57 Easy Halloween crafts for kids of all ages

Get ready to make this Halloween handmade with our round-up of the best halloween crafts for kids. You'll find fiendishly fun projects for papercrafting, junk modelling and sewing in this round-up, and we've selected a range of activities that will suit children of all ages – from toddlers to teens.

We're huge fans of crafting for the holidays in my house. A season rarely goes by when we can't find reaching for the glue sticks and craft box to make DIY decorations, and Halloween is one of our favourites. This year alone we've already started making ghost pom poms and papercraft bunting in advance of spooky season. The fact that my daughter has just got into Harry Potter is fuelling her imagination for all things magical. With so many amazing Halloween crafts out there, I've rounded up some of the best Halloween crafts for kids for you to try too at home. Remember to leave a comment and let me know which ones you tried!

Read on to discover monstrous makes, cheeky characters and pumpkins galore. I've divided these easy Halloween crafts into sections for each age group – starting youngest to oldest, so you'll find Halloween crafts for toddlers, preschoolers, pre-teens and teenagers, but in reality of course you can browse the lot and just find the right one for your child.

For more fun kids crafts projects, check out our other crafty inspiration guides... 40 craft ideas for kids to try at home, our favourite crafts for toddlers, or our Christmas Crafts for Kids round up. Looking for more creative ways to keep your children busy? Check out our pick of the best art sets for kids.

Main image © Anastasiia Boriagina

Halloween crafts for toddlers

1. Quick paint egg box bats

For the ultimate in quick Halloween craft idea, these quick egg box bat decorations are perfect for giving your home or classroom a spooky makeover! Fangtastic!

Try this Bat Craft for Halloween

2. Get messy with hand and foot printing

We found these very fun and very messy ideas over at Pinky for Pink for how to make foot print ghosts, witches and a Frankenstein. So reach for the paints (and maybe lay down a sheet first to protect your floor) and get foot stomping!

3. Turn a paper cup into a spooky ghost

The beauty of this hauntingly good make is the simplicity of the supplies you need – cardboard or paper, glue and a pen, then snip a few tissue paper strips for this really simple halloween craft for kids from A Girl and a Glue Gun.

How to make tissue paper ghost decorations

4. Make clay Halloween handprints

We've actually become a little obsessed with the website Non Toy Gifts since we discovered it while hunting for halloween craft ideas for kids ourselves. In this fun tutorial they show you how to make handprint halloween keepsakes using air dry clay. Or you can try these with salt dough too – check out our How to make salt dough article.

5. Frighteningly good papercraft ghost idea

Boo! Spooky Halloween crafts don't come much more fun than these Simple and Easy Paper Ghosts by i heart crafty things.

6. Turn lolly pop sticks into cobwebs

Lolly pop sticks are one of our favourite supplies when it comes to Halloween crafts for toddlers. They're pretty versatile, but this idea to turn lolly pop sticks into cob webs (with pipe cleaner spiders) is pure genius! Make your own Spider Web Decorations today over at Craft With Kids.

7. Boo! Make your own puffy ghosts

If you're looking for easy Halloween crafts for younger children, you'll have to look hard to beat the cute factor of these halloween craft puffy ghosts from Thriving Home blog. All you need is some cotton wool, their free downloadable template and a couple of basic craft supplies like scissors and wool to make them.

8. Stir up your own potions!

We have yet to find a child who does not LOVE the prospect of mixing up a potion or two at Halloween. With big imaginations you can easily try this DIY in your home or garden with a mixing bowl and some basic household supplies (food colouring, glitter, fizzy vitamins like Berocca etc...) or if you want to really go for it, or have older children who are Harry Potter fans, we've found these potion kits for budding witches and wizards on Etsy (Halloween Potion Kit, £20) and cannot wait to give them a go this year – they come with a "frog froth potion" and contain a little cauldron plus labelled ingredients in glass bottles and jars with lables like unicorn powder and dragons blood. We are assuming they're not real...

9. Upcycle paper plates into trick or treat baskets

If you're looking for Halloween crafts for toddlers, you can't really go wrong with some paper plates and a few pots of paint. Turn paper plates into the cutest of Trick or Treating accessories with this easy DIY video from CBeebies.

10. Make a paper mache treat bowl

Get tearing up newspaper, dig out a balloon and paints and get crafting this cobweb treat bowl, to fill with creepy candy for your halloween feast! Find the instructions of how to make this in our paper mache ideas article. For more papercraft goodness check out our paper crafts for kids section where we have loads of kid friendly DIYs,

And that's it folks! If our Halloween crafts for kids ideas have got you in the mood to discover more children's craft projects, dive into our Kids Craft Ideas, or you're still on the hunt for Halloween inspiration, head to our sister post – 12 halloween costumes to make tonight.

11. Simple spiderweb wreath

This is one the simplest, easy Halloween crafts in this round up and it's a great one for younger children. Grab some black card and string to whip up a fun spiderweb decoration with Sparkle and Splatter's YouTube video DIY.

How to make a spiderweb wreath

Halloween crafts for preschoolers

12. Make paper mache pumpkins

This is a great kids craft project as, like many of the projects in this round-up, you don't need many specialist art or craft supplies to make your own paper pumpkins – so they're inexpensive but very simple, plus kids get to get messy with paper mache and paints! Head over to our full step by step guide with pictures and a video to learn how.

How to make paper mache pumpkins

13. Paper plate pumpkin mask

OK we've had a few craft ideas for older kids now, it's time to take it back to craft ideas for toddlers and mini makers! How about turning a paper plate into a pumpkin? You can cut the shapes for them in advance and let them go at it with the PVA or help them to cut out the different pumpkin accents with some child-friendly scissors! Find out how to make a paper plate pumpkin mask over at My Kid Craft.

14. Easy Halloween paper chain

Moving on from stylish origami, how about these super cute Halloween paper chains? Find out how to make them over at Artsy Momma.

15. Turn yoghurt cartons into mini monsters

If you've never stumbled across it before, Frogs Snails and Puppy Dog Tails is a truly lovely blog of beautiful family crafts and activities. We've loving their simple but fun recycled craft project to turn yogurt cups into halloween monsters!

16. Make spider bowls for party food

Did someone say Halloween party? Turn paper plates into spider bowls with straws for legs and google eyes with this Easy Spider Halloween Treat Bowl DIY from That's What Che Said.

17. Shrink spooky shrink plastic charms

Shrink plastic is very high on our favourite kids crafts activities, so we were pretty excited to find this Halloween shrink plastic kit (Amazon, £13.99).

18. Ceramic Pumpkin Tealight Holders

Decorate mini candle holders with freaky faces and spooky details with these cute pumpkin ceramic tealight holders from Baker Ross. They're perfect way to welcome trick or treaters – simply add your chosen designs using acrylic markers or paint.

19. Toilet roll witch craft

Take a disused loo roll, add a few basic craft supplies (including Halloween Kids Crafts staple, the googly eyes) and what do you get? A wonderfully cheery witch of course! Find out how to make one over at Fun Thrifty Mom.

20. Easy make Halloween wreaths

We really can't think of any occasion that isn't deserving of a DIY wreath. Halloween wreaths are set to be big in 2021. Make your own using a cardboard ring, decorated with tissue paper and spooky shapes, or cheat and use a kit. Baker Ross have these fun kits with loads of pre-cut shapes so they're perfect for young children as you can pass them a glue stick and leave them to craft to their hearts' content!

Pack of 4 Halloween Wreath kits (Baker Ross, £5.95)

21. Make healthy halloween pizzas

Let little witches and wizards make a healthy Halloween dinner by making spooky pizzas from scratch! Have fun arranging the toppings into spiders, bats and cobwebs! Healthy Halloween Pizza recipes.

22. Day of the Dead Scratch Art decorations

Kids will love these fun scratch art skulls from Baker Ross. Shop their pre-made Day of the Dead Scratch Art Kits or you can't get your hands on the kit, try the technique at home with the traditional method of cutting shapes out of card, then colouring with two layers of wax crayons – a base layer of rainbow colours and a top layer of black. Scratch the top layer to reveal the pops of colour beneath.

23. Easiest ever Halloween cupcakes

Make these frightfully easy cupcakes with kids of all ages and have fun decorating them with icing and sweets to make scary monsters and cute cats. BBC Good Food show you how to make the easiest ever Halloween cupcakes.

24. Cut paper cobwebs

All you need is some paper and a pair of scissors for this simplest of spooky makes. Cindy Hopper (aka Skip to my Lou) has a great video tutorial on YouTube for how to make paper cobwebs to decorate your house this Halloween.

25. Halloween spider hat

Live Craft Eat have come up with the ultimate way to combine your craft stash with Halloween fancy dress – reach for a few sheets of black card to make this simple but effective spider hat! Googly eyes at the front take this up into our top 5 ever halloween crafts for kids! Make a halloween spider hat

26. Rainbow tube paper bats

The only thing better than Halloween crafts? Rainbow halloween crafts of course! Thank you go the awesome Hello, Wonderful for bringing us this guide to How to make paper tube bats

Halloween crafts for pre-teens

27. Frankenstein paper ball game

Red Ted Art are mixing up fun Halloween designs with a classic party game with this easy Halloween kids crafts tutorial. Find out how to make a paper cup Frankenstein game complete with origami monsters and eyeballs.

28. Paint Halloween rock magnets

So simple but so effective! Collect a few pebbles (flat ones work best) and get to work with paints to turn them into a spooky gang of magnets, from ghosts to pumpkins. This Heart of Mine has the perfect DIY tutorial to show you how.

How to paint Halloween rock magnets

29. Make felt finger puppets

We knew there was a reason we'd hoarded those felt sheet and googly eyes all year round! Mini makers will delight in making these Halloween finger puppets by One Creative Mommy – including the often under represented Halloween Mummy motif alongside more popular designs like witches and ghosts.

30. Turn paper strips into paper bats

Sometimes the simplest ideas are the most effective, and this is so true of this idea for turning paper strips into bat decorations. Find out how to make a paper ball bat garland over at Easy, Peasy and Fun.

31. Wind wool into Halloween pom poms

My children and me love this DIY for spooky pom poms from It's Always Autumn. We've personally tested the spider, Frankenstein and pumpkin pom poms and can confirm they are a lot of fun to make!

32. Make your own witches hats

You can't beat a classic Trick or Treat costume – hands up if you can remember making your own witches hats out of paper when you were little? If you've forgotten how it's done, luckily Queen of Crafts (that IS Martha Stewart's official job title, right?) is here to show you how to make a paper witch or wizard's hat.

33. Paint a plaster of paris witch

This cutest of cute creepy makes is just the craft project for magic-loving children of all ages. Younger kids will enjoy the messy play painting, while teens will enjoy precisely painting her hat and broom and wand.

The ready-to-paint kits are available from Jade Pinnell Glass on Etsy (£8)

34. Egg carton Halloween crafts

You don't need expensive or specialist supplies to raid your recycling and make these fiendish figures – find out how with this guide to making Egg Carton Halloween Crafts from The Best Ideas for Kids.

35. Make cards with printable monsters

Print out your own ghoulish Halloween creatures with our printable set of spooky characters to trick or treat your loved ones this All Hallows Eve. Download our free Halloween printables for instant fun!

Halloween crafts for teenagers

36. Make wooden skeleton puppets!

We predict wood crafts are going to be a big trend in the months to come, and these cute kits from Baker Ross are a fun way to get in on the action as you get all the pre-cut skeleton bones, ready to paint and decorate with your craft stash!

Day of the Dead Wooden Puppets kit (£5.45, Baker Ross)

37. How to carve a pumpkin

Swot up on the basics of how to carve the perfect pumpkin (plus shop for pumpkin carving supplies) with our Complete guide to How to carve a pumpkin for beginners

38. Have fun with Halloween origami

We've got a cute DIY for how to fold a spooky owl, plus rounded up some of the best origami projects out there for fright night in our Halloween origami tutorial.

39. Make a pumpkin pinata

Turn a paper lampshade into a party favourite with this DIY spooky pumpkin pinata by Kitiya Palaskas over at crafts.tutsplus.com

40. How to make Halloween bunting

Whip up spooky bats and pom poms with our easy guide to how to make a Halloween garland by Kirsty Hartley.

41. Make your own toffee apples

This is a really easy project to get mini makers involved giving you a hand preparing for Halloween parties or Bonfire Night get togethers. BBC Good Food will show you How to make toffee apples.

42. Embroider a spooky hoop

Older pre-teens and teenagers will enjoy having a go at this boo-tiful Halloween embroidery hoop. It’s the perfect quick stitch to get you in the mood for the spooky season. Try our Halloween embroidery patterns by Mollie Makes magazine today.

43. Make a pom pom banner

Another great make if you've only got a few basic craft supplies to hand, turn wool and string into a DIY Halloween Banner with our tutorial from Mollie Makes magazine.

44. Papercraft cute coffins

Add fun table settings to your Halloween party with our free coffin papercraft template.

45. Halloween tin can bowling

Raid your recycling for cans to upcycle into a fun Halloween party game! Red Ted Art have this cute DIY for how to make a Halloween tin can bowling game

46. Whip up an easy Halloween paper garland

The best Halloween crafts for kids are the ones where you already have all the supplies you need at home! Grab a pair of scissors, a pencil and some paper (any newspaper or plain paper will do) this tutorial and free printable by Kids Spot for How to make a Halloween paper garland

47. Fold origami bats

Unleash your inner goth and enjoy a spot of soothing paper folding with these origami heart bats by Goorigami!

48. Halloween cross stitch

If you have teens who enjoy a spot of stitching, treat them to this Halloween Cross Stitch Kit by Meloca Designs on Etsy. You can choose between the full kit or just opt for the PDF chart – a great option if you have younger children who you'd like to introduce to stitching as you can help them try stitching a simple motif or two on to easy binca fabric.

49. Trick or treat bucket

If you've got young makers who are curious about learning how to use your sewing machine, get them to help you make a fang-tactic halloween bucket DIY with our tutorial from Kirsty Hartley.

50. Needle felt pumpkins!

Another idea for older kids and teenagers which we love are these Pumpkin Beginner Needle Felting Kits by Art Wool Bulat on Etsy. In fact you may as well buy two – one for them and one for you to try.

51. Paint rocks to make mini monsters

While some of the ideas in this round up are better suited to a particular age group, there's not really any age limit on who will enjoy making these painted monster pebbles. Find the monster DIY over at Crafty Morning.

52. Play with paper pumpkins

Ok so we've had cotton wool ghosts for toddlers and toilet roll witches, now it's time for a some origami fun! Fold pretty patterned papers into these super sweet origami pumpkins with the tutorial from Gathering Beauty.

53. Try quilling cats!

The papercraft DIY we've always wanted in our lives is finally here – transform paper strips into black cats for a fun make that will hold the attention of older children. Thank you Artsy Crafty Mom for bringing us this Paper Quilled Black Cats tutorial.

54. Haunted house paper theatre

Time for an interactive one! Get the kids involved making your very own Haunted House paper theatre with the DIY craft kits from papecraft pros Pukaca over on Etsy.

55. Pumpkin paper lanterns

Paper lanterns are a classic kids craft idea but we've never seen pumpkin ones before. Luckily First Palette have a DIY tutorial to show you how to make your own paper pumpkin lanterns.

56. Bake Halloween cookies

This idea is a firm favourite in our house every year... baking Halloween cookies doubles up as a great activity plus homemade snack. Despite my best intentions to nudge my children towards classic Halloween food colouring and designs when it comes to the icing, they always end up reaching for the hundreds & thousands and creating a sort-of rainbow disco set of spooky cookie shapes. But we all love it.

These's a great recipe over on BBC Good Food for Halloween cookies (using red food colouring for the gingerbread man's severed limbs is optional depending on your child's age!). You can make skeletons and mummies using a gingerbread man cutter, or pick up a set of spooky cookie cutters on Etsy for £7.50.

57. Needle felt creepy creatures

Teenagers love the therapeutic nature of needle felting. It's a great de-stressor and, well it's just really fun to play around with! We've found this great needle felting Halloween kit (Not on The High Street, £21) with everything you need to make wooly pumpkins, bats, ghosts and spiders, as well as the thread to hang them from to decorate your home!

If you enjoyed making these kids Halloween crafts, leave a comment below to let us know how you got on – or if you know of another great Halloween make out there that we should include!