Get Ready For Halloween!

Yes, we're eight weeks off from the spookiest holiday of the year: Halloween! I truly enjoy Halloween, mostly because of my kids, but I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that it is so different from all the other traditional holidays. What other holiday allows you to adorn your residence with fake headstones, ghosts hanging from the trees, and all that other creepy stuff? I always enjoy preparing for Halloween early, because then you get first pick at all the good stuff for decorating and you have more time to perfect that costume! It's more fun to be different and more elaborate, so if you start thinking about it now, you have a good chance of being a stand-out!

As always, I enjoy checking out the origins of holidays. I found a nice site which lays out the history of Halloween very well. Please check it out: http://www.holidays.net/halloween/story.... Perhaps the story will inspire you in making some unique decorations.

First things first...we all need to learn the basics of carving a good pumpking! Once you learn the basics, anything goes. Make the pumpkins as simple or as fancy as you wish. A clear and concise site for pumpkin carving is at this address: http://homearts.com/mrfood/articles/a7ge... But pumpkins are not just for carving. You can take the mini pumpkin-shaped gourds and attach to a wreath, and from there, elaborate with wheat and other fall touches. Carve regular-sized pumpkins into baskets and fill with Fall silks and such. Check this out: http://homearts.com/gh/family/1096puf1.h...

Everyone has their own ideas for a fabulously decorated yard. Some enjoy minimal or subtle decorations, and some love to go all out, with the graveyards and motion-activated creeps!!! For some chilling ideas, check out these sites: http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Corridor... , http://www.parentsoup.com/experts/bergst... , and http://members.aol.com/smessin983/Hallow... Here is the site where you can find how to make those ghoulish headstones from Styrofoam: http://www.styrofoam-crafts.com/projects... And here is the epitome of going "all-out" in decorating: http://vol.com/~infidel/halloween/hallow... . I had fun checking out all the links on this site, and I hope you will as well: http://vol.com/~infidel/halloween/hallow... There are so many good ideas for creating a well-decorated yard for Halloween...I hope these sites let you expand you imagination and come up with some good ideas on your own.

How many of you have seen those cheesecloth ghosts in the craft stores, thought it would be too difficult to do on your own, and just didn't bother to try? Well, check out this site, as it explains the process quite well: http://www.skl.com/~guidezon/kddipand.ht... Oh...there is no decent way to describe this one. You must see it on your own!!! Check out the Meathead here: http://cascade.mit.edu/halloween/meathea... . I'm sure that would be quite the conversation at any party!!! This following site is so wonderful, with TONS of ideas! Take a look: http://members.tripod.com/~Motomom/index... On a tamer note, here is a cute idea for making witches out of lollipops: http://www.ideacraft.com/halloween.html. Halloween can range from cute, for the little ones, to the more demented and creepy...like the Meathead centerpiece!!! There's something for everyone!