Kids' Halloween Crafts

I love decorating my house for the holidays, and my kids have gotten into the spirit of decorating for each holiday, too. But they’re not content with just helping to put up our decorations. Sure, they like finding a place to put the teddy bear witch every year, and they argue over who gets to stand on the steps and “help” me hang the skeleton and the witch in the side windows so they’re at their spooky best, and they look forward to deciding which windows the lighted foam jack o’lanterns will peek out of. But what they really love is getting to make some of their own holiday decorations.

And I love to help them make decorations, but I hate it when I find a fabulous craft idea that I get all excited about, then I realize that it requires a bunch of supplies that I don’t have. So this is a list of fun Halloween crafts made only from supplies that you’re pretty likely to already have on hand (if you have kids, anyway).

Mummy

Source (The directions are in Spanish, but the video is wordless and easy to follow.)

Supplies:

•         Two empty toilet paper tubes or a paper towel tube cut in half
•          Toilet paper
•          Glue stick
•          Scissors
•          Googly eyes OR white paper and black crayon or magic marker

How to:

From one of the toilet paper tubes (or half the paper towel tube), cut two hands with fairly long arms. (Depending on the age and dexterity of your child, this may be a parent-type task.)

Fold over a bit of the end of each arm, apply glue with glue stick, and stick on either side of second toilet paper tube (or other half of paper towel tube), about halfway down. Tear off 3- or 4-square lengths of toilet paper. Cut into narrow strips. (Be sure your scissors are sharp; this is a very frustrating exercise with dull scissors.) Use the glue stick to cover the top inch or so of the toilet paper tube, then wrao strips around tube – it looks cool if you crumple or twist the paper, but younger kids may just want to wrap. Be sure to press the paper into the glue so it sticks well. Continue to glue and wrap in 1-inch sections. When complete, add glue to arms and wrap both arms. If using googly eyes, glue in place; if using paper and markers, cut out two eyes and add black pupils, then glue in place.

Skeleton

Source

Supplies:

•          Black construction paper
•          Q-tips
•          White glue
•          White paint (even Wite-Out will work) OR white paper, scissors, and black pen or marker
•          SHARP scissors

How to:

Begin by painting a skull shape at the top of the paper, or cut out a skull shape and glue to the paper. Use pen or marker to add eyes and mouth (if using paint, do this last, once paint is dry). Using the photo above (or on the source website) as a guide, cut Q-tips to various lengths (this may be a parent job; Q-tips are a lot harder to cut than you might think) and glue on as bones.

Ghosts

Source

Supplies:

•          White construction paper or cardstock
•          Pencil or pen
•          Black construction paper
•          Cotton balls (lots)
•          Scissors
•          White glue
•          Black yarn (optional)

Using a pencil (or pen), draw a ghost outline on a piece of white paper. Cut out along the lines. Cover the ghost with glue (one section at a time, unless your child works really fast), and add cotton balls. Be sure to squish them down so they stick. Cut out a big smile and two eyes from black construction paper. Glue those on top of the cotton balls. If you want your ghosts to dangle, make a big loop of black yarn and glue it to the back of your ghost.

Spiderweb

Source

Supplies:

•          Orange paint, black paint
•          Paper plate
•          Hole punch
•          White yarn or string (even thread or crochet cotton will work)
•          Googly eyes OR white paper and black pen or marker
•          White glue or glue stick
•          Scissors
•          Tape

How to:

Begin by painting the whole paper plate orange. Allow to dry (at least partially, depending on how patient your child is). Paint the child’s palm and fingers (but not thumb) with black paint and stamp on center of plate with fingers facing outwards. Paint other hand, turn plate 180 degrees, and stamp again to form spider with eight legs. When dry, glue on googly eyes, or cut out eyes from white paper, add pupils with black pen, and glue in place. Use a hole punch to make a series of holes around the edge, then tape the end of the yarn or string to the back of the plate near one of the holes, and thread through holes to form spiderweb, then cut yarn and tape end to back of plate.

Frankenstein’s Monster

Source

Supplies:

•          White construction paper or paper plate
•          Green paint, black paint
•          Black marker
•          Googly eyes (optional)
•          White glue or glue stick
•          Scissors

How to:

Paint child’s foot green and toes black. (If you prefer, use a hand, painting palm green and fingers black.) Step (or press) carefully onto paper or paper plate. Allow to dry. Cut out rough shape of print. Glue on googly eyes or cut out white eyes from leftover paper/paper plate and add pupils with black marker, then glue in place. Use marker to add scar, bolts, and mouth.

Pumpkin

Source

Supplies:

•          Toilet paper tube
•          Orange, green, and black construction paper
•          White glue or glue stick
•          Tape
•          Scissors

How to:

Wrap the toilet paper tube with orange paper, taping ends together and trimming to fit. Fold a second piece of toilet paper the long way and make slits from the folded edge to about an inch from the cut edge. Unfold and wrap around the tube, taping ends and allowing to bow out in the middle. Cut a strip of green paper, straight along one edge and zigzag along the other. Tape or glue around top of tube. Cut two more straight strips and tape or glue one around the bottom and use the other to form a handle. Cut a jack o’lantern face from black paper and glue in place.

Black Cat

Source

Supplies:

•          Paper plate
•          Black construction paper
•          Black tissue paper (optional)
•          White paper
•          Pink or purple construction paper
•          Scissors
•          White glue or glue stick
•          Stapler (optional)
•          Googly eyes OR black marker

How to:

Cut the paper plate into a crescent shape to form the cat’s body. Cut black tissue paper or black construction paper into small squares and glue all over body. Cut a cat’s head out of black construction paper (younger children will need adult help with this). Cut out a pink or purple nose and white whiskers and glue onto face. Glue googly eyes in place, or cut eyes from white paper and add pupil with black marker, then glue in place. Glue or staple head onto edge of paper plate. Cut out a tail from black construction paper and glue or staple in place.

Skull

Source

Supplies:

•          Paper plate
•          Black and white construction paper
•          White tissue paper (optional)
•          Scissors
•          White glue or glue stick
•          Stapler (optional)

How to:

Cut a small, straight section off the paper plate, about ¼ of the way across the plate. Cut white tissue paper or white construction paper into small squares. Glue all over plate. Cut four rectangles from white construction paper for teeth, and two large circles and a small heart from black construction paper. Glue or staple the teeth in place; glue the eyes and nose (upside-down heart) in place.

Bat

Source

Supplies:

•          Cardboard egg carton
•          Black paint
•          Scissors
•          Googly eyes OR white paper and black pen
•          White glue or glue stick
•          Ribbon or yarn (optional)

How to:

Cut out three cups from the egg carton, leaving them connected in a straight line. Paint black all over and allow to dry. Glue on googly eyes or cut out eyes from white paper and add pupils with black pen, then glue in place. If desired, glue on a ribbon or yarn loop for hanging.

Melting Witch

Source

Supplies:

•          Baking soda
•          Cornstarch
•          Green paint
•          Black construction paper (or felt)
•          Googly eyes OR white paper and black marker
•          Scissors
•          Tape or glue stick
•          Mixing bowl
•          Vinegar
•          Spray bottle (optional)

How to:

Mix together ½ cup of baking soda and ½ cup cornstarch in a mixing bowl. Slowly add washable paint and mix, until reaching desired color. The dough should be moldable but quite soft. Once the dough is mostly mixed, wash and dry your hands and knead until it becomes smooth. Make accessories like a witch’s hat from black construction paper and tape, and googly eyes, and add to a blob to make a witch. Then spray or sprinkle her with vinegar and watch her sizzle and melt, or throw her into a bowl of vinegar and watch her erupt!

Trust me, any of these crafts will make your little one a happy camper!