{"id":226,"date":"2010-03-15T20:20:07","date_gmt":"2010-03-16T03:20:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.albertzone.com\/halloween\/themes\/"},"modified":"2013-07-27T22:13:04","modified_gmt":"2013-07-28T05:13:04","slug":"themes","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.albertzone.com\/halloween\/themes\/","title":{"rendered":"Themes"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

2002<\/h2>\n

We moved in to the house in 2002 and had lots of leftover moving boxes.\u00a0 “What if we made a little archway for the porch that looked like a castle for Halloween?\u00a0 We could wear our Ren Faire costumes and hand out candy,” we thought.\u00a0\u00a0Some boxes, some left over lumber and paint and voil\u00e0!\u00a0 Castle fa\u00e7ade<\/strong>!\u00a0\u00a0Kids really enjoyed it (our friends did, too!) and a tradition was born.<\/p>\n

2002 Gallery<\/a><\/p>\n

2003\"\"<\/a><\/h2>\n

We walked out of the theater after watching Pirates of the Caribbean in the summer of 2003 and said, “Hey, we could build a pirate ship in front of our house for Halloween.”\u00a0 So, the next theme was Pirates of the Caribbean<\/strong> and we built the Black Pearl pirate ship in our yard.\u00a0 To build the ship, we acquired free boxes from a bike store and free cardboard tubes from a carpet store.\u00a0\u00a0 Add a blonde Johnny Depp, a pirate maiden, and two pirate dogs\u00a0and you have the makings of a very pirate-y Halloween advent-arrrrr.<\/p>\n

2003 Gallery<\/a><\/p>\n

2004\"\"<\/a><\/h2>\n

As huge Star Wars fans, we knew that a Star Wars themed Halloween House was inevitable.\u00a0 In 2004, between Star Wars Episode II and Star Wars Episode III, we decided to go big Star Wars style.\u00a0 We chose the Ewok Village<\/strong> on Endor from Return of the Jedi as the next\u00a0setting and built tall trees, an Imperial bunker and a fourteen foot high to-scale AT-ST Scout Walker.\u00a0 That night, the house was\u00a0manned by two Princess Leias, some Rebel soldiers, cardboard Ewoks, a Jedi, a Stormtrooper and even a Death Star janitor!\u00a0 Even Scout and Ebi, our two dogs, got into the spirit.\u00a0 The Force was definitely with us.\u00a0 We got 400-500 trick or treaters that Halloween.\u00a0 2004 was the year that our “any kid wearing a Star Wars costume gets an extra treat” policy was born.<\/p>\n

2004 Gallery<\/a><\/p>\n

2005\"\"<\/a><\/h2>\n

Just on the tails of the release of the book Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0one month before the release of the movie\u00a0Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire<\/em>, we transformed our house into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry<\/strong> for Halloween.\u00a0\u00a0We\u00a0acquired\u00a0free cardboard from Eric’s work, bought stone wall Scene Setters and re-built the porch arch\u00a0for the castle.\u00a0 On the porch we added a talking Sorting Hat and\u00a0a flickering Goblet of Fire.\u00a0 Hogwarts regulars such as Professor Dumbledore, Rubius Hagrid, Professor Trelawney, Professor Quirrell and even Harry Potter himself made appearances as costumed characters to the delight of record crowds.<\/p>\n

2005 Gallery<\/a><\/p>\n

2006\"\"<\/a><\/h2>\n

We had already decided to do Charlie and the Chocolate Factory<\/strong> as the Halloween theme in 2006 before we created our Hogwarts Castle in 2005.\u00a0 The film had come out and had lots of\u00a0imaginative visuals that captured our attention (and Johnny Depp was in it, so that gave it an advantage as we had already done the Pirates of the Caribbean Halloween house a few years prior).\u00a0 We transformed the castle arch into the entrance into Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory, added a chocolate waterfall and populated the\u00a0yard with Oompa Loompas.\u00a0 Willy Wonka, a very cute trained squirrel and an exceptionally tall Oompa Loompa (“aren’t you a little tall for an Oompa Loompa?”) completed the scene.\u00a0 Breaking with our\u00a0“we-give-out-toys-instead-of candy”\u00a0practice, we handed out Willy Wonka candy to the delight of trick-or-treaters.\u00a0 We printed up Golden Tickets and handed them out to neighborhood kids for a special treat at the house.\u00a0Perhaps it was a combination of the up beat soundtrack and the place where Michelle was standing that evening, but crowds gathered assuming that she was going to perform an Oompa Loompa\u00a0dance.\u00a0 Hmmmm…hourly performances?\u00a0\u00a0Perhaps something to consider for future houses.<\/p>\n

2006 Gallery<\/a><\/p>\n

2007\"\"<\/a><\/h2>\n

The summer of 2007 brought with it the third installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean<\/strong> movie series\u2014Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End<\/em>.\u00a0 Believing this to be the last of the pirate movies for the foreseeable future, we decided for the first time to repeat a theme.\u00a0 The 2007 Albertson Halloween House would expand upon its previous pirate ship execution by making the pirate ship 3D (having a deck on which characters could pace), adding a masthead and building a second ship (Captain Jack’s sinking ship from the beginning of the first film).\u00a0 A large crew of pirates descended upon the ship, including Davy Jones and\u00a0Elizabeth Swan from the movie.\u00a0 A less-blonde Captain Jack greeted (and bantered with) trick-or-treaters from atop\u00a0his sinking\u00a0ship.\u00a0 2007 marked the first year that we became part of the\u00a0City of San Jose glow necklace distribution network, an effort to keep kids safe on Halloween night.<\/p>\n

2007 Gallery<\/a><\/p>\n

2008\"\"<\/a><\/h2>\n

The Dark Knight<\/em> was released in July of 2008, so we decided to build Gotham City<\/strong> in our front yard for Halloween that year.\u00a0 Not wanting to be exclusive, we added bits of Metropolis to make Superman feel welcome and a giant spider web so that Spidey would hang around.\u00a0 Trick-or-treaters got to walk up into Wayne Manor where they got to glimpse Batman’s computerized control center before getting their treat.\u00a0 The bat signal must have attracted attention, because in addition to Batman, the Joker, Superman and Spiderman,\u00a0kids got to interact with Mary Jane, Ming-Ming Duckling (The Wonder Pets), Kim Possible, Ron Stoppable, a Naked Molerat, Dr. Horrible, Captain Hammer, Moist, a Captain Hammer fan, Mrs. Incredible, Superboy and Superbaby.\u00a0\u00a0 Kids got an opportunity to be on the cover of a comic book and look for hidden heros among the buildings of the city.\u00a0 In all, it was a super success!<\/p>\n

2008 Gallery<\/a><\/p>\n

2009\"\"<\/a><\/h2>\n

Even before the Gotham City\u00a0fa\u00e7ade\u00a0was finished, we knew that we\u00a0were going to build Sleeping Beauty’s Caslte<\/strong> for the 2009\u00a0Halloween house.\u00a0\u00a0 Trying to be as accurate as possible to the Disneyland castle (complete with hidden Mickey’s), we erected a full castle including waving flags, parapets and a fire-breathing dragon.\u00a0 Visitors to the house got to walk up into the princess treasure room of the castle where they got to view Cinderella’s glass slipper, Aladdin’s lamp, Snow White’s poisoned apple, Ariel’s shell, the Beast’s rose, an enchanted spinning wheel and a talking magic mirror while they received their treats.\u00a0 Out front, guests got to interact with characters such as Prince Phillip, Maleficent, a Fairy Godmother, Princess Aurora, King Hubert, Queen Huberta and another Prince Phillip, take their picture in front of Cinderella’s carriage and hunt for other surprises hidden near the castle.\u00a0 What a magical evening!<\/p>\n

2009 Gallery<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>2010<\/h2>\n

Some 850\u2013900 trick-or-treaters descended on the Finding Nemo<\/strong>-themed 2010 Albertson Halloween House\u00a0for a night that will not soon be forgotten.\u00a0 Visitors were greeted by Dory, P. Sherman, Darla, Squishy, a Crab, an Octopus and Nemo himself as they headed into the mouth of Bruce the Shark to get their treats.\u00a0 We gave out\u00a0aquatic-themed silly bands\u00a0and\u00a0glow necklaces, courtesy of the San Jose Safe from the Start Program.\u00a0\u00a0We didn’t just have the ocean as a theme,\u00a0but we also helped save it, as many of the items were recycled\/reused.\u00a0 Poster tubes, water bottles, astro turf, tablecloths and even extra canopy frame\u00a0tubes\u00a0were used in the construction of the\u00a0Finding Nemo\u00a0house.<\/p>\n

2010 Gallery<\/a><\/p>\n

2011\"\"<\/a><\/h2>\n

With a little coverage from the San Jose Mercury, crowds showed up in droves for the 2011 Albertson Halloween House.\u00a0 The theme was Asian Fortress<\/strong> and featured a tatami room, cherry blossom trees, bamboo and costume characters such as the Karate Kid, David Carradine (from the\u00a0show Kung Fu), a\u00a0sumo wrestler and the Kung Fu\u00a0Panda!\u00a0Some 1,200 trick or treaters and their families visited the house and made it\u00a0a\u00a0Shao-lin good time!<\/p>\n

2011 Gallery<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

2012\"\"<\/a><\/h2>\n

In 2012, the Albertson Halloween House was transformed into downtown Mos Eisley from the Star Wars planet of Tatooine<\/strong>, complete with cantina (where visitors got their treats), Docking Bay 94, moisture vaporators, Star Tours, and even the twin suns!\u00a0 Trick-or-treaters\u00a0were greeted by Imperial Stormtroopers, Jedi,\u00a0Jawas, droids, Padme, Princess Leia, Han Solo, Darth Vader\u00a0and even Jabba the Hutt!\u00a0A forcefully good time was had by all.<\/p>\n

2012 Gallery<\/a><\/p>\n

Photos taken by Eric Albertson, Michelle Albertson, Bethany Lewis and Matt Bruensteiner.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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