Sales of Halloween decorations run only second to those found at Christmastime

By Carol McGarvey ~ Better Homes and Gardens Books

Autumn decorating for your home is fun and natural, when you use items such as colorful Indian corn, gourds, miniature and full-size pumpkins and shocks of wheat.

But part of the season calls for no-holds-barred whimsy, when the bootiful and spooktacular spirit of Halloween takes over. You can do anything you want, and you'll be in good company. In 2000, Halloween decorations generated $756 million in sales, making it second only to Christmas, according to the National Retail Federation.

No other holiday lets us -- or encourages us -- to be so silly. It's easy for adults to take on the enthusiasm of little boys and ghouls, who become full of the eeriness of the season.

From pumpkin carving to party giving, the time is right for some fun. Miniature pumpkins can be carved out to become candleholders or attached to wire wreath forms to become welcoming wreaths. Glue and glitter can transform the mini wonders into colorful decorations.

Their larger counterparts, transformed into jack-o'-lanterns, can become various faces, from kings to monsters, or table centerpieces full of embellishments.

Simple materials, from crafting foam to tube-style paint, can turn into spider-web coasters to dress up a table in October finery. Silverware and plastic doll eyes can transform party ware to new heights of scariness.

Decorate hurricane globes with the silhouette of a witch in flight. Using tracing paper, waterproof paint markets and acrylic paints, decorate tall tumblers with dancing skeleton shapes. The goblins at your house will have a gross amount of fun.

Help them, too. Make party streamers to decorate your "bat cave" with shapes of jack-o'-lantern faces, ghosts, bats, skeleton heads or candy corn. They'll think you're the best Mummy or Mr. Mum on the block.