The 9-foot artificial tree in Heather Ennor's living room is up and decorated -- for Halloween.

Ghost ornaments, skeletons, black cats, spiders, witches and more nestle in the branches amid tiny purple lights. An inflatable Micky Mouse sports a skeleton costume.

"It was the best memories as a kid," said Heather, 36, of Lebanon. "I had three sets of grandparents. Everyone was big into the holidays."

Now, so is she.

Inside and out.

Pumpkins and gourds border the historic 1852 buttery yellow clapboard two-story where Heather lives with husband Scott and children, Abby Crowell, 14; Libby Crowell, 13; Ben Ennor, 10; Chloe Ennor, 5; Claire Ennor, 3; and Emma Ennor, 1.

Inside, vintage Halloween cards decorate a feather tree atop a foyer coat rack. Lights and fabric leaves wrap around the staircase. A black pot on witch legs, just inside the front door, holds Halloween books.

On a recent weekday, preschoolers in Heather's care wanted in on the action. Year-old Ayden Brooks made a stuffed black cat play "Black Magic Woman" by pressing its paw. Heather's daughter Emma pushed the chin of a green-faced witch doorbell, and waited for a spider to come out and get her finger.

"Kids really like the animated decorations, anything that makes music or noise," said Heather, who has run TLC Daycare since 1998. "We have a 4-foot Santa that sways and dances. Those are the kids' favorites.

"(Decorations) are not a forbidden thing. It's part of their everyday environment. We don't tell them they can't touch. Be careful and look easy."

Heather's collectibles for every holiday come from antique stores, craft stores and yard sales. They mix with kid craft projects and hand-me-downs from friends.

"They know I collect. It all seems to find a home ... Mom (Kathy Bramlet) and I are yard sale divas. We're always out for bargains."

Heather found a vintage-looking jack-o'-lantern bicyclist at Cracker Barrel.

Daycare kids like all the fun stuff. Some of her children aren't as interested.

"The older ones will tell you they hate to decorate. The second-story staircase is steeper, more curvy, a tad on the dangerous side," she said. "They don't like carryng down all the boxes, but then they'll say, 'We are having the Halloween party, aren't we?'"

Expect a hundred of your favorite witches, pirates and scary politicians at the Ennor party. No sooner than the last witch flies off, Heather unpacks Christmas.

"We start Halloween the middle of September. For Christmas, I start Nov. 1," she said. "Every room at Christmas has a different-themed tree."

"I knew she was crazy, 12 Christmas trees," said husband Scott, home for a break from his lawn care and handyman business. "Did you see the upstairs? Nothing but decorations up there. I tell her that's why there's a crack in the wall."

"He's handy," said Heather. "I can decorate."

Heather grew up in Crossville, a town of 800.

"We were an hour south of Mount Vernon," she said. "I came up and attended McKendree (where she majored in sociology, social work and criminal justice). Scott and I met in 2001. I liked the small-town charm. I had two children. He had two. We have four together."

The Ennors were looking for a larger house and yard four years ago.

"My husband had taken a side street on his way to get a haircut," said Heather. "He said, 'Get the kids ready. I found our next house.'"

When Heather peeked inside the two-story on Herman Street, she agreed.

"I could see the chandelier and the stairs, and I was sold.

"My dad (Jerry LaBonte) said, 'No, it would be the worst mistake of your lives. You shouldn't buy it.' We do have an $800 power bill in the winter, but we think it was worth it."

The 3,200-square-foot Greek Revival-style house almost didn't make it.

"It was in foreclosure in 2007. It should have been condemned," said Heather.

The Ennors credit a couple, who redid the roof and exterior, with bringing the house back.

"Right before they sold it to us, they jacked up the house and put in steel I-beams to keep it level," said Scott. "When I first saw it, I thought they should knock it down. It looked like it was about to fall down.

"Later, I didn't know it was the same house."

The Ennors took down a dilapidated barn on the property, painted inside walls, redid wiring and plumbing, had the brown-painted floors refinished, filled in a well and closed off a cistern under the kitchen.

It's one of five houses, plus the Mermaid House, that will be part of the Lebanon Band Booster Holiday House Tour on Dec. 1.

"To go from should-have-been-condemned to the Lebanon home tour in 2009 and 2010," said Heather, "that's what we were the most proud of."

Lebanon Band Booster Holiday House Tour

When: noon-5 p.m. Dec. 1

What: five houses and the Mermaid House.

Cost: presale tickets, $10; day of tour, $12. Tickets available Nov. 1 at Lebanon Visitors Center on Main Street and the Chamber of Commerce.

Information: Contact Bobbi Brown at 537-4901

Tips

1. Clean before you decorate.

2. Label everything thoroughly when you get it out and when you put it away -- every tree, every box upstairs is marked with what room it goes into.

3. Only tackle one tree at a time. "We try to get one room done every two days. We work feverishly during naptime."