If you’re short on time but want to make your home festive for Halloween, try these simple tricks:

Set the Mood – the easiest way to dramatically alter the mood of a room is to adjust the lighting. Change our your light bulbs for red and blue lights (you can get them at Wal-Mart) and light some candles throughout your home to give it a gothic feel. Be sure any candles you light are out of reach for your little ones. As a final touch, add a few clusters of black balloons around the house.

Tip: Create a Halloween soundtrack ahead of time to complete the spooky atmosphere. Spotify has some great Halloween playlists you can download and stream if you don’t have time to create your own.

Edible Décor – arrange clusters of dried corn, pumpkins, squash, and red apples as centerpieces around your living room, dining room, and kitchen. Cluster dried corn and cranberries together with twine for a simple Halloween door decoration.

Tip: Save your pumpkins and squash for cooking later. This delicious-looking g-free pumpkin bread from Gluten-Free Goddess looks like the perfect way to ring in November.

Front Yard – fog machines are inexpensive and instantly create a spooky entryway to your house. You can order one from Amazon or check your local Halloween store to see if they carry them. Hide your fog machine behind a bush or tree. As a finishing touch, line your walkway withmulti-colored pumpkins or jack-o-lanterns. Martha Stewart has some great pumpkin carving templates you can use.

Tip: Carve your pumpkins the day before Halloween so they’re ready to go on the day of your party.

Back yard - If you have a Jacuzzi, fill it with dry ice to create a fog that will last for a few hours. Set up a silly, spooky photo booth by hanging a black sheet or butcher paper from a tree, fence, or clothesline. On a table, place a pile of silly props, such as toy swords, oversized sunglasses, capes, hats, and anything else you have on hand. Designate a party photographer, and make sure nobody leaves without taking a silly picture!

Tip: Use the iPhone app Diptic to create fun collages of your Halloween party photos!

How do you plan to decorate for Halloween?
Tell me in the comments below!

P.S. Here are some more autumn interiors!  

Photo Credits: Flickr / Kkimpel, Flickr / …love Maegan, Flickr / Dave Hogg, Flickr / Jo Naylor