October brings crisp air, pumpkin spice lattes, and kids bouncing off the walls anticipating buckets of candy. You need immediate distractions. Good news? I compiled the ultimate list of 24 spooky fun Halloween arts and crafts for kids to make this October. Grab some glue sticks, embrace the inevitable glitter mess, and keep those tiny hands busy.
FYI, directing their chaotic energy into creative projects saves your sanity. Ready to create some terrifyingly cute memories with these kid-friendly Halloween arts and crafts? Grab your smocks and scissors! 🎃👻
1. Classic Paper Plate Pumpkins
Every parent knows the humble paper plate holds infinite creative potential. Grab some orange paint, green construction paper, and black markers to kick off your crafting session.
Kids paint the plates, cut out spooky eyes, and glue on a twisted green stem. Pro tip: lay down old newspaper first, unless you want an orange dining table.
2. Toilet Paper Roll Bats
Do not throw away those empty cardboard tubes! You can transform them into adorable little bats hanging around your living room.
Gather Your Supplies
- Empty toilet paper rolls
- Black washable paint
- Googly eyes
- Black construction paper
Fold down the top edges of the tube to create little bat ears. Kids paint the whole thing black, glue on some wings, and stick on silly googly eyes. Easiest craft ever, IMO.
3. Fluffy Cotton Ball Ghosts
Need a sensory-friendly project for toddlers? Cotton ball ghosts deliver the perfect mix of sticky glue and soft textures.
Draw a basic ghost outline on dark paper and hand over a bottle of school glue. Toddlers grab handfuls of cotton balls and stick them right onto the paper. Add two black paper circles for eyes, and you get a friendly phantom.
4. Popsicle Stick Spider Webs
You probably have a stash of popsicle sticks hiding in a craft drawer right now. Pull them out and grab some white yarn to weave intricate spider webs.
Glue three sticks together in a star shape. Kids wrap the yarn around each stick, working their way from the center to the edges. Glue a plastic spider in the middle for maximum creep factor!
5. Masking Tape Handprint Mummies
Trace your child’s hand on a piece of black cardstock and carefully cut it out. Now comes the fun part: wrapping the mummy.
Hand over a roll of white masking tape. Kids rip off small pieces and cross them haphazardly over the paper handprint. Leave a tiny gap to glue down two peering googly eyes.
6. Glowing Mason Jar Jack-o’-Lanterns
Turn your recycling bin treasures into glowing porch decorations. You just need clean glass jars, orange tissue paper, and Mod Podge.
Kids brush the Mod Podge onto the glass and stick squares of orange tissue paper all over it. Add black paper faces, drop a battery-operated tea light inside, and watch your spooky lanterns glow all night.
7. Tie-Dye Coffee Filter Monsters
Science meets art with these wildly colorful coffee filter monsters. Kids scribble all over white coffee filters using washable markers.
Spray the colored filters with a water bottle and watch the colors bleed together like magic. Once dry, cut silly monster shapes, glue on multiple eyes, and draw goofy, jagged grins.
8. Q-Tip Dancing Skeletons
Teach your little ones a bit of basic anatomy while they craft. Grab some black paper, a white crayon, and a handful of Q-tips.
Draw a simple skull shape at the top of the paper. Kids snap the cotton swabs into different lengths and glue them down to form ribs, arms, and legs. Bonus points for posing the skeletons in funny dance moves!
9. Torn Tissue Paper Candy Corn
Not everyone loves eating candy corn, but we all agree it looks iconic. This fine-motor craft keeps tiny hands incredibly busy and builds excellent dexterity.
Draw a large triangle and divide it into three sections. Kids tear up yellow, orange, and white tissue paper into tiny pieces. They crumple the paper and glue the pieces into the correct color-blocked sections.
10. Upcycled Egg Carton Witches
Save your empty egg cartons from the trash! Snip out individual cups to act as the bumpy, green faces of wicked little witches.
Kids paint the carton cups bright green. Cut a small circle from black paper for the hat brim and roll a tiny black cone for the top. Add some orange yarn hair, and these witches look ready to fly.
11. Stuffed Paper Bag Owls
Brown lunch bags make surprisingly great bases for woodland creatures. Kids stuff a paper bag half-full with newspaper scraps to give the owl a chubby belly.
Fold the top of the bag over and staple it shut. Decorate the front with overlapping cupcake liners for feathers. Add giant yellow eyes and a little orange beak to finish your nocturnal buddy.
12. Yarn Wrapped Cardboard Mummies
Cut simple gingerbread-man shapes out of a sturdy Amazon delivery box. Hand your kids a large ball of white yarn and let them go wild.
They wrap the yarn around the arms, legs, and torso of the cardboard shape. Tuck the loose end under a wrapped thread to secure it. Glue on some eyes, and you have a textured, spooky friend.
13. Creepy Pinecone Spiders
Send the kids on a nature walk to gather supplies for this creepy-crawly project. Find round, open pinecones to serve as the spider bodies.
Wrap four brown pipe cleaners around the middle of the pinecone, bending the ends to create eight spindly legs. Hot glue some red beads for eyes. Hide them around the house to playfully scare your family.
14. Painted Rock Monster Eyeballs
Smooth river rocks provide the perfect canvas for some eerie Halloween art. Set up an acrylic paint station in the backyard to minimize the mess.
Kids paint the rocks white, add a brightly colored iris, and finish with a stark black pupil. Paint tiny red squiggly lines around the edges for that classic bloodshot look. Place them in your garden beds to watch the neighbors walk by!
15. Paper Cup Frankenstein
Transform ordinary green paper drinking cups into Frankenstein’s monster. You only need a black marker, silver thumb tacks, and some black construction paper.
Kids draw a stitched mouth and sleepy eyes directly onto the green cup. Cut out a jagged black hairline and glue it to the top rim. Push two silver tacks into the sides for his neck bolts!
16. Pinching Clothespin Bats
Wooden clothespins turn into interactive toys with just a little bit of effort. Paint the wooden pins completely black and let them dry.
Cut bat wings out of stiff black felt and glue them to the back of the clothespin. Kids pinch the pins to make the bat open its tiny mouth. Clip them onto curtains, lampshades, or indoor plants.
17. Salt Dough Halloween Ornaments
Who says ornaments only belong to Christmas? Mix up a quick batch of salt dough using flour, salt, and water straight from your pantry.
Roll the dough flat and use Halloween cookie cutters to punch out bats, ghosts, and pumpkins. Poke a hole in the top before baking. Once cool, kids paint their spooky creations and hang them on a Halloween tree.
18. Glow-in-the-Dark Slime
No kid can resist the squishy, stretchy appeal of homemade slime. Take it up a notch for October by adding glow-in-the-dark pigment.
Mix clear glue, baking soda, contact lens solution, and your glowing powder. Knead the mixture until it stops sticking to your hands. Toss in some plastic spiders, turn off the lights, and let the gooey fun begin.
19. Stained Glass Suncatcher Pumpkins
Capture the autumn sunlight with these vibrant window decorations. Cut a hollow pumpkin frame out of heavy black cardstock.
Lay the frame onto a sheet of clear contact paper. Kids stick squares of orange, yellow, and red tissue paper inside the sticky frame. Seal the back with another piece of contact paper, trim the edges, and tape it to your window.
20. Cardboard Tube Black Cats
We bring back the trusty cardboard tube for this feline favorite. Paint the tube black and use scissors to cut a half-circle out of the bottom to form four distinct legs.
Cut a cat head out of black paper, draw on some yellow eyes, and glue on white string for whiskers. Attach a black pipe cleaner to the back, bending it into a sassy cat tail.
21. Apple Stamped Pumpkins
Got a bruised apple nobody wants to eat? Slice it right down the middle to create the perfect pumpkin-shaped stamp.
Kids dip the flat side of the apple half into a shallow plate of orange washable paint. Press it firmly onto a white canvas. Once the orange paint dries, paint on green stems and silly jack-o’-lantern faces.
22. Marshmallow Ghost Stamps
You probably need a bag of large marshmallows for hot cocoa anyway. Steal a few to use as incredibly fun, squishy paint stamps.
Dip the flat end of a jumbo marshmallow into white paint and stamp it onto black paper. The shape perfectly mimics a floating ghost! Kids use a black marker to add tiny dot eyes and a spooky howling mouth.
23. Beaded Pipe Cleaner Pumpkins
Threading beads builds excellent hand-eye coordination for preschoolers. Grab a huge bag of orange plastic pony beads and some orange pipe cleaners.
Thread the orange beads onto four pipe cleaners, leaving the ends empty. Twist all the ends together at the top and bottom to form a 3D pumpkin shape. Add a green pipe cleaner twisted into a curly vine at the top.
24. Footprint Frankenstein Art
Capture exactly how tiny your kids’ feet are this year. This messy but memorable craft makes a fantastic keepsake for the family scrapbook.
Paint the bottom of your child’s foot bright green and press it firmly onto a firm piece of white cardstock. The heel becomes Frankenstein’s flat head! Once dry, draw black hair on the heel portion and add a goofy monster face.
Wrap Up Your Spooky Crafting Session
You officially hold the ultimate playbook for surviving the pre-holiday sugar rush. Keeping your little ghouls entertained requires just a few basic supplies, a little patience, and a huge dash of imagination.
Try out these 24 spooky fun Halloween arts and crafts for kids to make this October, and watch their faces light up with pride. Pin your favorite projects, share this list with your fellow exhausted parents, and have a wickedly fun Halloween!