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If you’re a Halloween enthusiast like me, or you just want to one-up your neighbors with your decor, nothing beats Skelly, Home Depot’s 12-foot skeleton decoration with light-up eyes and posable limbs. But if you’ve looked online for one outside of the Home Depot Labor Day sale, you have likely noticed that these spooky props can go for between $800 and $1,200 online. There’s one time of year when you, too, can become the proud owner of an oversized artificial Skeleton—for just $299—and it’s the best part of this year’s Labor Day sales.
Finding a Skelly in stock has traditionally been a challenge, but he’s currently available in stores and online with a few other oversized friends for $299. You can order one to pick up at your nearest Home Depot, or you can opt for free delivery, which could take a week or so, but avoids shipping costs. But Skelly is an exclusive treat with limited supplies, so the best way to get one is to order early.
Skelly’s specs
Skelly is about 5 feet wide (depending on his pose) and 12 feet high once he’s assembled, and he has eyes that light up with eight different effects. The decoration comes with a remote to control the LCD eyes, a power adapter, and a stand.
Home Depot says it takes two people to set it up, and I would say that’s a minimum to avoid dropping and damaging him. With a helper, I have found that you can assemble and pose Skelly in an hour or a little less.
Although Skelly comes with a tether and stakes to give him added stability, if you live in an area where high winds are possible, it doesn’t hurt to add your own sandbag or two to the base for safety.
Once Skelly is assembled, you can run his light-up eyes on the included time, with a 6-hour-on, 18-hour-off presetting. If you want to set his eyes to a different time distribution, you can turn them on continuously and use an external timer to switch them on and off.
What do you think so far?
Skelly is said to be an indoor-outdoor decoration, so if you have 12-foot ceilings or taller, he’s technically safe to set up indoors, although I think most people will likely keep him outside.
Before you purchase Skelly, you might want to consider storage—even collapsed, the box he comes in is 44.1 inches by 40.2 inches by 27.2 inches. That’s nearly a four-foot square box that’s more than two feet deep.
How to use Skelly
If you want to avoid the storage debacle, you can opt for the solution many creative Skelly owners take and keep him up year-round. Yes, it’s true: Skelly isn’t just for Halloween anymore. Skelly can be redecorated and repositioned for all occasions and holidays, eliminating the need to store him away.
Skelly is also joined by some giant-boned friends, so if you have a big enough yard, you can collect them and create a whole village from the bones of huge, mythical creatures. A popular companion for Skelly is his 7-foot-long dog skeleton with matching LCD eyes. Skelly is an animal-lover, so he can also be accompanied by a 5-foot skeleton cat, with the same light-up eyes as the rest of the collection.
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