Halloween Crafts for Kids: 30 Easy Step-by-Step Projects by Age

The best Halloween crafts for kids match the child's age: toddlers stamp and stick, preschoolers glue and paint, early elementary kids cut and assemble, and children 9 and up can handle sewing, wire and multi-step builds. Below are 30 crafts with materials and numbered steps, sorted by age, plus a supply list built mostly from the recycling bin, safety rules and tips for running crafts in a classroom or at a party. Most take 15 to 30 minutes and cost almost nothing.

Halloween Crafts by Age: What Kids Can Do

Age	What they can do	Good craft types	Adult's job
1–3 (toddlers)	Stamp, smear, stick, tear paper	Handprints, sticker pumpkins, contact-paper collages	Prep everything; stay within arm's reach; no small parts
3–5 (preschool)	Paint, glue, snip with safety scissors, thread large beads	Paper plates, coffee filters, cotton balls, toilet-paper rolls	Pre-cut tricky shapes; manage the glue
5–8 (K–2nd grade)	Cut on a line, fold, tape, follow three or four steps	Paper chains, masks, pipe-cleaner creatures, lanterns	Demonstrate once, then step back
9–12	Measure, sew simple stitches, use a low-temperature glue gun with supervision	Papier-mâché, sock creatures, string art, dioramas	Supervise heat and blades
Teens	Plan and finish a project alone	Costume props, room decor, shaved pumpkin designs	Supply materials and stay out of the way

Craft Supplies to Have on Hand

From the recycling bin	From the craft drawer	Worth buying
Toilet-paper and paper-towel rolls	Construction paper: black, orange, white, purple, green	Googly eyes in mixed sizes (ages 3 and up)
Egg cartons	Washable tempera paint and brushes	Black and orange pipe cleaners
Glass jars and tin cans	White school glue and glue sticks	Battery-operated tea lights
Milk jugs	Safety scissors	White coffee filters
Cardboard boxes	Markers and crayons	Paper plates and lunch bags
Old socks and T-shirts	Tape, string, yarn	Tissue paper in orange, white and black
Newspaper	Cotton balls	Craft sticks and wooden clothespins

Craft Safety for Kids

• Under 3: no small parts. Federal rules ban small parts in products intended for children under 3 because they are a choking hazard. Apply the same standard at the craft table: no googly eyes, beads, buttons, pom-poms or pieces of balloon. Draw the eyes on instead.
• Check art-supply labels. Art materials sold in the United States are evaluated under the standard ASTM D-4236 and say so on the label. For young children, look for the AP (Approved Product) seal of the Art and Creative Materials Institute, which marks products certified non-toxic.
• Craft paint is not face paint. Use only cosmetics made for skin on faces and hands that will go near mouths. The FDA advises testing any Halloween makeup on a small patch of skin first; for handprint crafts, use washable paint and wash hands right afterward.
• Batteries and lights. Use LED tea lights, never candles, in anything a child makes. Tape battery compartments shut for young children. If a child swallows a button battery, call the National Battery Ingestion Hotline at 1-800-498-8666 or Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222 immediately.
• Heat and blades are adult tools. Hot glue, craft knives, drills and ovens belong to the grown-up. Under about age 9, an adult does the hot gluing.
• Adults carve pumpkins. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that small children decorate pumpkins with markers and help scoop, not carve.
• Cover up. An old adult T-shirt worn backward is a full-length smock. Newspaper on the table saves cleanup.

Halloween Crafts for Toddlers (Ages 1–3)

Keep sessions to 10 or 15 minutes, do one child-led step, and expect the result to look like a toddler made it.

1. Handprint ghosts

Materials: black paper, white washable paint, black marker.

1. Brush white paint on the child's palm and fingers.
2. Press the hand onto black paper with the fingers pointing down.
3. When dry, draw two eyes and a mouth on the palm. The fingers are the ghost's tail.

2. Footprint ghost family

Materials: black paper, white paint, marker.

1. Paint the sole of the foot white and press it onto the paper, heel at the top.
2. Repeat with siblings' or parents' feet for a family.
3. Add faces on the heels and write the year.

3. Sticker pumpkin

Materials: a small real pumpkin or an orange paper circle, black stickers or foam shapes.

1. Peel the edge of each sticker to give small fingers a start.
2. Let the child place eyes, nose and mouth wherever they like.

4. Contact-paper sun catcher

Materials: clear contact paper, torn orange tissue paper, a pumpkin frame cut from black paper.

1. Tape a sheet of contact paper to the table sticky side up and lay the frame on it.
2. Let the child press tissue pieces onto the sticky center.
3. Seal with a second sheet, trim and tape to a window.

5. Apple-stamp pumpkins

Materials: an apple cut in half, orange paint on a plate, paper, green crayon.

1. Dip the cut side in paint and stamp across the paper.
2. When dry, draw green stems and vines to make a pumpkin patch.

6. Cotton-ball ghost

Materials: ghost shape cut from cardstock, glue, cotton balls, marker.

1. Spread glue over the shape (an adult does this for the youngest).
2. The child presses on cotton balls until the ghost is covered.
3. Draw the face on a bare spot left for it.

7. Fingerprint spider web

Materials: white paper with a web drawn in marker, black ink pad or paint.

1. The child presses black fingerprints anywhere on the web.
2. An adult adds eight thin legs to each print with a pen.

Halloween Crafts for Preschoolers (Ages 3–5)

8. Paper-plate pumpkin

Materials: paper plate, orange paint, black and green paper, glue.

1. Paint the plate orange and let it dry.
2. Glue on black triangle eyes, a nose and a mouth.
3. Add a green paper stem and a curled paper vine at the top.

9. Toilet-roll bats

Materials: cardboard tube, black paint or paper, black cardstock, googly eyes.

1. Paint or wrap the tube in black.
2. Press the top edges inward from both sides to form two pointed ears.
3. Glue scalloped wings to the back and eyes to the front. Add white paper fangs.

10. Coffee-filter ghosts

Materials: two coffee filters, a cotton ball or lollipop, string, marker.

1. Place the cotton ball (or lollipop) in the center of a flat filter and lay a second filter on top.
2. Gather both around the ball and tie with string.
3. Draw eyes and hang several from a branch or a doorway.

11. Paper-plate spider

Materials: small paper plate, black paint, eight strips of black paper, googly eyes, yarn.

1. Paint the plate black.
2. Fold each strip accordion-style and glue four to each side.
3. Add eyes and tape yarn to the back so the spider bounces.

12. Paper-bag monster puppets

Materials: paper lunch bag, construction paper, glue, markers.

1. Keep the bag folded flat; the bottom flap is the mouth.
2. Glue eyes (one, three or five) above the flap and teeth under its edge.
3. Add horns, hair and arms, then put a hand inside and make it talk.

13. Candy-corn collage

Materials: white paper triangle with two pencil lines, torn yellow, orange and white paper, glue stick.

1. Tear the colored paper into small pieces. Tearing builds finger strength.
2. Glue yellow pieces in the wide bottom band, orange in the middle and white at the tip.

14. Fork-print monsters

Materials: plastic fork, paint, paper, googly eyes.

1. Press the back of the fork in paint and stamp it in a circle, tines outward, to make a furry ball.
2. Add eyes while the paint is wet and draw legs and a mouth when dry.

15. Cotton-swab skeleton

Materials: black paper, cotton swabs (some cut in half by an adult), glue, a white paper skull.

1. Glue the skull near the top of the page.
2. Lay out whole swabs for the spine, arms and legs and half swabs for ribs, fingers and toes.
3. Glue each one down. It doubles as a first anatomy lesson.

Halloween Crafts for Ages 5–8

16. Mason-jar lanterns

Materials: clean jar, tissue paper, white glue thinned with water, black paper, LED tea light.

1. Brush glue on the jar and cover it with overlapping tissue squares: orange for a pumpkin, white for a ghost, green for a monster.
2. Brush another coat of glue over the top.
3. Glue on a black paper face, let dry and drop in the light.

17. Egg-carton bats

Materials: cardboard egg carton, black paint, googly eyes, string.

1. Cut a strip of three cups. Trim a notch from the bottom edge of the two outer cups to shape the wings.
2. Paint black and let dry.
3. Glue eyes to the middle cup and hang by a string.

18. Pipe-cleaner spiders

Materials: four black pipe cleaners, one large pom-pom or bead, googly eyes.

1. Hold the four pipe cleaners together and twist them tightly at the center.
2. Spread the eight ends and bend each down, then up at the tip, for jointed legs.
3. Glue the pom-pom on the twist and add eyes.

19. Paper-chain garland

Materials: orange, black and purple paper cut in 1-by-8-inch strips, stapler or glue stick.

1. Loop one strip and fasten it.
2. Thread the next strip through and fasten. Repeat in a color pattern.
3. Make it a countdown: one link per day until October 31, torn off each morning.

20. Yarn-wrapped mummy

Materials: cardboard cut in a gingerbread-person shape, white yarn, tape, googly eyes.

1. Tape the end of the yarn to the back.
2. Wrap in every direction until the cardboard barely shows.
3. Tuck in the end and glue the eyes peeking out between strands.

21. Paper-plate masks

Materials: paper plate, craft stick, paint, paper scraps, tape.

1. An adult cuts two eye holes.
2. Paint and decorate as a cat, owl, pumpkin or monster with paper ears, feathers or teeth.
3. Tape a craft stick to the bottom as a handle, which is more comfortable than elastic and easy to lower.

22. Lollipop ghosts

Materials: round lollipops, white tissues or fabric squares, ribbon, marker.

1. Drape two tissues over the lollipop.
2. Tie ribbon under the candy.
3. Draw a face. A bowl of these makes a good class treat or party favor.

23. Tin-can luminaries

Materials: clean can with no sharp edges on the rim (an adult checks and tapes it if needed), filled with water and frozen solid; a towel, hammer and nail, LED tea light.

1. The child draws a simple dot design on paper and tapes it around the frozen can.
2. With the can resting on a folded towel, an adult steadies it while the child taps the nail through each dot. The ice keeps the can from denting.
3. Melt out the ice, dry and add the light.

24. Clothespin bats and ghosts

Materials: wooden clothespins, black and white paint, cardstock wings, glue.

1. Paint the clothespins and let dry.
2. Glue paper wings or a ghost body across the back.
3. Add a face and clip them to curtains, lampshades and bag handles.

Halloween Crafts for Ages 9–12

25. Papier-mâché pumpkin

Materials: balloon, newspaper strips, paste of one part flour to two parts water, string, orange paint.

1. Inflate the balloon and tie string around it in several directions to create ribs.
2. Dip strips in paste, wipe off the excess and cover the balloon in three layers, letting each dry.
3. Pop the balloon, paint and add a twisted-paper stem. Allow two to three days in total.

26. No-sew sock pumpkins

Materials: orange sock, rice or dried beans, rubber bands, twine, a stick.

1. Fill the foot of the sock with rice to make a ball and band it shut.
2. Fold the cuff back over the ball or trim it.
3. Wrap twine around the ball in sections, pulling tight to make ribs, and tuck a small stick in the top as a stem.

27. Spider-web string art

Materials: wood scrap or thick cork board, small nails or pushpins, white embroidery floss.

1. Mark a center point and eight points around the edge; hammer a nail at each.
2. Tie the floss to the center nail and run it out to each edge nail and back for the spokes.
3. Spiral outward, looping once around each spoke. Add a plastic spider.

28. Shoebox haunted house

Materials: shoebox, black paper, craft knife (adult), tracing paper or yellow tissue, LED lights.

1. Stand the box on end and cover it with black paper.
2. An adult cuts windows and a door; the child tapes tissue behind them.
3. Add a paper roof, a bare paper tree and silhouettes in the windows, then put the lights inside.

29. Painted rock monsters

Materials: smooth rocks, acrylic paint, paint pens, clear sealer.

1. Wash and dry the rocks.
2. Paint a base color, let dry and add faces with paint pens: pumpkins, mummies, one-eyed monsters.
3. Seal and hide them along a walking route for neighbors to find.

30. Felt bat garland with a running stitch

Materials: black felt, embroidery needle and floss, stuffing, ribbon.

1. Cut two identical bats per piece from a paper template.
2. Sew around the edge with a simple running stitch, leaving a gap; stuff lightly and stitch closed.
3. Sew or tie each bat to a ribbon. A good first sewing project.

Older kids and teens who want a bigger challenge can move on to the etched and drilled designs in our pumpkin carving ideas, with an adult handling the tools, or build props for the yard from our Halloween decorations guide.

Quick Reference: All 30 Crafts

Craft	Age	Active time	Mess level
Handprint and footprint ghosts	1+	10 min	High (paint)
Sticker pumpkin, contact-paper sun catcher	1+	10 min	None
Apple stamps, fingerprint web, cotton-ball ghost	2+	10–15 min	Medium
Paper-plate pumpkin and spider	3+	20 min plus drying	Medium
Toilet-roll bats, bag puppets, coffee-filter ghosts	3+	15–20 min	Low
Candy-corn collage, fork monsters, cotton-swab skeleton	3+	15 min	Low to medium
Jar lanterns, egg-carton bats, clothespin bats	5+	20–30 min plus drying	Medium
Pipe-cleaner spiders, paper chains, yarn mummy, lollipop ghosts	5+	10–20 min	None
Paper-plate masks, tin-can luminaries	5+	30 min	Low
Papier-mâché pumpkin	9+	1 hour over 2–3 days	High
Sock pumpkins, string art, rock monsters, felt bats, shoebox house	9+	30–60 min	Low to medium

Crafts for Classrooms and Halloween Parties

Crafting with twenty children is a logistics problem. These rules keep it under control.

• Choose no-dry crafts. Anything that needs paint to dry cannot go home the same day. Paper chains, pipe-cleaner spiders, bag puppets, lollipop ghosts and sticker pumpkins leave with the child.
• Kit it in advance. Put each child's pieces in a paper bag or on a paper plate with their name on it. Pre-cut anything that takes more than a minute.
• Make a finished sample and a half-finished one, so children can see the step in between.
• Plan 15 to 20 minutes for kindergarten through second grade and up to 30 for older grades, and have a coloring page ready for early finishers.
• Use glue sticks, not bottles, and one adult per six to eight children under 6.
• Check for allergies before using food items such as candy, flour paste or cereal. Many schools restrict food in classrooms altogether.
• Keep themes friendly. Pumpkins, bats, owls, spiders and smiling ghosts work for every family; if your school avoids Halloween, the same crafts become "fall" crafts with leaves, scarecrows and apples.

At a home party, set up a craft table as the arrival activity so early guests have something to do while others trickle in; decorating a treat bag is ideal because every child then uses it. Games, schedules and menus are in our Halloween party ideas and Halloween food ideas.

What to Do With Finished Crafts

• Decorate with them. String garlands across the mantel, line lanterns along a windowsill and hang the bats in the entryway. Children notice when their work is the real decor.
• Give them away. Handprint ghosts with the date make keepsakes for grandparents. Add a line from our Halloween wishes, or design a matching card in the free card maker.
• Use them on Halloween night. Jar lanterns light the porch, masks complete a costume and lollipop ghosts go in the treat bowl.
• Save one per year. Write the child's name and the year on the back and keep a single piece; a decade of handprint ghosts is worth the drawer space.

For everything else about the day, including the date, history and a planning timeline, see our Halloween 2026 guide.