Amid ongoing controversy about the wide-ranging White House construction projects, first lady Melania Trump broke out the Halloween decorations this week to prepare for the upcoming holiday celebration that will take place just steps from the demolished East Wing.

“The @whitehouse is getting ready for Halloween 🎃,” her office posted on X on Tuesday, Oct. 28, alongside a photo of the decorations in progress.

In contrast to past years in the White House, Melania — who took some heat for stylistic decisions during her husband’s first term — seemed to keep the decor simpler for the start of her busy holiday season, which lands in the middle of a particularly lengthy government shutdown. The back entrance and staircases are lined with pumpkins, and colorful leaves cascade between the South Portico’s columns.

It seems more decorated for a generic “fall” theme than Halloween; however, that could be a deliberate decision so as not to spook any of the young guests who come for the traditional trick or treat with the president and first lady.

Melania has gone a bit spookier in years past. Her 2019 look featured spindly trees and orange lighting that helped set the mood.

The socially distanced trick-or-treating event during the 2020 COVID era also had autumn vibes, but with far more variety among the decorations than there appears to be this year.

Melania has not always had an easy relationship with holidays in the White House. In 2020, an audio recording of the first lady was leaked to CNNin which she was heard complaining about being held accountable for both the aesthetics of the Trump presidency as well as her husband’s more controversial policies.

“I’m working … my ass off on the Christmas stuff, that you know, who gives a f— about the Christmas stuff and decorations?” Melania said in the recording, which was made in 2018. “But I need to do it, right?”

“OK, and then I do it and I say that I’m working on Christmas and planning for the Christmas and they said, ‘Oh, what about the children that they were separated?’ Give me a f—— break,” she continued.

Following her four-year respite from the White House, a mix of Melania’s friends, political sources and Mar-a-Lago Club members told PEOPLE in December 2024 that she will step up and carry on with White House traditions during her husband’s second term.

“Melania will do what she is asked as first lady but under her own terms, and that includes decorating the White House for the Christmas holidays,” a social source in Palm Beach told PEOPLE. “She will set her own schedule, make her own rules, and use her own taste.”

However, according to a recent report, the first lady is not taking any credit for the controversial destruction of the White House’s East Wing to build the president’s highly touted ballroom.

While some of the president’s early White House renovations — like the paving of the Rose Garden — were said to be done in collaboration with his wife, The Wall Street Journal reported this week that Melania is not on board with the ballroom plans.

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In investigating how Donald is pulling off the controversial demolition of the historic building at a breakneck pace, the publication alleged that Melania “privately raised concerns about tearing down the East Wing and told associates it wasn’t her project, according to administration officials.”

PEOPLE reached out to Melania’s office for comment about WSJ‘s reporting.