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Photos courtesy of Justin Ivins.
Justin Ivins has spent thousands of dollars over the years building his collection of Halloween decorations.
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Photos courtesy of Justin Ivins.
Justin Ivins dressed up in face paint for Halloween 2021.
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Photos courtesy of Justin Ivins.
Ella James and Landyn Ivins pose in front of their decorated lawn on Halloween in 2023.
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Photo courtesy of Justin Ivins.
Kids from the neighborhood pose in front of the Ivins’ decoration in 2023.
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Photos courtesy of Tiffany Slocum.
Tiffany Slocum, right, poses with her husband Jeremy, daughters Riley Jane and Davis and her son Pierce, all dressed as characters from the movie “Shrek.”
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Photos courtesy of Tiffany Slocum.
The Slocum family dressed as characters from the Disney movie “Beauty and the Beast.”
Justin Ivins remembers trick-or-treating as a child on the same neighborhood streets that hundreds of children now walk when they come to see his house on Halloween, but he says none of the houses back then decorated like he does now.
A resident of Edgewood, Ivins goes all out for Halloween, creating a memorable experience with large blow-up decorations, a fog machine and colorful lights.
He has always liked the spooky holiday, but his childhood memories aren’t as vivid as the ones he hopes his decorations create for today’s kids. Growing up on Valley Avenue in Homewood, Ivins’ mom would bring him over to Edgewood to trick-or-treat, but he said the population of the neighborhood was older back then, so they didn’t decorate as much.
Ivins and his friends celebrated big for the holiday throughout college, and that’s where he thinks the roots of his Halloween tradition may have started to grow.
“I bought one thing,” he said, “and then I bought another thing, and then I bought another thing, and then, sure enough, now I got a yard full of stuff.”
His yard truly does become a spectacle during the month of October, featuring decorations of all kinds. He’ll often put out a few things at a time, slowly filling the yard until he reaches the final look.
“Now I’ve got no choice [but] to do it,” he said. “All the kids start driving by and wanting to know when I’m starting to put out stuff.”
Photos courtesy of Justin Ivins.
Justin Ivins dressed up in face paint for Halloween 2021.
He usually gets one new item every year, and neighbors and friends often send in decoration suggestions or pictures of items they see around town or in stores. This year, he finally got his hands on a Skelly, the famous 12-foot skeleton statue from Home Depot that has a Facebook group of over 280,000 people dedicated to it.
Its giant size isn’t the only thing that earns the towering decoration a lot of attention. Usually costing between $200-$400, the price tag will definitely make a dent in your wallet; that is, if you can find one. It took Ivins four years to finally add it to his collection, but he doesn’t like to think about how much he’s spent on this tradition.
“If I calculated it up, it would probably make me sick,” he said, “because some of this stuff, it’s expensive. I don’t even want to guess, I mean thousands. I’m in the thousands for sure. I’m in the thousands, with just four things at this point.”
Despite the cost, it’s all worth it when he thinks about the memories it creates for people, his own kids included. He started doing all of this when his oldest daughter, Ella Jane, was only 2 years old. Ella James is now 9, and his younger daughter, Landyn, is 4. He says it’s something they enjoy doing together.
Photos courtesy of Justin Ivins.
Ella James and Landyn Ivins pose in front of their decorated lawn on Halloween in 2023.
“All these kids around here, they’re not going to remember me, they’re not going to remember my name, but they will always remember my house forever and ever,” he said. “That always makes it kind of worth the while, because no matter where they go, they’re gonna remember, ‘There was this guy that put all this stuff out at this house when I was growing up.’”
With such a spectacle on his front lawn, Ivins has to prepare for hundreds of visitors on Halloween night. Last year, he said, he bought at least seven of the huge, 500-piece bags of candy and was completely cleaned out by the end of the night.
“People come in that are not only from our neighborhood,” Ivins said. “You get the people from other neighborhoods who don’t even live in Homewood who come, which I can really appreciate because that’s kind of how I was.”
To see his home fully decked out this year, it’ll require a visit to the corner of Dixon Avenue and Hambaugh Avenue, but an early arrival is best since Ivins said they begin handing out candy around 5 p.m., and it’s not unusual for them to have lines form throughout the night.
Hollywood resident Tiffany Slocum sees a few hundred people come through her door on Halloween night too, but her celebration of the holiday looks a bit different.
While she puts on a good display of decorations, the real draw is the pre-trick-or-treat gathering. After attending a similar event hosted by a friend in 2014, Tiffany and her husband, Jeremy, decided to host their own party the next year, and it grew from there.
Photo courtesy of Justin Ivins.
Kids from the neighborhood pose in front of the Ivins’ decoration in 2023.
“Our backyard is really big enough to have a lot of people. So we thought we would invite some of our neighbors and friends over,” Tiffany Slocum said. “What started as just a very minimal group has grown. Every Halloween, we invite more and more, and we tell our neighbors, ‘Invite your friends, invite other neighbors that might have moved in.’”
Last year, they sent out over 320 invites to individual people and families. The Slocums often provide pizza and soup, and then people bring other appetizers and desserts, creating a true potluck experience.
Photos courtesy of Tiffany Slocum.
Tiffany Slocum, right, poses with her husband Jeremy, daughters Riley Jane and Davis and her son Pierce, all dressed as characters from the movie “Shrek.”
“It’s just really a fun time for everybody to get together and see each other at least once a year, especially when you’re dressed up for Halloween and it’s dark and you’re trick-or-treating, you don’t really know who is who,” Slocum said. “Even when they come to the house, it’s funny, because I will see people, and they may know who I am, but I may not know who they are, just because everybody dresses up, adults, kids, it’s not just the children. There’s a lot of people that I won’t even know who they are, but it’s sweet because it’s really a way for our neighbors to kind of get to know each other.”
Slocum has gotten in on the costume fun over the years as well, often dressing up in matching outfits with her husband and three kids. In years past, their group costumes were based on some of the kids’ favorite shows or movies, but as they’ve gotten older, Slocum said they don’t always dress up together anymore. She has two daughters, Riley Jane (13) and Davis (10), and one son, Pierce (9).
On top of the party, the Slocum house is also known for some of their decorations.
Photos courtesy of Tiffany Slocum.
The Slocum family dressed as characters from the Disney movie “Beauty and the Beast.”
“We’re also known as the house with all the inflatables,” Slocum said. “We started out with one or two when Riley Jane was a little girl and we first moved in, and then every year we would add a new one, and they just kind of got bigger and bigger.”
Slocum is a teacher at Shades Cahaba Elementary school, and several of her students know her by her Halloween traditions as well.
Aside from her house, located at the corner of Windsor and Hampton Drive in Hollywood, Slocum said the neighborhood’s Halloween Festival is another big draw for trick-or-treaters and is a great example of the community atmosphere that these traditions foster.
