Edmonton home boasts $150K in Halloween and Christmas decorations

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For years, Maisie’s Magical Christmas House in north Edmonton has been a staple during the winter holidays. But for the fourth year in a row, it’s been revamped for the Halloween season with the theme “The Nightmare Before Christmas.”

Jerry Dolynchuk has always been creative. The Edmontonian has been decking out his home at 9619 144 Ave. for the past 20 years with Christmas lights and decorations and each year he adds a twist to make it exciting for visitors.

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Spread across his two-lot home, and this year the lawn of his neighbour, who’d asked Dolynchuk to decorate for them, the $150,000 Halloween production features a new addition among the plethora of werewolves, pumpkins and skeletons — Beetlejuice now sits at the top of his neighbour’s porch with his light-up eyes the star of the show.

“What’s nice about Halloween is that it comes with a couple of advantages: the weather is warm compared to winter, and you can do automation. You can’t do this with Christmas, because they’ll break in the cold,” Dolynchuk said.

“This is the first year I’ve seen so many people who are so appreciative coming up to me and thanking me — they just love what they see here. Halloween is big, and that’s what we always looked at.”

Dolynchuk began setting up for Halloween in September. The crossover theme is one he’s kept for the past four years since he’s had all the Christmas decorations from years past, but his favourite part of the production is the life-size werewolves displayed out front that move and make howling sounds.

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$150,000 spent throughout the years

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Life-size mummies, werewolves, a grim ripper and Jack Skellington are meticulously displayed across the property, mixed in with an assortment of Christmas lights, trees and select jump scares.

Dolynchuk said he gets his props from a variety of different sources including Costco, Spirit Halloween and some commercial prop retailers. So far, he said, the endeavour has cost him around $150,000.

“You’re not seeing everything — we change every year, and sometimes we may bring something back and mix it in,” he said.

During the off-season, Dolynchuk stores the props at his lumberyard in a warehouse he owns.

After the turnout he had last year on Halloween, which saw more than 500 kids coming out to trick or treat, Dolynchuk has purchased 1,000 full-sized chocolate bars and chips to hand out this year.

Collecting donations for Second Chance Animal Rescue

In previous years, Dolynchuk would collect donations and proceeds for Edmonton’s Food Bank. But after the passing in 2007 of his mother, Maisie Dolynchuk, who Dolynchuk named his display after, he decided to collect donations for animals in need on behalf of his mother’s love for animals.

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“We’re looking to collect $10,000 this year for Second Chance Animal Rescue,” Dolynchuk said.

The display, while free to attend, has a donation box out front where visitors can contribute. Dolynchuk said last year they were able to donate $10,000 and they’re hoping to match it again.

When Nov. 1 rolls around, Dolynchuk plans to strip the Halloween decorations and begin setup for the winter holiday.

[email protected]

X: @kccindytran

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