- Although the specter of ghosts and goblins is ideal for children and a standard for Halloween decorations, why not enter the soul but with a little sophistication this year? If you are hosting a Halloween party for adults in the heart, a scary holiday theme can be part of the celebrations, but with a touch of fun.

There are many directions that you can follow with a decorating theme. Sure, there are black and orange colors that can be combined into the decor and use of pumpkin or candles, which still scream on Halloween but can be displayed elegantly.

"Even if everyone thinks about orange and black, you have to think about a mixture of dark red and black. On Halloween, anytime, black is used," says Gary Lavasier, academic director of decorative and exhibition design at the Art Institute in California. It represents scar and dark red that could be a symbol of blood. ”For a more sophisticated look, combine arrangements of dark red roses, covering them with a black veil cap so you can see roses through the veil and tie them together with a black satin ribbon. "If you're going any further, put the arrangement on an inexpensive black mattress and drip the dark red nail polish with some rose petals on the bedspreads. The roses seem to bleed."

Lavasr also has these tips for decorating an alternative but complicated Halloween:

* Use antique Halloween games from the 1930s, 1940s or 1950s as part of a design. ... DERBY ”A collection of agricultural, literary and industrial achievements in this holiday season is on display at the Osborne Homestead Museum.

Nine former Residence Club clubs have decorated for business and philanthropist Francis Elisa Osborn Kellogg's holiday destination, as she has done for more than two decades.

The property was part of a dairy farm it seized after the death of her father, Wilbur Fisk Osborne.

Kellogg, the curator, left 350 acres for the state, which is now Osborndale State Park.

She passed away in 1956 at the age of 80.

The theme for this year is a vacation in Connecticut.

On Friday, museum curator and teacher Susan Robinson described how the detailed decoration of each room demonstrated technological innovations in Connecticut history.

Members of the Naugatuck Garden Club decorated the walnut-clad studio with objects symbolizing Elli Whitney's cotton gin and Sikorsky helicopters. Robinson said he was working in Bridgeport, and the Christmas tree on the table in the studio topped with cases of lipstick, a patented invention in Connecticut.

Robinson said that the Derby Garden Association decorated the kitchen with a "color burst" and shared information about Margaret Rodkin, founder of the Sheffield ranch in Fairfield.

Robinson stated that the invention of Bridgeport-based William Frisbee in 1871 was celebrated in the food pantry, and the nutmeg displayed on the table referred to the name Connecticut, nutmeg state, according to Robinson. .

She told visitors that the first cookbook published in the United States was written in 1796 by Amelia Simons, resident of Connecticut.

Orange Garden Club decorated Kellogg's childhood bedroom. There was an original poster from Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus on the wall as well as Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls. The dolls were designed by Connecticut author and artist John Gruel.

A group of mechanics from A.C. Gilbert of New Haven, the dock was filled with 250 Wiffle balls, made in Shelton. ...