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Set a Spooky Stage

Setting up a Halloween scene inside your home -- on the mantel or on a countertop -- might seem daunting. But with a few tricks and inexpensive treats, the kids can help out in creating a display that's fun to look at and gets everyone in the spirit.

And you've still got two weeks to enjoy some spooky fun... which is also now when you'll start finding some discounts on Halloween crafts, creations and decorations at big box stores, department stores, craft stores, and specialty stores. In fact, the display pictured here is created from items previously purchased on sale during past Halloween seasons, for less than $20.

The black haunted house is actually a kind of wrought-iron candelabra, and the kids love that the pumpkin-filled graveyard in the front lights up. We set those pieces on a remnant of Halloween batik fabric (you can find Halloween fabrics on sale now, too). I didn't even sew down the edges (though we could have). I just turned them under to ruffle them up, and provide a base for the ghoulish structures. Then, we added the little pumpkins so omnipresent at grocery stores and drug stores.

If you wanted to take those miniature pumpkins a step further, you can easily decorate them with the kids... and sometimes, they provide a much less frustrating adventure for little hands than the big sugar pumpkins that require constant adult supervision. Round up some Halloween themed stickers or some little fruits (raisins) and candies (such as M&Ms) or popped popcorn. If you opt for the little fruits and candies, you can dab the backs of them with glue to have them adhere to the pumpkins. But, if you want to go the entire edible route, spread the backs with drops of honey or frosting, and then place on the little pumpkins.

In addition to placing the mini-pumpkins in your scene, encourage the kids to add any of their own art to the arrangement that they might be making at school, or that you're creating with them. On this display, you'll notice a foam ghost and haunted house that Rocco decorated with glitter.

In getting the kids to join in, you can continue to get as simple or elaborate as you want (or have the patience for!). For instance, we could have added some candles into this one to make it more "grown-up" but with a 2 and 5 year old, that wouldn't be such a safe bet.

However, other (safer) decorative possibilities include little terra cotta pots filled with candy corn, marshmallow ghosts and pumpkins, and toy witches.

Because really, in just a little bit of time, getting an inside Halloween scene like this one going isn't such a scary proposition at all.