DECORATING WITH JEANIE--HALLOWEEN HOMES

Did you decorate your home for Halloween this year? Americans now spend more money on Halloween than any other holiday except Christmas. The National Retail Federation has estimated that Americans will spend $7.4 billion on Halloween this year. Yes, that's BILLION--with a B! And that includes $350 million on costumes for pets! This is a fairly recent phenomenon. Twenty or thirty years ago you’d rarely see the exterior of a home covered in orange cobwebs or giant glitter spiders, ghouls, and ghosts. Today they abound, along with witches, tombstones, orange lights, and pumpkins of all shapes and sizes.

The other day I took a walk through my neighborhood and was somewhat astonished by the minimalist bent this year’s Halloween decorating had taken. I’m used to my neighbors going all out, competing with one another for the most over-the-top extreme Halloween house on the block. Not this year.

During my one-hour walk I came across only one lawn cemetery. Understatement seems to be the theme this year with some homes only wrapping porch columns in cornstalks and others only tying a scarecrow to a light post. However, the most minimalist décor I came across was the house with two lone mini-pumpkins perched on the stair railing columns. You may have to squint to see them. I have to wonder why they even bothered.

What about you? Do you decorate for Halloween? Do you prefer to put up more generic autumn decorations such as wreaths made of red and gold leaves? Or do you just wait until after Thanksgiving and decorate for Christmas?