.sa国际传媒�
Their plan is to have a handful of different themes that they can rotate through every four or five years. Next year theysa国际传媒檒l be doing Harry Potter, and Alice in Wonderland is on the list for future.
The Wallsa国际传媒檚 Nightmare Before Christmas themed house, complete with songs from the movie playing on outdoor speakers, can be viewed at 9703 Hazel St., at the corner of Portage Avenue.
The display will be up until the first weekend in January, and the lights will be on from sunset until about 9:30 p.m. nightly.
sa国际传媒淲e have kids that come here and they are singing the songs from The Nightmare Before Christmas, and they are so excited,sa国际传媒� she adds. sa国际传媒淚t makes me feel so good that I can give that to someone else. Thatsa国际传媒檚 the part I really love.sa国际传媒�
jenna.hauck@theprogress.com
Like us on and follow us on .
