Gnome Door

Gnome Door

Tips on Decorating for Halloween

If you walk around your neighborhood, there is a good chance that you will see very similar decorations at every home. Jack-o-lanterns, orange lights, trash bag pumpkins, and witches that have "crashed" into garage doors and nearby trees are incredibly common. However, if you are looking for something different to do this year, read on for creative ideas.

Masks

Hang a creepy mask on your front door. Decorate your scarecrow and garden gnomes with them. You can even hang them in the windows to look like someone creepy is peaking out. You can amp up the scary tone by placing a flash light on the ground, turning it on, and adjusting the light to illuminate the mask. Just make sure that any masks used outdoors are waterproof and fastened down so that they do not become ruined or fly away.

Vases

Glass vases can be an interesting way to decorate inside of your home. Consider filling them with different objects in fall and Halloween colors - colored leaves, black and orange marbles, Halloween candies, or even plastic bugs. You can then reuse the vases by making a few changes in the contents for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and other holidays. You can often find a variety of "fillers" at your local craft or dollar store.

Webs

Fake spider webs can make your front yard look creepy, but you can also use them inside, where you get the added benefit of having them last longer. Hang them in doorways and in corners throughout your home. You can even consider adding on some creepy inhabitants to perfect the look. Another benefit? You won't have to worry about dust? You may want to consider spraying the webbing with an insect repellent to keep the real deal from moving in. You will also want to make sure that you do not hang them anywhere that could be a potential fire hazard.

Murals

Have some budding artists in your family? Consider designing your own Halloween mural. You can then hang this in a bay window, a blank wall, or even outside if the weather permits. Have older children design their own Halloween scene, while younger children can color in the words "Happy Halloween." This can also be a cute memento to pass on when your children get older to help remind them of childhood Halloweens.

Accents

If you don't want to go all out with your Halloween decorations, a few tasteful accents can help set the Halloween mood without turning your home into a Haunted house. For instance, you can hang orange and black curtains or bring out some Halloween themed throw pillows. Look for a Halloween welcome mat or move your smaller potted plants into plastic Halloween trick-or-treating containers. You can even look for Halloween knick knacks and static window clings.

If you are tired of the traditional Halloween decorations, a little creativity can help you create your own Halloween display. Simply look for items that you like that fall into the Halloween theme and create your own designs.

About the Author

To read about dry eyelids and sore eyelids, visit the Eyelid Infections site.

JEROME, THE GNOME...MISSING IN DOOR COUNTY

Peter's Honey Biscuits

In his neat little, white painted, house at one end of the village of Trimble, Peter the friendly elf was looking through his cupboards. He had run out of his favourite honey biscuits and he was checking to see if he had all of the ingredients to make some more. To make sure he had them all he had written them down on a list was crossing them out as he found them.

Peter’s List

Flour

Salt

Butter

Honey

And, oh dear, the most important one was missing, honey, and the one thing you cannot do without when making Honey Biscuits, is honey.

Slipping on his little blue Jacket he hurried next door to his friend Pod’s house, but Pod didn’t have any honey either. Next he tried nearly every house in the village, but no one had any honey. Now there was only one house to try and that was Kronk’s house.

Kronk was the meanest and most unfriendly old gnome you could meet, but Peter thought he would ask anyway. Kronk was busy putting a new lock on the gate to the apple tree – the apple tree really belong to the whole village, but Kronk had built a fence around it, put a lock on the gate and now kept all the apples for himself.

‘Good day, Mr Kronk,’ said Peter, ‘I was wondering if you might have a little honey to spare.’

Kronk gave Peter a mean look and said, ‘Honey? Do you really think that if I had any honey I would give it to you? If I had any honey, which I do not, I would keep it all for myself.’

Oh, thought Peter, he really is the meanest old gnome ever, but all he said was, ‘Thank you, Mr Kronk,’ and walked away.

Peter got up early the next morning, he was going to Dingle market for some honey and it was a long way. It way a lovely morning the birds were singing and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. On the way to the market Peter was carrying an empty basket and he skipped all the way there. But on the way back there was a heavy pot of honey in his basket and he was getting very tired. The day was hot, he was sweating and his little legs were aching by the time he reached the old oak tree at the edge of the village.

It was no good he just had to sit down and have a rest, placing the basket next to him; he sat with his back against the tree and before he knew it had nodded off. As soon as he was asleep Kronk who had been watching him from behind his hedge, crept out, grabbed the honey and scurried back into his garden. After looking around he decided to hide the pot of honey under an upturned flowerpot, ‘Hee, Hee,’ he cackled. ‘No one will find it there.’

Half an hour later Peter woke up, went to pick up his basket and found that his honey had been stolen. Who would have done such a thing, he looked around but there was no one about. Sadly, with his head bowed, he began to make his way home; there would be no honey biscuits today.

He was so sad that he was half way home before he realise someone was shouting his name. Turning he saw that it was his friend Pod. Peter wasn’t in the mood for talking but he couldn’t just walk away, so he waited for Pod to catch up.

‘I’m sorry Pod,’ Peter said when his friend reached him, ‘I’m not in the mood to talk, someone stole my honey when I was asleep.’

‘I know, said Pod. ‘I was on top of fairy hill and I saw who took it. It was that horrible gnome Kronk and he has hidden it under a flowerpot in his garden. Lets’ go and get it back.’

‘No, that won’t work,’ said Peter. ‘He’ll just laugh at us, besides he won’t let us in his garden. But I think I know how to get the honey back.’

Peter explained his plan to Pod then they went around talking to the villagers. The next morning when Kronk was in his garden, three of the villagers ran past carrying sacks, ‘What is going on?’ he called.’ But the villagers kept on running and soon disappeared over the hill. Shortly afterwards some more villagers ran past and the same thing happened. A little later he saw Pod running towards him, so he stepped out into the road with his arms outstretched and Pod had to stop, ‘What is going on?’ he demanded.

‘Nothing,’ said Pod.

‘Then why have you got that sack?’ asked Kronk.

‘Because the farmer at green meadow, over by Dingle, has a field of potatoes he can’t pick and if you take your own sack, he’ll let you fill it for free.’

At the mention of the word free, greedy old Kronk ran back into his garden, grabbed a sack and went racing up the road. As soon as he disappeared over the hill Peter came out from behind the oak tree and took his honey from under the flowerpot.

‘Come on Pod,’ he said. ‘Let’s go home and bake some Honey Biscuits.’

It took Kronk two hours to get to Dingle, only to find no farmer at green meadow and no free potatoes. Then it took him two hours to get back and wasn’t he surprised when he topped the hill to find all of the villagers sitting under the oak tree, having a picnic with lots of Honey Biscuits to eat.

Recipe for honey biscuits

Ingredients

8 oz wholewheat flour

½ a teaspoon of salt

4 oz of butter

2 tablespoons of clear honey

Method

Mix flour and salt in bowl, rub in butter, mix in honey.

Sprinkle board and roller with flour, roll out pastry thinly, cut out with a round 2 inch cutter. Bake in oven Gas 2, 300° F, 150° C for 20 minutes

Will make approx 24 biscuits

Copyright Fred Watson

About the Author

Fred Watson published his first book, a fantasy adventure novel aimed at the 8-12 age group in November 2006. A grandfather of four, he loves to write for all age groups, has an abiding interest in history and continues on a regular basis to add new stories etc to his website. Footprint Publishing

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