6 DIY Halloween Crafts for Your Kids’ Halloween Party or Home

Growing up (and still!), Halloween was my favorite holiday. I would plan my costume months in advance and didn’t sleep the day before the spooky October 31. My mom would decorate and bake all sorts of Halloween goodies. She always headed the Halloween parties at school, so I was privy to all the fun crafts she concocted before the big day.

While I haven’t really partaken in Halloween crafting this year, I recall some of the sweet stuff I adored when I was a kiddo. So, after a few hours of mind-jarring craft searches and talking to my dear mom, I’ve come up with some sweet (and spooky – duh) Halloween craft ideas for kids.

Ghost Feet (via Mommy Loves Coffee)

It doesn’t get any easier than this. While the craft could get a bit messy, it looks super fun, easy and cheap to carry out. All you need is some black construction paper (or a black canvas, poster board, etc.), non-toxic white and black craft paint, a paint brush, black and white ribbon, and a wet washcloth.

Method

“Take the kids outside* and with a paintbrush, paint one foot white while the kids sit on the ground. Take the black canvas and bring it to each child’s foot. Do it this way because if they step down on the canvas (or paper, etc.), they can break it or cause the paint to spread outward more than it should. Let the footprints dry then take a plastic chopstick (it works better than a thin paintbrush for writing with paint) and write the year on the bottom corner. Use the black paint and make two circle eyes and an oval mouth on each footprint.”

*the author did one kid at a time.

Upcycled Halloween luminaries (via Momtastic)

Supplies

  • Upcycled mason jars
  • Paint (as many colors as you like)
  • Paint brushes
  • Tea lights
  • Standard printable mailing labels
  • Pencil
  • Scissors
  • Spooky designs

Method

“Step 1: Using your pencil, draw your spooky designs on to the mailing labels

Step 2: Once you’re happy with your shapes, cut them out, peel off the backing, and apply the stickers to your mason jar. Press down firmly and smooth out any air bubbles.

Step 3: Here comes the part your little one will adore! Hand over the mason jars and let your toddler go to town with the paint. (My 2 year old loved this project so much that we’ve repeated it four times in the last week! ) Be sure to instruct you child not to paint on the inside of the jars if you want your shapes to glow properly.

Step 4: Once your child is through painting, your jars should look like this.

Step 5: Just like painting a room in your house, this craft works best if you peel of the stickers before the paint completely dries.

Step 6: Add a tea light to each jar, and you’re done!”

Other simple, spooky crafts

  • Pasta skeleton (via Martha Stewart)
  • Recycled, upcycled little monsters (via Alisa Burke)
  • Take paper sacks and let kids draw crazy faces and glue “warts” (aka buttons) on the bags. A super easy craft that’s cheap and relatively easy to clean up.
  • Make a spooky spider by taking black streamers and hanging them over a hanger. Craft a rudimentary head from leftover black construction paper, and use the excess white paint to design a kooky spider face. Make the paper into a cone, tape and place over the hanger’s head. Instant creeps for trick-or-treaters.

Resources:

http://www.momtastic.com/parenting/activities/168970-top-10-halloween-kid-crafts

Image: Wendy Piersall

Tags: