From a Halloween Aisle at Michael’s to a Halloween Village: Jason’s Story

Four years ago, I walked into Michael’s with one simple goal — pick up a few Halloween decorations for the house. My son Jason was eight at the time. He wasn’t particularly interested in seasonal décor. Or so I thought.

As we turned the corner into the Halloween aisle, he stopped dead in his tracks. Not because of the skeletons or animatronics. Not even the candy displays. It was the lights. Tucked onto a shelf were illuminated buildings from the Lemax® Halloween Village collection — glowing windows, crooked rooftops, tiny figurines frozen in spooky little scenes. There was a haunted house with flickering lights. A graveyard scene. A witch standing beside a bubbling cauldron.

Jason stood there quietly for a moment. Then he looked up at me with wide eyes and said,  “Mom… can we get one of these? We didn’t leave with one. We left with two buildings and a handful of figurines.

The Beginning of Something Bigger

That night, he cleared off a small table in the downstairs den and carefully placed each piece exactly where he wanted it. He adjusted the trees. He positioned the pumpkins. He plugged in the buildings and turned off the lights just to watch them glow. I expected it to be a one-season thing. Instead, it became his thing.

Every October, the den transforms into Jason’s Halloween Village. He plans it out. He experiments with layouts. He adds risers for height. He moves pieces around until the scene feels “right.” He doesn’t just display it. He builds it.

A Birthday Tradition

Jason’s birthday falls just before Halloween, which couldn’t have worked out more perfectly. Now that he’s twelve, both of his grandmothers have made it a tradition: each year, they gift him new pieces for his Halloween Village collection. It’s become part of the celebration. He opens the box slowly. He studies the details. He talks about where it will fit into the layout before it even comes out of the packaging. And every year, his village grows — not just in size, but in meaning.

Watching a Passion Grow

As a mom, what’s surprised me most isn’t just how many pieces he’s collected. It’s the care. The patience. The pride. Jason doesn’t see it as decorations. He sees a world he’s creating. He researches new releases. He remembers which pieces he already has. He talks about retiring items like they’re rare treasures. When friends come over in October, he gives them a tour. And I stand back and watch.

What started as an impulse buy in a craft store aisle has turned into a four-year tradition — one that ties together birthdays, grandparents, creativity, and the magic of Halloween.

— Janet L. (Waunakee, Wisconsin)