Get your kids involved in creating spooky surroundings to impress trick-or-treaters with these spooky ideas from Jennifer Sbranti, founder of Hostess with the Mostess (hwtm.com).

Yummy Mummy
Use strips of cheesecloth and plastic eyeballs to “mummify” plastic cups, jars or other cylindrical containers. First, have little ones glue the eyeballs and a cotton-ball nose onto each container. Then help them cover each entirely with strips of cheesecloth, allowing eyes and nose to peek through (secure with glue). Fill up containers with Halloween candy or snack mix.

Creepy Crawlers
turn mini and medium-sized pumpkins into silly spiders. Put newspapers down and have the kids paint pumpkins black with acrylic craft paint and sponge brushes. Make the spider “legs” with black or silver pipe cleaners, bending once in the middle to form an upside-down V and gluing onto the pumpkins, along with big googly eyes.

Tip
Enhance spooky decor by filling apothecary jars with green-dyed cauliflower for “zombie brains.”