Fall is my favorite time of the year and it marks the beginning of the holiday season. To get myself in that festive mood I start decorating in October. But decorating can sometimes be exhausting, especially if you have to worry about decorating for Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. So I make it easy on myself and combine Halloween and Thanksgiving by just going with a fall motif.

Were I live in Southern California we don’t have a lot of trees that turn from green to gold and red. Mostly our trees just turn from green to brown! So I like to purchase those autumn colored silk maple leaves (at some stores you can get a bunch for .96 cents) and fill my home with them to help bring in that autumn feeling.

I also decorate with orange and red candles. Many times I can find these in a pumpkin spice scent and an apple scent, and this greatly enhances the holiday mood in my home. The candles look great with the leaves (though of course you know to use common sense when burning candles) and they smell fabulous.

I also decorate my table with a table runner made from an autumn print fabric. And (just to please the kids of course) I have a table cloth with jack-o-lanterns and ghosts on them. I then take a couple of those tiny pumpkins, hollow out the center and place a tea-light inside. The little lit pumpkins make a fabulous centerpiece.

If you live where the leaves turn red and gold, you can make autumn stained glass windows to hang in your windows at home.

You will need:
wax paper
autumn leaves
an iron
a towel
orange and red construction paper

Simply arrange the leaves on a sheet of wax paper (cut to about 8x11). Place another sheet of wax paper on top of your arranged leaves. Place the towel over this and then iron gently until the wax paper sticks together. Careful, the wax paper can get hot! Then cut strips of the colored construction paper and glue around the edge to create a framed effect. Hang in your window and enjoy!

This time of year can be very draining, as it seems there is always so much to do. So I keep it simple by using decorations that work for October and November, and I keep it fun, and then I have the energy to actually enjoy my favorite time of year!