It's autumn and time for a pair of holidays that will keep your kids busy throughout the next couple of months. First up is Halloween…which leads into Thanksgiving only four weeks later. The wonderful thing about these holidays is that they fall within the same season and use the same color scheme. Because of this, many of the things you purchase for one can be used for the other, reducing the amount of money you need to spend on the kids' fun during this season.

Here are some examples:

Cookie cutters: The simple pumpkin cookie cutter you chose to create marvelous pumpkin invitations and decorations for your spooky Halloween party can be used at Thanksgiving time to make pumpkin sugar cookies, pumpkin bread, brownies, etc. Pumpkins are as festive at Thanksgiving as they are at Halloween.

Tablecloth: Use an orange tablecloth for your Halloween party table, and then trim it up using brown ribbon and scalloped scissors to create a formal tablecloth for Thanksgiving.

Purchase plain orange and white tableware, such as napkins, plates, and cups, for Halloween. Use the leftover supplies for Thanksgiving as well. Provide your children with brown markers to draw turkeys on their cups and napkins to make them into festive Thanksgiving tableware. You may use the good china for the Thanksgiving meal itself, but this will be great for snacks before the meal and to serve leftovers on.

The bales of hay and Indian corn you purchased for your yard, front porch, door, or table centerpiece during the Halloween season can be used during Thanksgiving as well. They’ll keep fresh throughout the entire autumn season. You can also use the corn husks to create dolls and puppets for more Thanksgiving decorations or just plain fun!

Mini pumpkins and gourds look festive at both Halloween and Thanksgiving. Have the kids draw faces on the small pumpkins and turkeys on the gourds.

Any leftover orange balloons can be blown up for Thanksgiving, and the kids can either draw with brown markers or use other craft materials to create turkey balloons.

Have the kids roll up large orange napkins that you may have used for your Halloween party and create napkin rings using white and black construction paper rings (Pilgrim colors, of course!).

Did you bob for apples at your Halloween party? Use apples to create apple candlestick holders. Core out the center of the apple to fit your candles snugly. Older children can carve out patterns on the skin of the apples.