I have a fascination with how other people decorate their spaces for the holidays. Recently, a friend of mine sent me a photo of her tabletop, which held adorable fall decorations, and I started thinking about whether or not I wanted to decorate my own house. It’s not really a thought I’ve wrestled with in the past because I’ve never lived anywhere long enough to accumulate decorations.

Last year for Christmas was the first time in my memory that I put up outdoor decorations. Even then, I only did it because I custom-ordered a black-and-white Santa and Mrs. Claus from local artist Max Mozingo. It just so happened that same week, I went to DaaBin store and scored cute little LED-lit Christmas characters to go with my Christmas couple.

One of my granddaughters is turning four soon, and she wants a Halloween-themed birthday party, which is fitting as her birthday is in October. She also wants me to add “spookies” to my front porch. The problem is that Halloween is my least favorite holiday. When my children were little, I didn’t take them trick-or-treating. I didn’t spend their entire lives teaching them stranger danger, don’t take candy from strangers, don’t go to people’s houses that you don’t know, and to wear reflective clothing if you’re walking at night, only to then lead them and ignore all of those safety measures. It has always felt hypocritical. They never had a Tooth Fairy, an Easter Bunny, or a Santa Claus. This is their primary complaint about my parenting. We also did Christmas in February, but that’s a whole other column.

My reason for sharing all of this is that I have no earthly idea how to decorate inside or outside. Other than my office, which looks like Lewis Carroll himself haphazardly threw Alice in Wonderland decorations over every inch of available wall space, nothing in my house is decorated. When I moved in, a friend gave me some art to put on the walls, but even then, I didn’t know what to take, so I picked at random. There are no knick-knacks, keepsakes, or mementos strewn about. Most of my house is barren of personality.

While I accept that my upbringing was unorthodox and that my subsequent adulting was hindered because of it, it’s astounding to me how other people just know how to do these things. The thought of finding, buying, organizing, and displaying Halloween decorations is enough to make me forget the entire idea. My fiancé doesn’t celebrate holidays and wouldn’t voluntarily decorate our house. However, we both take grandparenting very seriously, so more than likely, we’ll both put forth the effort to bring the “spookies” to my house.

Having lived at this place now for almost two years, it’s probably time to decorate, but I wouldn’t even know where to begin. I made the mistake of going to Pinterest for ideas, inspiration, or really just a clue of where things go, and quickly realized I’m not a Pinterest person. I’m also unwilling to spend three months of my salary to decorate for a holiday I don’t even like.

My question to you is this: How did you learn to decorate for holidays? Or at all? Am I just missing a domestic gene that flourishes in others? I’ve accepted that I’ll never be as classy as my friend with the beautiful fall table, but I’d at least like to be the Nana who made a four-year-old happy.

So, here's to figuring out the “spookies”—because if I can’t nail down holiday decor, at least I can nail being the cool Nana!