Hi all you wonderful girles,

So as many of you know, today is the first day of Autumn... I would love to hear some ideas on decorating, tips to keep the house and yard in tip top shape for the Spring and anything else pertaining to Autumn. This is my second Autumn in the duplex I live in and last year I didn't do much decorating or anything so I'd love to hear any and all suggestions!

I'd also like to get some ideas on Trick-or-Treaters. I get 250-300 each year and need a cheap way to make them all happy!

Costco for your Halloweeners.

As for decorating...it all depends on your taste.

Mums are very popular (although I don't prefer them - although did buy two unusual ones at Trader Joe's this year). I also had two crotons in the yard that look great now that it's fall - the orange and yellow are popping and the plants have gotten pretty big. Astors and Decorative cabbages are also plentiful.

I bungee cord some corn stalks to the outdoor lamppost and, in the past, have put a bale of hay and a few pumpkins of various sizes along with a variety of squash. I also have a small scarecrow that i can stick in the ground.

I have a couple of fake pumpkins (one of which is white...it's great!) that i put on the front entryway.

Finally i change the wreath on the front door from a flowering wreath to a stick wreath. Although I may save the stick wreath for winter and find a more appropriate fall wreath.

I don't really decorate for holidays (except Christmas) unless I'm having a party. So, no advice there.

As far as candy for the little goblins, I'd try the Dollar Store or Big Lots. They can have better deals then other stores. Just make sure you don't have any left at the end of the night, too tempting. I bought little packs of pretzels to give out this year so DH and I wouldn't be tempted. Yeah, I'm THAT house...

I love to carve jack-o-lanterns, so starting around now I'll carve leaves and acorn patterns into them. Toward Halloween, I start onto spooky ones, and after October I go to pilgrim's hats, turkeys, and cornucopias.

The only thing I do is carve a pumpkin (I love the seeds!) and change my table centerpiece. I like Christmas a lot better and seem to have many more decorations for that.
A easy way to change your decor for the seasons are to change candles.
I also recommend shopping after the season. Get next years Halloween decor in November and next years Thanksgiving decor in December, etc.

Love the pumpkin scented candles. I have lots of ceramic decorations for different holidays....pumpkins and ghosts for Halloween, pilgrims and turkeys for Thanksgiving. Fall themed wreath at front door. I like to pick up pumpkins and gourds, especially the unusual colored ones. Love the white pumpkins. I buy the cheapest, worst tasting candy for trick-or-treaters so I won't eat it.

Autumn is my absolute favorite season...and Halloween (Samhain) is my favorite holiday-for both religious and fun reasons. My birthday is October 30th, and my anniversary is the 23rd. We even had an autumn themed wedding.

~Autumn scented candles: gingerbread, pumpkin pie, apple cinnamon

~Candy: If you need to go for cheap-avoid the popular chocolate varieties. Go for Smarties, Dum Dum or other sorts of lollipops, Tootsie roll midgies, etc. They are much cheaper per treat than Reese cups, etc.

~Other autumn decor items:

Mums for outdoor flowers, your table or something decorated with the tiny small pumpkins and gourds, Indian corn used as table decor or hanging decor, beautiful wreaths made of autumn flowers, leaves, berries, etc.

There are tons of beautiful decorations available in rust, orange, red, gold, etc. All of those things are nice for a general autumn theme, and can be left up through Thanksgiving.


If you want to go more "Halloween" you can add the fun things-the things with all of the Jack O Lanterns, ghosts, witches, etc. on them. In my 1/2 bathroom (guest bath) I have black cabinetry in there. I just bought a container of Softsoap that is black, with white ghosts all over it...and I bought a black hand towel with ghosts as well. It matches my bathroom, but also looks seasonal and cute.

Like raw23 and aphil said, I change all the candles to pumpkin or cinnamon scented ones. I also have stuff with pumpkins or sunflowers to hang on the walls in place of the summer stuff (I've been at this a long time). I also change the few silk flowers I have to fall-colored items. Have some mums outside that come back every year to brighten things up.

I can't imagine that many trick or treaters! But, we don't stay home for Halloween, so we don't worry about that (but, like everyone else here, we can't leave decorations outside or it will be stolen or destroyed on that evening). When we did the halloween thing, it was easy to find cheap candy, but you had to shop early when it was on sale cheaper. Seems like it went up in price the closer halloween got!

Biglots has lots of fall seasonal decor every year!

Another thing to add...

Since I am such an autumn freak, my husband and I also do the crazy Jack O Lantern carving...and we take great pride in our home at this time of year!

Last year, we made an evil Jack-O-Lantern man out in the yard. We basically did it like a snowman-rigging it so our "man" was three pumpkins high, with the top one being his head. We carved an evil, evil face...and he had arms, etc. similar to a snowman. The funniest part, was that I bought a TON of miniature pumpkins, and carved them all, too. The mini pumpkins all had faces like they were either dead (X's for eyes, etc.) or like they were screaming and running for their lives. We staged them, like they were all either dead (still lit with candles so their faces showed, but lying on their sides, etc.) or looking like they were "running" from him.

We busted a few behind him (like he had already gotten a few...) and had pumkin guts hanging off of his hands, and coming out of his mouth.

We got a HUGE reaction from all of the trick or treaters-mainly from the DADS. The grown men LOVED it.

But then again, it took us about a week to do all of the work-all of the building, carving, etc.

We are insane.

I love all of your fabulous ideas!!! I bought some candles, wal mart had some GOOD smelling ones on sale for $4.97 for the big jar candles, and rite aid had some on sale for about $4.50, also the big jar ones. I got the apple cinnamon ones, pumpkin spice, autumn spice (those two smell the same pretty much) I also got spiced pear and cherry cobbler which I'll put out closer to Christmas.

I don't have a Costco card but my Mom and sister do, so maybe I'll go with them next time they go. I was just talking about Big Lots the other day, probably about time I go back! I have a door hanger that is a pumpkin with vines and it just says "welcome". My outdoor decor for Halloween is orange lights, I change my porch light to a blacklight, I also have these strobe lights that make spooky sounds but I only put that out on Halloween for the trick-or-treaters, no reason to scare the neighborhood racoons and cats for a whole month. I like to carve pumpkins, so maybe I will make a point of doing more this year.

Last year I spent WAY too much on expensive candy, so I think this year I will take your advice and buy somewhere cheaper.

I read somewhere that if you spray the inside and outside of your carved pumpkins with a stay fresh spray (that you would usually use for cut clowers and such) that it keeps your pumpkins from rotting away so soon. Does this really work?

I don't know if it works or not...we have our pumpkins out for a few weeks for decor, but we don't actually carve them until a couple of days before Halloween, so that the designs are fresh for the holiday.

OMG! I love it!

We have a pumpkin carving party every year (except last year.) We move the furniture in the living room and newspaper the floor. Guests bring their own pumpkins. I usually have themed food (teriyaki "bat" wings, vampire gingerbread men, etc.) and a holiday appropriate cocktail (like caramel apple tinis.) This year it's going to be more kid friendly, since there will be a couple of 5 year olds coming. It's a little bit of work, but I get to keep all the seeds!

Dh went crazy with his pumpkin last time and carved a Tibetan dragon.

awesome pumpkin!!!!!

Halloween is by FAR, my favorite time of year. When my husband and I got married and planned the wedding for October, he chose the 23rd. I wanted to get married the NEXT Saturday, the 30th, on my birthday. He wanted me to have two separate days, however.

I also have asked my mother repeatedly, why she didn't choose to have her planned c-section (for me) a day later. She actually HAD the choice to have me on Halloween. I would have loved it.

At our wedding, we actually had many of the finger foods at the buffet served in little cauldrons. There were bails of straw, and other things around the reception. Our cake had mums and fake autumn leaves between the cake layers, instead of more traditional flowers.

I just went out to Big Lots a little while ago and bought ANOTHER Halloween decoration. I usually pick one or two new decorations each year.

Aphil - I'd love to see pictures if you have any or take any this year. Sounds like you have a lot of fun with this stuff.