Everyone has their own ways of celebrating Halloween each year. Some people put up decorations, some people carve pumpkins, and some people get dressed in their best (or most ridiculous) costumes. At Cars For Sale, we celebrate Halloween by doing all of that and more!

Setting the Scene

First, the totes and totes of Halloween decorations are brought up from the basement and once again placed so that the building. Some of the accessories have very festive, Fall-like vibes. Others are more suited to a haunted house.

The decorating crew goes all out, though. From cobwebs to plastic spiders to witches hats, the floor, walls, and ceiling are all adorned with Halloween-themed props. When you walk into Cars For Sale in October, there’s no mistaking what time of the year it is!

Pumpkin Decorating

One of the most anticipated October events at Cars For Sale is the annual pumpkin decorating contest. The theme this year was “Disney movies,” but beyond that, everything is fair game. Teams can use props, you can carve the pumpkin, or you can paint the pumpkin. First, departments were combined into different groups. Then, each of them is given one pumpkin with $20 to buy materials, props, or, in some cases, additional pumpkins.

One team cut their pumpkin, emptied it out, and turned it into the Hocus Pocus cauldron. They also bought three more pumpkins and turned them into the Sanderson sisters, yarn hair and all. A hand-made spell book and fog machine completed the display. 

One team went for a classic (and impressively free-handed!) Mickey Mouse carving. Another team got inspiration from Toy Story 4 and created their own version of Forky.

Inside Out 2‘s Anxiety was another character in the competition. So was Genie, from Aladdin. Another pumpkin was carved out and transformed into the Black Pearl from the Pirates of the Caribbean. 

Two teams had the same idea and put forth their best efforts at recreating the house from Up. 

After all the pumpkins are decorated and displayed, a company-wide vote, where employees can choose their top three favorite pumpkins, was conducted. In the end, the winning pumpkin was Hocus Pocus. With a hand-made book, electronic candles, and a pumpkin-carved cauldron that dispensed smoke, the entire scene was just too hard to beat.

Costume Contest

What is Halloween without the costumes? Well, there are plenty of entries in our costume contest each year. Entries ranged from a Pac-Man Jack-O-Lantern to a Psycho Ex-Girlfriend to Blake from Workaholics. 

Iconic characters like Princess Leia, Where’s Waldo, and the Minions were also represented. 

Of course, 2024 was dominated by Bluey, Taylor Swift, and Caitlin Clark, so it was no surprise to see them pop up in the costume contest, too.

In the end, Miss Trunchbull, from Matilda, earned enough votes for third place. Powerline, from A Goofy Movie, came in at second place. An entire trio of Bubba, Lt. Dan, and Forrest Gump walked away with first place this year.

The decorations, the pumpkins, and the costumes are all fun, year after year, but one of the best parts about the holiday actually happens after Halloween day. That’s when everyone brings all their leftover candy into the office to share!