While most Halloween decorations are buried after the season ends, one Connecticut company has been working to put up decor that doesn’t have to give up the ghost until after Christmas.
“We can just change the bow [of a wreath] from fall decor to a Christmasy bow,” Christmas Decor Sales Office Manager Kim Poulin said. “It’s similar to putting up a Christmas tree and never taking it down.”
Christmas Decor, which has franchise locations in Connecticut in Glastonbury and Hebron, offers multipurpose decorations that can be used for several celebrations (like Halloween, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Diwali or even Election Day) such as white, green and orange lights, wreaths and garlands. Around October, the company can put up holiday lights for customers that aren’t that visible unless turned on. By the time winter rolls around, since most of the major decorations have been put up already, customers will only have to make minor adjustments as the season changes, which can be done either by the company or by the homeowner, according to Poulin.
“Most of the clients I have, they are the trendsetters. When we’re doing a street, we aren’t doing 10 houses. Usually, the home we’re doing is the one setting the standard for that neighborhood. Once their lights go on, that’s when everyone else starts to put their lights on,” Poulin said.
A house decorated by Christmas Decor.
Kim Poulin / contributedIn the aftermath of large-scale events like the COVID-19 pandemic and 9/11, people have had a renewed appreciation for the holidays, according to Poulin.
“It takes a pandemic to go back to past traditions or create new traditions,” Poulin said.
The business has dealt with many challenges over the years, including weather events like Superstorm Sandy, nor’easters and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, but it has always been able to “adapt and overcome” them.
“People forget about [Superstorm Sandy]. I was doing Christmas lights when we lost power and we had 85 houses on the schedule. And I was like, ‘You know what? We’re going to go around with generators,'” Poulin said.
Poulin said she has also seen decorating for Halloween increase in popularity due to social media and the retail industry, with people putting up bigger decorations like giant skeletons.
“Halloween is taking off like crazy. I’ve never seen so many gigantic dragons and Ghostbusters things,” Poulin said. She also noted that she has seen more requests for decorations for Diwali, which is an Indian festival of lights celebrating “light over darkness.”
A house decorated by Christmas Decor.
Kim Poulin / contributedRecently, Christmas Decor has helped put up blue decorations to honor two Bristol police officers who were killed last month. Poulin also said that she helped her mother-in-law put up a blue Pom-Pom tree in order for her to send her condolences.
Christmas Decor offers customers a full installation service for their decorations. The company primarily serves central Connecticut, but depending on when clients request work and how much they are willing to spend, they can service other areas of the state like western and northern Connecticut, Lyme and Higganum, according to Poulin.
Poulin said the business aims to prepare houses as early as possible so it has time to help as many customers as it can. She said that oftentimes, there is “more work than they can handle,” and they are usually booked by the end of October. Last year, the company serviced around 175 locations in Connecticut — both commercial and residential — made up of people celebrating the holidays as well as businesses wanting to advertise.
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