Sure, you’re forced to take down the ghosts and fuzzy spiders (news flash: your neighbors are pissed if you haven’t done so), but some of the seasonal elements we put up to get in the mood  should endure until the end of the year, if not beyond.

Here is my list of favorite affordable decorative displays for the festive and frugal in all of us.

1. Lanterns

Rice paper lanterns bobbing outside (with solar lights) or in your rooms make a huge, happy statement. I love the cylinder shapes with Asian motifs like the ones found at My Green Party Goods, $3.50 each.  Keep out of wind and rain and purchase eco options.

2. Mini Pumpkins

Don’t toss these babies out with the bad Halloween candy. They transition to the Thanksgiving table (orange+pumpkin) and even co-mingle happily pomegranates and pepper berries for winter holiday merrymaking. You can buy organic by the case at Baldor, if you haven’t already succumbed to the adorable guys at the farmers’ market.

3. Bowls of shells

It’s likely you have amassed these already. Gather them in a pretty bowl for the coffee table, scatter on the table, line them on the mantle. Shells – often used to evoke romantic, seaside summer lazing – work just as well in fall and winter. I like combing the beach for sand dollars and tossing them into my mix.

4. Strung Cards

I string three rows of natural wire along my dining room wall to hang beautiful cards from the high holidays and my daughter’s October Bat Mitzvah to Halloween, Thanksgiving and winter holiday greetings. Just pick up some clamps and you’re in business. Guests love them and cards are so cool, why toss them out?

5. Photo Displays

I’ve mounted many photo walls for clients and friends, which is affordable art for the home and a way to display treasured memories from the year. Of course, assorting eco frames on various tables throughout the house works well, too (school photos, Halloween shots, other fun scenes).

6. Foliage

Harvest leaves, twigs and pine cones and branch out in your earthy styling of tables, entryways and other venues that smack of fall color. I like how Arenamontanus gathered a grouping for a desk.

7. Candles

Beeswax candles come in all shapes and sizes and really set the mood for seasonal statements. Mix ‘em and match ‘em, turn off the lights and turn on the tunes. For a great assortment visit 1000 Markets.

8. Recycled Cloth Coasters

Like these vintage treasures from Etsy, turn your excess fabric into coasters with easy sewing for delightful results. When do you put them away? Never.

9. Table coverage

Roll out the organic runners and roll out the fun, kids. This sumptuous moss design from Amenity can take you through the seasons and inspire unique styling. I use them to dress up many surfaces from the dining table to the buffet and entry way.

10. Vintage Dishes

This peach glass from Step Toes is a lovely example of the menagerie of collectibles you can break out to display and use for serving, from favorite heirloom porcelain to tea pots and even plates hung for display. This is where you canhave blast and save on that styling budget.

Jewish is going greenish.

It’s a phenomenon I like to call Oy-Soy, the marriage of ethical Jewish values with eco alternatives – everything from the artifacts that help color our heritage to a back-to-nature approach to living more sustainably.

I guess it’s all in line with the goals of tikkun olam, the repairing of the world, which we Jews perform in a variety of ways, from donating to our communities with charity and acts of kindness to taking stock in our resources.

Is being green a blessing? Try these out and see:

Recycled Ketubah

The wedding contract, called a Ketubah, often emerges as a gorgeous work of art which couples frame and hang on their walls. This exquisite design on handmade recycled paper features pressed wild flowers and ferns, along with embossed plants for a touch of the early garden. $195.00 from Ahuva (shown above).

Eco-suede and Fair Trade Kippots

For greener coverage, try a golden kippot made of eco suede, the friendly vegan alternative to a suede-leather. These yarmulkes are made of recycled cardboard. $2.50 each from A-Zara. Or, opt for colorful crocheted, fair trade head coverings made by sixty Maya artisans working in the Guatemalan highlands. With the purchase of the woven caps, you are dong a mitzvot by helping women artisans earn a steady income for their families. $16 each at the Globale Exchange Store.

Fair Trade Challah Cover

Bring some exotic Boho flair to your Shabbat table by covering your  organic holiday bread in this handwoven, fiesta blue cloth embellished with a bright colored star and borders. 15″ x 20″. 100% cotton. $38 at Artistor.

Guilt-Free Organic Nosh

Nosh like an eco fresser with the organic bagels from Rudi’s Bakery (multigrain, honey wheat, white and cinnamon raisin); Nancy’s organic cream cheese (thick like you mean it); top with Vital Choice kosher, wild sockeye salmon Nova Lox. Head to your local farmer’s market for the tomato and onion and gorge without guilt!

Organic Kosher Wine

Such a blessing, the organic fruit of the vine, like Hafner Queen Esther Reserve Pinot Noir ‘04, which is produced under the strict supervision of Rabbi A.Y. Schwartz in Vienna. $11.08 for a bottle at Online Kosher Wine. Or open a bottle of  the Baron Herzog Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve, $29, made of grapes selected from vineyards in California’s Central Coast areas of San Luis Obispo and Edna Valley and the northern coastal areas of Sonoma.

They’re already talking about their costumes, those candy-crazy girls of mine. That’s how I know fall is here, just a wink and a nod after packing them up for summer camp.

Design-wise, it’s one of the easiest seasons for stylists since it involves scavenging for leaves and twigs to tweak our vignettes for free. Ah, there’s that “F” word, again, a favorite at EcoSalon.

Want to spruce up your rooms for autumn without much of a budget? Take one of the following paths most traveled by the frugal M. Stewarts among us:

The Centerpiece: Leaf it Alone

The Toast and Tables blog gathers no moss but plenty of leaves for centerpieces (images below). The simplicity is enticing. You can also make your own wreath with bundles, or layer them along the mantle to be set aglow by beeswax candles.

The DIY Twiggy Cabinet Door from Apartment Therapy

Bring the outdoors in by assembling twigs to embellish the typical cupboard cabinet (image below).

Basket Cases for Giving Thanks to the Autumn Bounty

Most of us have a caterer’s supply of baskets stored in the house. Fill a few with aromatic apples, Indian corn, leaves, pumpkins and other colorful objects for a cornucopia of delights. Don’t forget to toast your pumpkin seeds and put them in a bowl on the coffee table for another tasty treat of fall.

Scatter Bowls of Fall Potpourri with Old Fashioned Living’s Blend of Earthy Balsam Scents

Collect dried leaves and flowers from the ground, blend with fragrant oils and make your own yummy potpourri. Follow the DIY recipe and bring the woods and celebration of the equinox into your nest.

Image: J. Charpentier

Felt Leaf Napkin Rings and Placecards for Your Fall Dinner Party

Design Sponge has the skinny on these orange and brown napkin rings and cards (images below), easy to make with felt, scissors, glue, buttons, thread and your imagination. I love the chic, homemade texture of these festive gems.

Main Image: Design Sponge