The Astros Skeleton Baseball Game – Held Over By Popular Demand

update: 10/04/2023 This year as we get ready to put up our October Skeleton Scenes, I want to revisit the story of last year’s Houston Astros, and last year’s Astros Skeleton Game in our yard. As I write this, I am waiting for this year’s “away” team fabric and ball caps to come in. On Saturday, the Astros will play against one of the winner’s of this year’s Wild Card Games. We will either play the Minnesota Twins or the Toronto Blue Jays. Interestingly, by the time we know which of these two teams we will play, there will be no time to procure fabric and hats, so I went ahead and ordered fabric and hats for both possible opponents.

But before I write a post about this year, I want to share the adventure of last year, as it was a wonderful time and ended in National Coverage of our Skeletons on TV, and the newspaper – so exciting for us!

Here is the coverage of the local news station during the World Series. I hope you enjoy this video link, and I also hope you enjoy the details about our skeletons, and their other news coverage that follows.

Changing the Opponents’ Uniforms for

Each Playoff Series

If you have been following my blog then you know that we have been doing skeleton scenes each week in October for the past few years. This year we did Pickle ball for our first week, and when we took it down for mowing day, we put up a brand new display of the Astros during their first playoff game this year. We had been working on this display for quite a while due to the unique uniform needs that involved lots of sewing. Susan, a friend of mine, who volunteered to help, did a fantastic job sewings, and also figuring how to get the look we were hoping for in our uniforms. Our plan was to change the display weekly, week 3 was supposed to be football related, and week 4 was going to be lake related. However, sometimes the best times are when things don’t go according to plan. On mowing day my husband and I both had commitments and couldn’t take down the Astros and put up the next “scene” and the Astros won their series and then it didn’t seem quite right to take down our Astros in the midst of a World Series Run, so after asking a few neighbors what they thought we realized leaving them up was probably the best plan. To be true to the series, and to give some variety in our “scene” we decided to change the uniforms of the opposing skeleton team to each team we played as we went along.

Contacting the Media

Somewhere in this process, we had a neighbor stop by and after telling us how much she loved our display, she suggested we contact the Conroe Courier (which serves all of Montgomery County and is part of the Houston Chronicle family of newspapers) and some of the news stations. I started out doing this, and received a few messages back that various sources liked my skeletons but were over scheduled right now and could I please keep in contact with pictures etc. throughout the coming playoff series. This I did, as we changed the opposing team to Yankees’ uniforms and got ready for the change to the Phillies uniforms when the Astros and Phillies made it to the World Series!

To make the uniforms represent the Yankees we simply changed logos to one from the Yankees and used the same shirts and pants, but with Yankee ice cream bowl helmets for hats.

AND THEN…

all of a sudden things changed from a media perspective. About 3 days before game 1 of the World Series, Conroe Courier scheduled a phone interview and a photography session with the skeletons for Thurs. Oct 24th, on Wed. the 23rd upon learning that my Phillies “jerseys” and hats for the skeletons had arrived, Fox scheduled an interview and video photography session for the next day, (also Oct. 24th) and on the 24th, KHOU messaged me that they also would love to interview me and film the skeletons that day.

What followed was a whirlwind of Media that was very exciting for my family, for Susan – my friend and “Uniform Making and Design” partner, and for me.

To see my Skeleton Story as it unfolded for and from the different media outlets I invite you to view the below articles and news reports. And then if you would like more behind the scenes info, keep reading in my blog below. Near the bottom of this blog, I will also include the product list and source for the products used in the skeleton display. Also you may want to check out my other skeleton blogs Choosing a World for your Skeletons – “Hair-Raising” or “Happy”? and Astros Skeleton Team has a “Thrilling and Chilling” Start – this “thrilling and Chilling article, has a lot of detail on how the uniforms were made, how the field was set up, and the materials used.

The below video interview was filmed by Jason Fochtman of the Conroe Courier/Houston Chronicle and includes footage showing the change of uniforms from the Yankees to the Phillies, and also how we secured and posed the skeletons. Jason spent an afternoon with Susan and I as we transitioned to the World Series game 1 uniforms for our skeleton opposing team – the Phillies.

Many thanks to Jason Fochtman for such a great video which can be found on Youtube. Thanks also to Jason for the super still shots that were published in both the Houston Chronicle and the Conroe Courier. Thanks also, to Sondra Hernandez for the great article “Lake Conroe couple’s Halloween display uses 30 skeletons to chart Astros’ path to World Series”. As both Jason and Sondra were my first news contacts and interviews I especially appreciate the kind way they eased me into the interview process and Jason’s video does a fabulous job of capturing the work, fun and technique of doing a skeleton display.

After the Chronicle interview, Fox 26 reporter – Coco Dominguez and photographer – Chandler Watson arrived at our Skeleton field at sunset, to get some shots of the uniform change for the opposing team from Yankees jerseys and caps to those of the Phillies and to get some spooky “after dark” shots of our Skeleton World Series game. Thanks to Coco Dominguez and Chandler Watson for their amazing coverage and for the rush hour trip up I-45 they endured to meet our skeletons!!!! I believe they did they editing in their car on the way back to Fox which sounds much more challenging then the leisurely editing I’ve done in my comfortable desk chair at home. (the Fox news coverage is the one shown at the top of the post as well. I included it here in case you missed it above or in case you wanted to compare it to the other coverage we enjoyed the varied look of each.) It was all so much fun!!

Our final interview was with KHOU. We were visited by reporter Zack Tawatari and photographer Ryan Phillips for an interview and a photo session for our skeletons. I was impressed that Zack and Ryan left our house around 8:20 PM and somehow had the video edited and on the 10 o’clock news that night. I thought that kind of effort was only reserved for serious new stories, and I was honored that they gave our skeletons that kind of attention! We loved their coverage too!

I was in awe of the excellent job done by all of the news outlets. The friendliness and professionalism was amazing, and we love the results of all 3 teams! The turnaround time was so quick for all three teams that the different pieces of it were presented in under 24 hours. On a story so related to timely events – Halloween and the World Series – this allowed many people to enjoy it in many different forms – TV, online, print, etc. at a time when the story was most relevant. Thanks Again!!!

More Behind the Scenes Information

When we decided to change the Seattle Mariners Uniforms to that of our new opponent – The New York Yankees, we had a bit of a problem with procurement of the Yankees hats (we use the stadium ice cream bowls that are in the shape of a batting helmet or baseball cap as they are a near perfect fit for our skeletons). These hats arrived after the Astros swept the series with the Yankees but we dressed our skeletons in them anyway, and changed the logos on their shirts to Yankees to celebrate winning the series. Then we moved on to finding materials needed for both Phillies and Padres – as we hoped to be the team to face one of them in the World Series. To avoid the procurement problems we had with the Yankees. We did this before we knew which of them we would face in the World Series or even if our Astros would be in the World Series themselves, but we hoped and believed and started locating and ordering MLB fabric for logos, and the ice cream bowl hats. Even at this point the Phillies “baseball caps” and fabric were hard to find and most did not ship quickly enough to get to me before the World Series began. However, I did get one of the last sets of “baseball caps” available at Amazon but it required buying a set of 24 when I only needed 10. However, that was a small price to pay to have them on time. At the time the American League Championship and National League Championship series ended and the Astros and Phillies were headed to the World Series I still had no MLB fabric, but I had found adorable Phillies Onesies and made the decision to go with them, as Amazon had 10, and they could be delivered in time for game 1 of the World Series. I was lucky that the 36″ skeletons wear Newborn to 6 month size onesies, because that size was still available. As it turned out, the onesies have a real “baseball jersey” look, and I think are perfect for our World Series. We were not as lucky in the procurement of the World Series flag somehow when I ordered it, I missed the “ships Nov. 8th notation on the item”. Oh well, live and learn. Fortunately the flags were not essential while the “jerseys” were a priority.

The Reality of Outdoor decorations

On a funny note – the night before our “media day” I noticed that the skeletons uniforms were quite dirty and had a lot of grass, grime and bird deposits on them after their 2 weeks outdoors. I quickly decided to take them down and wash the uniforms. I should have taken a picture of our wonderful neighbor and I scurrying around in the dark, hurriedly cutting zip ties to release our players from their stakes. This resulted in 21 of the 30 skeletons inside the house, which made for some funny pictures.

Once the skeleton uniforms were washed and air dried, we redressed them and Susan posed them for an Astros Wave photo. Then we headed to the yard and reposed the Astros, and posed our newly dressed Phillies as well. See below for more photos of our first Astros and Phillies World Series game.

For Halloween, and what was supposed to be game 3 of the World Series, Houston had a great night for Trick-or-Treating. Philadelphia, however, had a rainy night which caused game 3 to be delayed. But the weather was beautiful in the Houston area, and we had what I call a beautiful “watercolor type” sunset to go with it.

It was a really fun evening, as many who were Trick-or-Treating, seemed not to have seen the display before so it was fun to watch their reactions. One young child went around the “ballpark” and said “I love you” to most of the skeleton players, while others sat with the Astros coach or the fans and had their pictures taken. Both kids and parents took the time to thank me for all the work on the display, and many stopped to ask how where I had gotten uniforms, or if we had made them, and how did we find the baseball caps. One neighbor told me how she had sent pictures of the skeletons to 3 friends in other countries, and all her friends loved the skeletons. One new neighbor said they came down before Astros games and wished on our skeletons for a series win and how they had taken lots of pictures with the skeletons. It was fun to hear everyone’s stories.

More Skeleton World Series Game photos below, and following that some links to other posts in this “skeleton” series, and the a “list of items used and where to find them”, and then a “Link Parties” section

Finally, You will see the “Comment” section at the very bottom of the post. I would love to hear your about your Halloween experiences, especially those regarding Skeletons and Halloween. Thanks so much for stopping by !

The World Series Continues

Game 3 of the World Series was last night and well, lets just not talk about that one. Tonight is game 4 and our neighbors have asked that we keep the skeletons up – until the World Series Champion is determined. So we are happily “held over again”! We have even thought of some fun ways to end it when the Astros win it all – We Believe!!!!! I understand the loyalty of the Phillies fans, but for all of the neutral fans out there- please join us in cheering for the Astros as they win one for Dusty!!! If you have any ideas of something to do with our skeletons to hopefully celebrate a World Series win – I would love to hear them.

More Posts in the Skeleton Series

If you liked this post, I think you may enjoy these others as well.

Choosing a World for your Skeletons – “Hair-Raising” or “Happy”?

Astros Skeleton Team has a “Thrilling and Chilling” Start

Origins of Props, uniforms, etc.

Props, etc.

Benches – homemade to fit the size of the skeletons. We made these with screws rather than nails so that we can disassemble the base if we need to, so we can store them more compactly. We were happy to invest the time and money in these, as we think that we will be doing many team sports with our skeletons where these benches will be needed again in future years.

Pitcher’s mound – I traced a kiddie pool on brown landscaping cloth and cut it out. I used the clips designed for Landscaping cloth to anchor it in the field

Lights – I used Philips LED lights from Home Depot to have bulbs that stay cooler, and used Bell fixtures from Lowes – check voltage of your bulbs and compatibility with this fixture before using, and also that it says LED use, and Outdoor use as well.

Astros #1 foam hand- Academy

Astros license plate type sign – Academy

Astros avenue sign – Academy

Zip ties 14″ Lowes

Zip ties 18″ Lowes

Tent Stakes Walmart

Command Strips for attaching hats

Powder coated steel garden fence u post – Support Posts for 36″ skeletons – from Lowes

Astros Uniforms

pants – homemade

jersey – Majestic Astros jersey- onesie (Rainbow jersey) purchased at Academy in the 12 month size

Belt – homemade

shoe/socks – from Amazon

baseball caps – MLB 8 oz ice cream bowls from Party City and Collectible-supplies.com, and Amazon

baseball glove – from Collectible-supplies.com

catcher’s gear – homemade, pattern was adapted from pattern for 18″ doll

Phillies uniforms

pants – homemade

shoe/socks – from Amazon

baseball cap – Phillies MLB 8 oz ice cream bowls from Amazon

baseball glove – from Collectible-supplies.com

jerseys – Phillies Onesies size 3-6 months – Amazon

Umpires Uniform

pants – homemade

shirt – Amazon

MLB logo sticker – Amazon

black cap – from Amazon

shoe/socks – Amazon

Fans outfits

shirts – T-shirts and onesies from Hobby Lobby, Astros fan shirt with heart – from Academy

logo from Astros fabric from Joann’s

T-shirt dresses made from Amazon and Hobby Lobby onsies

skirts, shorts, and sun dress – homemade from Astros fabric, and other cotton fabric.

tennis shoe socks – for the “adult” 36″ skeletons Amazon

Tiny Tennis shoes – for the baby/toddler 24″ skeletons

Link Parties

I often participate in Tablescape Thursday at betweennapsontheporch.net, Please click on the link to see this website of one of my favorite bloggers – I especially love her “Tablescape Thursday posts” which are all about tablescapes and her tablescape post is followed by photos and links for many other wonderful tablescapers.  Her “Metamorphosis Monday” posts, which are all about “Befores and Afters” – is another favorite of mine. 

I also often participate in Marty’s “Inspire me Tuesday” link party at “A Stroll Thru life” I hope you can check out her website and her Tuesday link party which is followed by photos and links for many other ideas from her followers.

Recently I started following Katherinescorner.com. I frequently join her TFT blog party. The TFT – Thursday Favorite Things blog hop contains links on many topics with lots of great ideas. To get there click on the preceding link and go to her website and they check out her most recent Thursday – TFT post. At the bottom of the post, you will find many of her followers’ ideas. 

Recently I discovered the Imparting Grace blog, and I am really enjoying it. To get to this website click the preceding link and look for the “Grace At Home Blog party” which begins some weeks on Thursdays.

I have also started following SouthernSunflowers.com and recently joined their “Home Matters Link Party”. It begins each week on Thursdays. I hope you can check it out.

Very Recently, I started following KarinsKottage.com, and I am loving her blog as well, and can’t wait to see her Italian Castle remodel! I often participate in her Linky Party on Wednesdays . 

I have also started following EclecticRedBarn.com and am loving the “Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop” and I am also sharing on Eclectic Red Barn on Wednesdays at the You’re the Star Blog Hop. 

In addition I really enjoy Lifeasaleowife.com and share on the “Crafty Creators Link Party” and the “Happiness is Homemade” party on Mondays.

This year, for my first time, I have joined the “Home Imagined Link Party” at Masterpiecesofmylife.com. I love this website, and the hostesses and other contributors have some great ideas! To get to the home page, use the above link and then scroll down to “Home Imagined Link Party” and click on it to get to the Link Party page. A new link party is posted every other week. 

I have also shared recently on EsmeSalon.com. The following link, Senior Salon Pit Stop will get you to the link party on Esme’s site as well as getting you to some great recipes and other ideas!

This week, I joined the Saturday Sparks Party at Suzanne’s Pieced Pastimes Blogspot. I hope you can check it out.

Update: Today, (October 4, 2023) I saw that my Butterfly Tablescape was featured on the You’re the Star Blog Hop at Eclectic Red Barn. Thanks to Beverly at Eclectic Red Barn and also to this week’s hosts Angie @ God’s Growing Garden and Marci @ Stone Cottage Adventures.

I hope you will enjoy visiting these wonderful bloggers on the above websites as much as I do!