Fall Decor

In the stores it already looks like Christmas, and in the last couple of years I've seen a few houses that have Christmas lights up 2 days after Halloween. What ever happened to Thanksgiving?

If you haven't decorated your house for Halloween yet and you hate the idea of putting up decorations only to take them down a week later, consider this: Buy decorations for the entire fall season. Pumpkins, scarecrows, and leaves are great decorations for Halloween and Thanksgiving as well.

If you're a fan of ghosts and goblins consider putting them up for Halloween, along with your pumpkins and other decor. Then after Halloween take the ghosts and ghouls down and leave your "fall decor" up till Thanksgiving.

It is very easy to decorate for the fall season without spending a lot of money. I bought my decorations at Wal-Mart, Big Lots, and the Dollar Tree.

• Strings of leaves are very cute to hang on the porch, and I've seen them priced from $1 to $4 each. (You'll probably need 3 to 6 of these, depending on the size of you porch.)


• Large Scarecrows (4' to 5' tall) are great for a porch, yard, or garden, and they sell for $7 to $10.


• Smaller scarecrows (6 inches to 2') are good for the yard and the inside of your house. I hung one onto a window outside and placed another with a couple of pumpkins in my dining room. You can buy these for $.50 to $3.


• Pumpkins - If you're not in to carving pumpkins, you can buy plastic pumpkins that look like the real thing. Buy jack-o-laterns that light up, or plain pumpkins for a festive harvest look. The pumpkins range in size and sell for $2 to $9.


• Artificial flowers/leaves/berries. - These make a great addition and add a lot of color to your decor. Create an arrangement for your dining room table, or place them outside on your porch. At around $1 a sprig they are also a lot cheaper than buying potted fall plants.