Why I Oughta...

Day three of the run of SpookyTown buildings from Menards this season is here.  First there was the Symphony of Screams bandshell .  Then the tabletop Halloween Gateway Countdown yesterday.  Today, is this Wasteland Pub building.  Just like those two, t he Wasteland Pub is new for 2019 and part of the Menards Spookytown setup. As I mentioned the past few days, Mantleburg isn't in a position to want or need any new annexations this season, so the Wasteland Pub is destined for other municipalities.  I posted back in 2016 about another Lemax Pub - the Big Ben Pub from Caddington Village .  A village like Mantleburg that is in distress can probably use a pub to have the community gather.  Alas, the Mayor hasn't been seen in months and there's nobody around to make those decisions.  Too bad, right? 

As I mentioned in yesterday's post about the haunted bandshell from Lemax's Spookytown , Menards has a bunch of new (to me, at least) items in the Halloween Village.  Again....to be clear:  there's been a revolution and the Mayor of Mantleburg has been thrown out and the locals have opted to be annexed by other Villages.  Mostly by the Village of Craigslist. This isn't quite a building and isn't quite a figure - in the Lemax world.  It is technically classified as a 'Tabletop Piece" in the Lemax site architecture.   And, I think that's justified.  Menards had this Gateway Countdown featured *inside* of their SpookyTown setup - you can see it below: So, it can make sense inside of a Halloween Village setup. But, I think it could also make sense on it's own. The little bin holds the extra numbers on the right and you have to go in and switch them out everyday.  Or the kids have to go in and switch them out everyday.   Which, in our house mea

We recently caught up with the Halloween stuff that Menards has out for the season.  A trip to Menards during the late Summer/early Fall wouldn't be complete without a look at the Lemax SpookyTown buildings that they have set up.  I've done this for the past few years starting in 2016 .  In 2017, I started to post some animated images of the Spookytown buildings that moved including this Ghostly Manor building .  And last year, I posted a few of the Lemax Spookytown buildings, too . I snapped a few photos of the most interesting structures in Spookytown and will post them in the next few days.  Today, let's start with the "Symphony of Screams" - which is new this year .   It has light, sound and movement that you can see below: The full product page can be found here on the Lemax site .  This is a cute bandshell.  The problem?  The fine folks at Mantleburg aren't annexing any property right now and in fact have shed some of the additions via Craigs

Yesterday, I posted the first in a series of Lemax Spooky Town buildings that Menards is showing this season.  Today, I'm sharing another non-animated Spooky Town building:  Monster Hunting Supplies.  This one is brand new for this year - as the listing shows a 2018 release date .  Their sign bills them as having "The best bait in town".  Cute, but alas, Mantleburg isn't going this direction according to the cryptic press release from the Mayor. Want to see all the Spooky Town structures from Lemax that I've posted about?  Check out the full Spooky Town archive .

Yesterday, I posted a photo of the three kids at the Bolingbrook Menards taking in the Lemax Spooky Town display .  As part of that display, I picked out a few structures that I'll post over the coming days here on the blog.  I started this tradition of posting photos of Spooky Town structures all the way back in 2012 when I posted this photo of this Tombstone Quarry .  In 2016, I did three posts on Spooky Town Lemax buildings and same in 2017.  The full archive of Spooky Town posts can be found here . This year, the display is noticeably small - at least at the Bolingbrook Menards and has this white sign that says "Halloween Village" on top of it.  There are a few animated structures and some neat little people.  I'll post some images and details of some of the buildings in the coming days.  But, today, we'll start with this one above:  the Black Cauldron Bootique.  You'll notice that it is *already* on sale at $10 off the normal price.  That - at least

Marking the seasonal shift through the introduction of Halloween stuff at our local Menards.  And documenting it with a photo of the kids.  Here's all three of them:  The Babe, the Bird and the King of the Ball Tossers.  Halloween @ Menards photo of two of the kids - 2017 version . Halloween @ Menards photo of two of hte kids - 2016 version . Halloween @ Menards photo of just the Babe - 2015 version . Halloween @ Menards photo of the two girls - 2012 version . Halloween @ Menards photo of just the Babe  - 2011 version . *Blink* They've grown up so fast. 

Here's another 'new' structure from the Spooky Town collection out of Lemax that Menards is carrying this year.  I posted photos/details on the Ghostly Manor and the Grim Reaper's Department Store already here on the blog.  This one - Creepy Crawlies Pet Sitting - is priced much lower at $39.99 and isn't animated/doesn't move in any way.  But it is pretty cute anyway.  Lots of colors and a nice idea to add to Spooky Town. You know...Mantleburg doesn't have a pet sitter...  Maybe the Mayor of Mantleburg will convince the powers that be to annex this one?  Seems doubtful being a one-off, but if other Spooky Town structures join Mantleburg's city limits, I would think this one would follow.  But, that's all wishing/hoping for now.  The City Council isn't meeting for weeks and by then, perhaps these will be on sale at Menards?  *That* might weigh on the council's decision, right?

Last week, I showed off the first 2017 Lemax Spooky Town structures at Menards in their new Halloween display.   That one was animated and was called Ghostly Manor .  Today, I'm posting a few photos of another large structure called The Grim Reaper's Department Store.  This one is in stock at Menards and is listed for $69.99.  Mantleburg doesn't have a department store, but I'm not sure that the Mayor is going to annex this one, despite the uptick in sales tax revenues that would certainly come along with it. This particular structure doesn't move or isn't animated, but it does have it's own, original soundtrack (with announcements and noises and such) and it has some interesting lighting effects. Here's the video from the Lemax YouTube Channel, where you can see the lights and hear the sounds.

Just yesterday, I posted the first photo of the Menards Halloween setup .  I tagged it " Halloween Creep " and put it in that category on the blog here , but I don't think that concept has broken through in a similar way that it has with people talking about the concept of " Christmas Creep " in the media and online.  As I've talked about in the past, the topic of Christmas Villages and the associated world of holiday miniature villages isn't something that I'm particularly proud of, but it *is* something that totally fascinates me.  I mean...we *do* have a town called Mantleburg after all.  But, with the moves and temporary living situations/holidays at my in-laws place in Naperville, Mantleburg hasn't even made an appearance - let alone grow or annex new structures into the community. Historically, the Mayor of Mantleburg has always taken a stand against Spooky Town and said that he's drawing a line at the holiday of Christmas, so w

This past weekend marked the turning of the Menards seasonal store inventory over from Summer/back-to-school to Halloween stuff.  And it is the beginning of the most wonderful time of the year!  I've chronicled this transition to Halloween in years past including 2016 here .   2015 here .  And 2012 is here . Now that we've moved to Downers Grove, we don't have a Menards super close any longer - but we have two (Bolingbrook and Glendale Heights) that are the same 15 or 20 minute drive away.  The photo I took above is from Bolingbrook - which is an older-style store.  But their Halloween section is pretty robust and goes well beyond this Halloween Village set-up from Lemax.  Blowmolds and inflatables?  They have a bunch of them including a blinking-eye owl that I have my eye on.   Our new neighbors are going to love the Inflatable City, aren't they?  In Elmhurst, Nat was totally fine with inflatables in the backyard, but drew the line at the front of the house.  Gues

This is the fourth and I think final post on Lemax Spooky Town for the year and it features the Spooky Hollow Pumpkin Patch structure.  This one was released last year, but is being carried this year at Menards along with the others that I covered including: the  Scariest Halloween House ,  the Black Cauldron Boutique and Wanda's Wicked Cupcake Shop . This one has some exterior and interior lights but is the smallest of the bunch.  Again...the Mayor of Mantleburg has ruled and while he does, indeed, celebrate Halloween, he's not having any city expansion nor annexing any new structures into Mantleburg this year.  Who knows...maybe there will be an uprising on the town council to overrule the Mayor of Mantleburg next year?  Once we have a place for all the structures of Mantleburg to be displayed properly?  Time will tell.

The third building from Lemax's Spooky Town this year on the blog is Wanda's Cupcake Shop.  You can see the official listing here on the Lemax site . Earlier, we showed the Black Cauldron Bootique and the Scariest Halloween House on the blog as part of the setup at Menard's in Melrose Park. This one isn't animated and Wanda appears to have just some interior lights to show off her wares, but would be a cute addition to the town part of your own Spooky Town.  Unfortunately, Mantleburg isn't in the Halloween spirit.  And at $39.99, I don't blame the Mayor for not decorating for the fall.

If you looked closely at the photo I posted last week of the girls at Menards in front of the Halloween section , you may have noticed the Lemax Halloween house display.  Oh, that's right.  You're normal, so you wouldn't notice such things.  But me?  The keeper of Mantleburg?  And lover of Christmas Villages ?  I see these things.  And that's why, on our subsequent trips to Menards, I looked closely at all the various Lemax Spooky Town buildings. This first one, up top in the box, and down below unboxed, is the "Scariest Halloween House".  You can find the official description and details here on the Lemax site . Alas, we're not in the business of having a 'spooky town' for Mantleburg.  It has been a few years since Mantleburg even made it out of it's boxes and I know the Mayor isn't happy about that. Maybe when we have the new house - and the library (hint, hint, Nat???), there might be a way to bring out Mantleburg and who knows?

I took both of my girls to see the Menards Halloween display.  The Babe loved everything but the scary ghosts/witches while The Bird mostly just hung out in her car set. Here's the photo I took of The Babe just one year ago .  Can't believe how much she's grown!

Menards has their Lemax Halloween village back up this year with a few new additions including this Tombstone Quarry with skulls on a conveyor belt.