The best Halloween crafts for kids come straight from the craft drawer and the recycling bin: handprint ghosts for toddlers, paper plate spiders and toilet roll bats for preschoolers, and jar lanterns with battery tea lights for bigger kids.
You do not need a craft store haul for Halloween crafts for kids. Paper plates, cardboard tubes, cotton balls and washable paint cover most of this list.
Here are 46 Halloween craft ideas sorted by age, heavy on toddlers and preschoolers, plus a supply list, a one-week countdown and safety advice from pediatric and consumer safety experts.
Key Takeaways
Prints and stickers suit toddlers. Plates, bags and tubes suit preschoolers.
Ten minutes is plenty for a toddler.
For under 3s, draw the eyes on and keep googly eyes, beads and pom poms away.
Light lanterns with battery tea lights or glow sticks, never candles.
Scissors, staplers and hot glue are adult jobs, and nothing hangs in or over a crib.
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Table of Contents
Halloween Crafts for Kids at a Glance
Quick Answer
The easiest Halloween crafts for kids match the child’s age: handprint ghosts, sticker monsters and dot marker art for toddlers, paper plate spiders, cotton ball ghosts and toilet roll bats for preschoolers, and yarn webs, paper chains and jar lanterns with battery tea lights from age 5.
Craft
Age
Mess level
Time
Handprint ghost
1 and up
Medium
10 minutes
Dot marker candy corn
18 months and up
Low
10 minutes
Painter’s tape web
2 and up
None
10 minutes
Paper plate spider
3 and up
Medium
20 minutes
Yarn web plate
5 and up
None
20 minutes
Jar lantern
5 and up
Medium
30 minutes
Floating fabric ghost
8 and up
High
30 minutes plus overnight
Seven favorites compared. Ages and hands-on times are our suggestions. Drying time is extra.
Handprint Halloween crafts make the best keepsakes. Plan on ten minutes, stay within arm’s reach, wash paint off little hands right away, and draw eyes on instead of gluing small pieces.
Handprint ghost: white washable paint, black paper, a marker. Paint your child’s palm and press it down, fingers pointing down. Draw a face when dry.
Footprint ghost: white washable paint, dark paper, a marker. Paint one sole and press it down. Turn the paper heel side up and draw a face.
Sticker spot monster: paper, large dot stickers, a crayon. Draw a big blob with feet. Your toddler covers it in sticker spots.
Contact paper pumpkin suncatcher: clear contact paper, orange tissue paper, tape. Tape a sheet down sticky side up. Your child presses on torn tissue. Seal with a second sheet and trim into a pumpkin.
Dot marker candy corn: white paper, yellow and orange dot markers. Draw a triangle with two lines across it. Your child dots the bottom band yellow and the middle orange.
Sponge stamp pumpkins: a round piece of sponge, orange paint, paper. Stamp circles across the page. When dry, add a green fingerprint stem to each.
Torn paper jack-o’-lantern: orange and black paper, a glue stick, a paper plate. Tear the orange paper and glue it over the plate. Add a black triangle face.
Fingerprint spiders: a washable ink pad, paper, a pen. Your child presses inky fingertips onto the paper. You draw eight legs on each print.
Squish paint monster: paper, washable paint. Drop paint blobs near a center fold, then fold and rub. Open it and draw eyes when dry.
Halloween Crafts for Preschoolers (Ages 3 to 5)
Paper plate Halloween crafts lead this group. Cut the tricky shapes ahead of time.
Paper plate spider: a paper plate, black paint, four pipe cleaners. Paint the plate. Tape the pipe cleaners across the back, bend them into eight legs and glue on paper eyes.
Paper plate ghost: a paper plate, white streamers, a marker. Draw a face on the plate. Glue streamers along the bottom edge so they flutter.
Paper bag pumpkin: a paper lunch bag, newspaper, orange paint, yarn. Stuff the bag halfway with newspaper. Twist and tie the top into a stem. Paint the bottom orange.
Paper bag monster puppet: a paper lunch bag, paper scraps, a glue stick. The folded flap is the mouth. Glue teeth under it and horns on top, then draw eyes.
Cotton ball ghost: dark paper, white glue, cotton balls. Draw a ghost outline and fill it with glue. Press on cotton balls and add two paper eyes.
Toilet roll bat: a cardboard tube, black paint, black paper. Paint the tube. Push the top edges together to make ears. Glue on paper wings.
Toilet roll mummy: a cardboard tube, white paper strips or masking tape, a marker. Draw two eyes near the top. Wrap strips around the tube, leaving the eyes showing.
Cotton swab skeleton: black paper, cotton swabs, white glue, a paper circle. Glue on the circle as a head. Glue down swabs as a spine, ribs, arms and legs.
Shape monster collage: paper circles, squares and triangles cut in advance, a glue stick. Your child picks a body shape, then glues on eyes, arms and teeth.
Big days go better with a good night of sleep.
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Halloween Crafts for Kindergarten and Early Elementary (Ages 5 to 8)
From about 5, kids can use safety scissors and a hole punch.
Yarn web plate: a paper plate, white yarn, tape, a hole punch. Punch holes around the rim. Tape one yarn end to the back, then thread across from hole to hole.
Jar lantern: a clean jar (plastic for younger kids), tissue paper, thinned white glue, a battery tea light. Glue tissue over the jar and add a paper face. When dry, drop in the tea light, never a candle.
Countdown paper chain: orange and black paper strips, tape. Link one loop for each day until Halloween. Tear off one link every morning.
Pumpkin sewing card: orange cardstock, a hole punch, yarn, tape. Cut out a pumpkin and punch holes around it. Tape one yarn end into a tip for sewing in and out.
Accordion leg black cat: black paper, a glue stick, a white crayon. Cut a head, a body and four strips. Fan-fold the strips and glue them on as legs.
Ghost windsock: a paper cup, white streamers, a marker, yarn. Draw a face on the upside-down cup and tape streamers inside the rim. An adult adds a short loop.
Pop-up ghost card: cardstock, safety scissors, a glue stick. Cut two short slits into the card’s fold. Push the tab inward and glue a paper ghost to it.
Need a line for inside the card? Borrow one from our Halloween puns.
Halloween Crafts for Big Kids (Ages 8 to 12)
These Halloween art projects for kids reward patience.
Haunted house window: black cardstock, yellow tissue paper, scissors, tape. Cut out a crooked house with windows (an adult handles any craft knife). Tape tissue behind each window.
Floating fabric ghost: cheesecloth, thinned white glue, a plastic bottle, a paper ball. Stand the ball on the bottle. Soak the cloth, drape it over and dry overnight. Add felt eyes.
Yarn mummy: cardboard, white yarn, tape. Cut a person shape. Tape the yarn end to the back, wrap in every direction and glue on paper eyes.
Bat mobile: black paper, thread, a stick. Cut half a bat along a fold in the paper. Make five and tie them on at different heights.
Felt ghost softie: white felt, thread, a large blunt needle, fabric scraps. Cut two matching ghosts. Stitch around the edge, stuff through a gap and stitch it closed.
Recycled and No-Mess Halloween Crafts
From the recycling bin.
Egg carton bats: a cardboard egg carton, black paint. An adult cuts a strip of three cups and trims the outer two into wings. Paint it black and draw eyes.
Milk jug ghost: a clean plastic milk jug, a black marker, a battery light. Draw a ghost face opposite the handle. An adult cuts a flap in the back for the light.
Cereal box treat tote: an empty cereal box, paper, a glue stick, ribbon. An adult cuts off the top flaps. Cover the box in paper, staple on a short handle and tape over the staples.
No paint, no glue, no cleanup.
Painter’s tape web: painter’s tape, a paper spider. Tape four long lines that cross in the middle of a window. Join them with short pieces and add the spider.
Pipe cleaner spiders: four black pipe cleaners each. Twist them together in the middle and bend each of the eight ends. An adult folds over sharp wire tips.
Chalk ghosts: black paper, white chalk. Draw a ghost and color it in. Smudge outward with a finger so it glows.
Classroom, Party and 10 Minute Halloween Crafts
For a group. Pick projects with no drying time.
Handprint wreath: colored paper, pencils, safety scissors, a cardboard ring. Each child traces and cuts out one hand, then glues it to the ring, fingers out.
Craft stick puppets: craft sticks, paper shapes cut in advance, glue sticks, markers. Each child picks a ghost, bat or cat, draws its face and glues it to a stick.
Giant web mural: a roll of kraft paper, a white crayon, washable ink pads. An adult draws one huge web. Each child adds a fingerprint spider.
Done in 10 minutes. Easy Halloween crafts for the gap before dinner.
Tissue ghost: two white tissues, yarn, a marker. Ball up one tissue and drape the second over it. Tie yarn under the ball and dot on eyes.
Coffee filter web: a round white coffee filter, safety scissors. Fold it in half three times. Snip small curves from both folded edges, then unfold.
Traced hand bat: black paper, a pencil, safety scissors, a glue stick. Trace and cut out both hands. Glue the palms behind a paper oval as wings.
DIY Halloween Decorations Kids Can Make
Bat wall: black paper, safety scissors, painter’s tape. Fold each sheet and cut half a bat on the fold. Tape a dozen up the wall in a swoop.
Paper pumpkin lantern: orange paper, safety scissors, tape. Fold the sheet the long way. Cut slits from the fold, stopping short of the edge. Unfold, roll and tape.
Monster door: streamers or kraft paper, two paper plates, white paper, tape. Cover the door in one color. Tape on paper plate eyes and paper teeth.
Spiral ghost twirler: a paper plate, a marker, safety scissors, yarn. Draw a spiral from rim to middle and cut along it. Add a face and hang it by a short loop.
Tools: safety scissors for kids, a hole punch and sharp scissors for adults.
Less mess. Cover the table with a cut-open paper bag, use an old T-shirt as a smock, pour paint a spoonful at a time and keep a damp cloth within reach.
For sensory-sensitive kids. Some children dislike wet paint or sticky glue on their skin. Our sensory activities for toddlers have more ideas.
Offer a brush, sponge or glue stick instead of finger paint and liquid glue.
Never force a handprint. Trace the hand with a pencil instead.
Keep faces friendly and sessions short, and let watching count as joining in.
What to Do With Finished Crafts and a One-Week Craft Countdown
Tape the best ones to one wall or window at your child’s eye level.
Write the year on the back of one handprint and keep it.
In 2026, Halloween falls on Saturday, October 31, so day one is Saturday, October 24.
Keeping Craft Time From Wrecking Bedtime
Put messy crafts in the morning or after the nap, and save the last hour before bed for quiet ones, such as stickers or chalk. Then let cleanup and hand washing lead into your usual toddler bedtime routine.
Non-toxic art materials: the Art and Creative Materials Institute (ACMI) says its AP (Approved Product) seal marks art materials certified by a toxicologist to contain no materials in sufficient quantities to be toxic or injurious to humans, including children. ACMI says to check for it on products for kids in sixth grade or younger.
“Conforms to ASTM D-4236”: per the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), all art materials must carry a statement like this whether or not a hazard exists, and those that pose a hazard must carry a warning label too. Read the whole label.
Small parts: the CPSC notes that the law bans small parts in toys intended for children under three. Keep googly eyes, beads, pom poms and buttons away from under 3s. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) says stickers can be a choking hazard for babies and toddlers: use large ones and stay close.
Button batteries: the AAP says button and lithium coin batteries can cause major injury if stuck in a nose or ear, and possibly death if swallowed. Make sure any battery compartment is secure and taped shut. If you think your child swallowed one, go to an emergency room immediately.
Balloons: the CPSC warns that uninflated or broken balloons can choke or suffocate young children, and the AAP says balloons pose a choking risk up to 8 years of age.
Scissors, staplers and hot glue: adult jobs. Children use safety scissors. The AAP and the CPSC both say to leave pumpkin carving to adults.
String and ribbon: the CPSC says never to hang toys with long strings, cords, loops or ribbons in cribs or playpens. Keep hanging loops short and garlands high, out of reach.
Lights: the CPSC advises battery-operated lights or glow sticks rather than an open-flame candle.
Nothing goes in or on the crib. No garland, mobile or keepsake art hangs in, on or over it, and no craft is worn to sleep. Babies under 12 months sleep alone, on their back, on a firm, flat, bare surface. See our safe sleep environment checklist.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the easiest Halloween crafts for kids?
The easiest Halloween crafts for kids need three supplies or fewer. Try a handprint ghost in white paint on black paper, a cotton ball ghost, a toilet roll mummy or a tissue ghost. Each takes about 10 to 15 minutes.
What Halloween crafts can a 2 year old do?
A 2 year old can press handprint and footprint ghosts, cover a paper monster in large dot stickers, dab candy corn with dot markers and stamp sponge pumpkins. Keep it to ten minutes, stay within arm’s reach and skip small pieces.
What are good Halloween crafts for preschoolers?
Preschoolers do well with paper plates, paper bags, cotton balls and cardboard tubes. Good picks are a paper plate spider, a paper bag pumpkin, a cotton swab skeleton and a toilet roll bat. Cut the tricky shapes ahead of time yourself.
What can you make out of toilet paper rolls for Halloween?
Cardboard tubes turn into bats and mummies. Paint a tube black, push the top edges together to make ears and glue on paper wings for a bat. Wrap another in white paper strips, leaving two drawn eyes showing, for a mummy.
What supplies do I need for Halloween crafts?
Start with orange, black and white construction paper, paper plates, lunch bags, washable paint, crayons, glue sticks, tape, cotton balls and yarn. Add cardboard tubes and egg cartons from the recycling bin, safety scissors, and battery tea lights for lanterns.
Are googly eyes and pom poms safe for toddlers?
Keep them away from children under 3. Googly eyes, beads, pom poms and buttons are small parts, and the American Academy of Pediatrics advises keeping small household items out of reach of infants and young children. Draw eyes on instead.
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