DRESSING UP YOUR OLD HAUNT.

Byline: Barbara De Witt Fashion Editor

Jeweled pumpkins, jack-o'-lantern chandeliers and tables set with holiday-themed china and crystal.

Instead of a kids' night out, Halloween has turned into a ghostly gala for grown-ups.

Oh, sure, the little ghosts and goblins are still dressing up and trick-or-treating, but it's the baby boomer generation that's having the most fun, says Mary Helen Sprecher, spokeswoman of the Halloween Association based in Ellicott City, Md.

``Baby boomers were the first generation after World War II to grow up with money to spend on costumes, and they had a great era of innocence when it came to trick-or-treating. And now that their children are grown, they simply aren't willing to stand around and answer the door bell on Halloween night,'' Sprecher explains.

According to the Halloween Association, more than $1.5 billion was spent last year on costumes alone, but it projects that nearly $6 billion will be spent this year: $1.5 billion on costumes, $1.93 billion on candy, and $2.5 billion on decorating, crafts and entertainment.

Scary but true, these haute Halloween-decorating spending sprees have turned Oct. 31 into the country's second-largest commercial holiday, with Martha Stewart leading the broomstick-chic parade on the cover of her new special edition ``Martha Gets Ghoulish'' Halloween craft guide.

The reason for Stewart's witch costume, we won't touch with a 10-foot (broom)stick, but according to Stephen Drucker, editor in chief of Martha Stewart Living magazine, ``The popularity of Halloween decorating and home entertaining is total fantasy. There are no rules. It's all about creativity, and you can spend as little or as much as you like, so who could ask for a better holiday?''

Lifestyle guru Katie Brown (if Martha is queen, then Katie is princess) thinks Generation X-ers are helping the boomers boost the holiday's popularity. ``Life has become so serious and work so intense that Halloween is a great release ... and I think it's another example of the growing popularity of theme parties,'' said Brown while in town last week to promote her new book ``Katie Brown Entertains'' (HarperResource; $35).

Kathleen Suskauer of Westlake Village still decorates for Halloween and fondly recalls the holiday during her childhood.

``I grew up in a large family of seven, and we often had Halloween parties where we decorated the house with bouquets of fall leaves, corn stalks, weeds such as bittersweet, thistle and buckeyes. We bobbed for apples and made doughnuts, but before the party, we did something called tic-tacking, in which we would throw handfuls of shucked kernels of corn at neighbors' doors. It was sort of a trick before the treat, and neighbors always came out and waved and said hello.''

Suskauer still sets the table with fall leaves and bittersweet, even though it's the silk variety from the craft store.

Known for theme decorating, Suskauer has invested over the years in a number of tabletop collectibles, including porcelain pheasants and pumpkin-shaped teapots by Fitz & Floyd, and she uses them with tiny little hybrid Cinderella pumpkins from the market.

``I use them for everything, to hold place cards or votives and even as pudding pots,'' she says.

Tabletop decor, however, won't guarantee a great party, says Brown.

``For a memorable party, guests should be encouraged to wear costumes because it gets people talking to each other. And the decorations should not only be creative but interactive. For instance, you could cover a chair with cheesecloth that looks like cobwebs, and tie a bag of candy on the back that guests could take home with them, or add a mask with a nose and glasses that guests could put on as they sit down to dinner,'' says Brown.

The author also suggests that hosts pay attention to lighting. ``Don't have any overhead lights. Just candles or maybe some low-wattage red bulbs in the room. And be sure to stagger heights. Oh, and just for fun, end the party with everybody casting a spell after dinner.''

Although there's a new emphasis on elaborate decorations, such as Christopher Radko's European glass Halloween tabletop decorations, you can keep the party plan simple with tips from Carol Dahlstrom's new book, ``Better Homes and Gardens Halloween: 101 Frightfully Fun Ideas'' (Meredith Books/Better Homes and Gardens Books; $15.95).

``For more fun and less formality, just cover the table with a plain piece of cloth,'' says Dahlstrom. ``Give guests markers and let them sign and decorate it. And instead of a fancy centerpiece, use a pumpkin.

``Pumpkins are an art form in themselves, with unusual sizes, shapes and stems. And if you decorate them instead of cutting them open, they'll last up to a month.''

And that's a good thing, when you consider the $75 price tag for Martha Stewart's pumpkin-carving kit that includes a drill, keyhole saw, plaster scraper, wood gouges, linoleum cutter and professional hole cutters.

Haute Halloween

Pumpkins were not the first choice for jack-o'-lanterns. An Irish tradition, the hollowed-out, carved faces illuminated with candles were originally fashioned from rutabagas, turnips and potatoes, and used as lanterns.

- Disguise Inc., a San Diego costume supplier

Decor for a ghostly gala

The Great Pumpkin is coming. Are you ready?

You can find ready-made, fright-night fare all over town, from Target to Neiman Marcus, but we went straight to the pumpkin patch for a trio of wickedly stunning holiday decorations.

< Silver swirl pumpkin

Long after the jack-o'-lantern candles are blown out, this silver-laden pumpkin will shine on as a centerpiece, says Carol Dahlstrom, author of ``Better Homes and Gardens Halloween: 101 Frightfully Fun Ideas'' (Meredith Books/Better Homes and Gardens Books; $15.95).

You'll need: Lead-free solder (sold in various thicknesses at Michaels, Walmart and Jo-Ann's Fabrics and Crafts), plus a wire cutter, needle-nose pliers and an ice pick.

What to do: Using the wire cutter, cut 2- to 8-inch lengths from the solder spool. Approximately 50 pieces will be needed to trim a medium-size pumpkin. Next, you'll twist the pieces around a pencil into desired shapes (or use pliers). Leave about an inch at the end of the design to bend and use as a pushpin through the skin of the pumpkin. Or poke holes in the pumpkin with an ice pick and secure the solder design. When it's time to toss the pumpkin, pull out the solder swirls and save for next year. For a jeweled spider effect, paint the stem gold, then outline the natural lines of the pumpkin with a purple paint/glitter pen to create a spider web design. Accent it with a spider pin. You can create the look of a spider with a glitter pen and rhinestones from a craft store.

< Cinderella pumpkin containers

Kathleen Suskauer of Westlake Village says these are the quickest and easiest tricks for Halloween night.

You'll need: The smallest pumpkins you can find at the market (try to match the size and shape for continuity); votive candles (Suskauer suggests fuchsia as a fashionable accent for the orange variety, or deep green for the almost-white variety of pumpkins), a sharp paring knife and a spoon. If you're making dessert cups, you'll need a package of instant butterscotch pudding mix, milk, a wire whisk and whipped topping.

What to do: Wash pumpkins and cut around the stem. Clean seeds out as you would for a traditional jack-o'-lantern. Then cut a hole large enough to accommodate your candle. Insert the candle, light it, and, using a toothpick or straight pin, dribble a bit of melted wax down the outer sides of the pumpkin.

For dessert cups, rinse the inside of the pumpkins and fill with pudding. Refrigerate until ready to serve, then top with whipped cream and serve with a bowl of candy corn.

< Scary candleholders

You can light up the night with these glistening votive containers made from almost any glass container around the house. This idea comes from ``Better Homes and Gardens Halloween: 101 Frightfully Fun Ideas''.

You'll need: Tracing paper, a pencil, scissors, a small ovenproof glass container, masking tape, yellow glass paint (the author prefers Liquitex Glossies brand), paintbrush, decoupage medium and glitter in orange, green and black. All are available at hobby and craft stores.

What to do: First, trace or draw a jack-o'-lantern pattern onto the tracing paper. Cut out the pattern about 1/2 inch from the edge of the design. Then wash and dry the glass container, and avoid touching the areas to be painted. Tape the desired pattern inside the glass container. Using the pattern as a guide, paint within the pattern using glass paint. Let the paint dry. Bake the glass item in the oven as directed on your glass paint instructions.

Next, coat the outer surface of the glass container with decoupage medium, except the painted areas and the bottom of the container. Rinse the sticky decoupage medium off the brush under hot water and put aside for further use. Sprinkle glitter over the wet decoupage medium until well covered. Let it dry.

Finally, you'll brush off the excess glitter and put a light final coat of decoupage medium over the glittered areas only. Note, do not submerse votive holder in water as the decoupage medium is not waterproof.

- Barbara De Witt

CAPTION(S):

10 photos, 2 boxes

Photo:

(1 -- cover -- color) For a quick Halloween party treat, Kathleen Suskauer of Westlake Village fills tiny pumpkins with butterscotch pudding topped with whipped cream, and serves them on a wicker table with an autumn-themed throw.

(2 -- color) For a formal Halloween celebration, author Katie Brown mixes fine china, stem- and flatware with candles accented with leaf-accented candles. She suggests staggering the heights for more visually pleasing effect.

(3 -- color) Lifestyle guru Katie Brown wraps cheesecloth around a chair to create a fall shawl, then decorates with autumn leaves - or masks or bags of candy - and holds them in place with wire or a glue gun.

(4 -- color) Kathleen Suskauer of Westlake Village sets her patio table for a festive yet informal supper using tiny Cinderella pumpkins from the market, craft-store items and her favorite Fitz & Floyd collectibles.

(5 -- color) A trio of tea lights, which are smaller than votives, burn brightly in a flat dish filled with candy corn. A plastic spider and cobwebs add to the ambience.

Tina Burch/Staff Photographer

(6 -- 8 -- color) no caption (decorated pumpkins)

(9 -- color) no caption (Candle holders)

(10) Christopher Radko's Howl Manor cookie jar, $150 at Gottschalks, Robinsons-May and Saks Fifth Avenue stores, hides your treats.

Box: (1) Haute Halloween (see text)

(2) Decor for a ghostly gala (see text)