Halloween play land. Downers Grove family aims for spooky scary over gore with their decor

For one Downers Grove family, decorating for Halloween takes a little longer than most.

That’s because Tommy and Sheri Nybo, along with the help of their two young sons Christian and Jack spend weeks transforming their yard into a haunted play land, complete with walkthroughs and themed areas.

Located at 6001 Pershing Ave., just some of the Nybo’s displays include a 12-foot pumpkin inferno, a black tent with a graveyard, a farm scene, playground scene with zombie children and a circus-themed area with red and white striped tents and animatronics.

“It all starts with one piece,” Tommy Nybo said. “You get one or two things and then you start getting ideas and you’re always going to need to buy more and more and more.”

Setup began on Christian’s fifth birthday Sept. 9.

“He goes to the afternoon preschool session so I set up the big 12-foot inferno with cornstalks and had it ready by the time he got off the bus,” Tommy Nybo said. “Then we just keep decorating through the entire month. I have a day job, and by the time my son would get home in the afternoons we could spend an hour or two in the yard.”

Jack, 2, would sit in his Pack N Play and watch while they decorated.

“It makes it fun and a way for me to keep my sons off all the electronic devices they have these days,” Tommy Nybo said. “I don’t mind from time to time them being on that stuff but it’s cool to bring them into this and get their ideas.”

Often when Christian is on his tablet, he is watching “That Nate Guy” on YouTube who travels around to Spirit Halloween stores and makes videos on his findings, including costumes and props.

“Christian will say, ‘Daddy, you’ve got to see this one,’” Tommy Nybo said. “And then we’ll end up buying a few new decorations each year.”

The family aims for spooky scary over gore when it comes to their decor.

“It’s a more family-friendly type of display. We don’t want to give kids nightmares. My kids are 5 and 2 and I want them to enjoy this,” Tommy Nybo said.

Tommy Nybo’s first job at age 16 for Murray’s Partytime Store in Willowbrook helped spark his passion for the spooky season.

“It was the Halloween store to go to before all the Spirit stores existed,” he said. “They had really cool stuff and there would be people waiting in line to get Halloween costumes on a weekend. And you could rent these super-detailed, high end animatronics or a coffin. That triggered it for me.”

After moving into their first home in 2006, the Nybos set up some inflatables and a cemetery display.

“And it started getting bigger and bigger,” Tommy Nybo said.

These days, it’s not uncommon for the Nybos to get some unusual questions related to their popular displays.

“Last year a nice couple asked if we would be interested in buying a full-size coffin they made out of solid wood. And we had someone drop off a bag full of mannequins,” Nybo said. “It’s great because I always want to change things up so it’s not always the same.”

And he’s excited to see others in the neighborhood, such as Brad Bergermann, who lives at 5960 Pershing Ave., join in on the yard decorating fun.

“Brad has started escalating his display,” Nybo said. “He’s got all these new animatronics and an 11-foot tall werewolf.”

Weather permitting, visitors are invited to stop by to see the Nybo’s display from dusk to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and from dusk to 9 p.m. Sundays. Lights will be on display during the week. The last week of October, the display will be open from dusk to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, dusk to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday and from dusk to 9 p.m. Sunday.