By Ezekiel Bertrand via SWNS
Meet the Halloween-loving family who spend all year preparing to transform their home into a super spooky setting for October 31.
Alix Ramsier, 36, wife Billie, 33 and kids Beau, 11, and Aluna, nine, first decorated their property in Croydon, south London in 2019.
The displays have got bigger and better each year since – with the 2024 edition, which is circus-themed, their best ever.
Running coach Alix tends to get the decorations throughout the year in charity shops and car boot sales, while the kids find their own things
They family then puts all the decorations into one big box ready for Halloween.
Alix said: “It started about five years ago, when my kids were much younger, with one or two things we found through Halloween to dress up as.
“And that’s when we thought ‘Wouldn’t it be funny to put some of these costumes in the garden?’ And it evolved from there.
“So, in the first year, it started with just a couple of life-sized costumes looking like people on the front lawn.
“And then over the past few years, it’s gotten slightly out of hand.”
Alix explained that his front garden in Caterham Drive is now decorated with uncountable characters, from “the roof down to the lawn”.
He added: “This year, my nine-year-old daughter decided she wanted to try and create a circus setting.
“So, we’ve transformed the front lawn into a creepy circus, and we created a 12-foot spider together made of guttering and things that she saw on YouTube.”
It took a whole weekend to decorate the front garden.
While it’s great fun, Alix says that the British autumn weather isn’t always on their side.
He added: “It took us the last weekend of September to set all of this up, but, because of the wind, every day there’s something you’ve got to put back together or put a head back on the characters.
“But it’s fun, even though it takes a little bit of time, and we keep adding more and more as we get closer to Halloween.”
As soon as Halloween is over, the Ramsier family take the decorations down and start planning what their home will look like for Christmas.
Every year, the decorations go into lock up before being brought back the following Halloween – but the theme always changes.
Alix explained: “We try and do something different every year.
“We have a lot of the same masks, but it changes just to keep everything fun.”
This year, the home has around 10 clowns, which they managed to obtain from one person who was getting rid of their fancy dress shop.
Ironically, Alix very rarely dresses up for Halloween, saying that he “more likes to get his kids dressed up” – with his children going as Jack and Sally Skellington from The Nightmare Before Christmas.
He said: “I love it – it’s great.
“I really should go and live in America, but I really enjoy it.
“I think the best part of it is seeing the kids pushing boundaries and stepping out of their comfort zone, where they don’t know whether to be scared or excited.
On Halloween, the dad and his family host a Halloween Walk for the local residents and neighbors to raise money for cancer charities.
Alix said: “We live right next to the woods, and we try to do it for all the local people around here and turn it into quite a big deal as we’re doing it for charity.
“The people come to my house, and my dad often does a big speech at the start to scare them a little bit, before they wander off into the woods to try and find some clues.
“And then, when they come back with all the answers, they get a medal and some sweets.
“It’s really great fun.”
In 2023, the family managed to raise more than $2,000.
Alix hopes to raise $500 for The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity this year, explaining: “This year, my uncle has not had great news and he’s been looked after at the Marsden.
“So, we’re trying to raise money for them because it looks after so many people, but the news my uncle has received has been really tough this year.”
