Five Crafty Halloween Ideas for Children

Five Crafty Halloween Ideas for Children

Belinda @ Kids Matter

As I am all about family time, I can’t imagine a better way to kick off the holiday season than by getting “spooky crafty” with the kids. Children absolutely love to do crafts. We will take a look at five crafty Halloween ideas that will put those creative little minds to work. Craft ideas are just that… ideas… add your own little twist to them. You will be surprised what children come up with while creating their crafts. Halloween is a holiday that sticks with you throughout your lifetime. Every Halloween you remember characters you became, the fun of going door to door, haunted houses, candy, and all the decorations. Create memories with your children by participating in as many fun filled activities as possible throughout October.

Creepy spiders

Materials: Styrofoam balls, black spray paint, black pipe cleaners, wiggly eyes, orange felt, glue, scissors, and gum drops. Make different sizes and create families of spiders.

1.     Paint the Styrofoam balls black and allow them to dry thoroughly.

2.     Insert eight pipe cleaners into the ball for the legs.

3.     Cut two small circles of orange felt for the eyes and glue them onto the ball.

4.     Glue two wiggly eyes onto the orange felt.

5.     Stick a gum drop on the end of each leg for the feet.

Frankinpumpkin

Materials: One large oblong shaped pumpkin, one lime, stapler, black and green paint, white, black, and green felt, two bolts, toothpicks, scissors, glue, and dark green marker.

1.     Paint the pumpkin green and dry thoroughly.

2.     Paint black hair on top of pumpkin and dry thoroughly.

3.     Cut the lime in half and insert two toothpicks into the sides of the pumpkin where the ears will go.

4.     Place the lime halves onto the toothpicks.

5.     Paint a long black eyebrow across the forehead of the pumpkin.

6.     Cut out two oval shaped white pieces of felt for the eyes and glue them onto the pumpkin.

7.     Cut out two circles of black felt for the eyes and glue them onto the white felt.

8.     Cut out two half ovals of green felt for the eye lids and glue them on.

9.     Paint the mouth and nose with black paint and dry thoroughly.

10.  Insert a bolt toward the bottom of each side of the pumpkin.

11.  Using the green marker, draw a line a couple inches long across the forehead of the pumpkin.

12.  Using the stapler, insert several staples across the green line.

Mummy cup

Materials: Plastic cups, medical gauze, wiggly eyes, candy, scissors, and glue.

1.     Coat the plastic cup with glue around the sides leaving the top and bottom uncovered.

2.     Wrap gauze around the cup going several layers deep around the cup.

3.     Cut the gauze and glue with a drop of glue to the back of the cup.

4.     Glue on two wiggly eyes.

5.     Fill cup with your favorite candy.

Spooktacular necklace

Materials: yarn, white glue, parchment paper, scissors, and black marker.

1.     On a sheet of parchment paper, using the glue, draw an outline of several ghosts.

2.     Allow them to dry for one minute.

3.     Fill in the outline with more glue.

4.     Allow the ghosts to dry for two days.

5.     Gently peel the ghosts from the parchment paper.

6.     Using the black marker, draw eyes and a mouth on the ghosts.

7.     Punch a hole at the top of each ghost large enough to insert yarn.

8.     Cut strands of yarn long enough to make a necklace.

9.     String ghosts onto the yarn creating a necklace and tie to appropriate size.

Cup of worms

Materials: One small box of instant chocolate Jell-O pudding,  two cups of milk, one package of Oreo cookies, one package of gummy worms, and four clear plastic cups.

1.     Make the chocolate pudding according to the directions on the box.

2.     Crush Oreo cookies and sprinkle some in the bottom of each cup.

3.     Pour a ½ cup of pudding into each cup.

4.     Sprinkle more Oreo crumbs on top of the pudding.

5.     Insert a couple worms into the Oreo pudding mixture (dirt) burying them about half the length of the worm with the remaining half sticking out the top of the cup.

6.     Chill for an hour in the refrigerator and then eat.

But don’t stop here... keep that Halloween momentum going and search for other creative crafts and projects to do for the holiday. Spend quality time with your children doing things to spark their creative juices while having fun. With all projects, make sure you have a wet cloth and dry towel handy to clean up messes. Prepare the working surface before delving into a project. Make certain that any furniture near the activity is covered for protection. Dress the children in old play clothes in case of accidents. Most importantly… be patient with the children as fun can be very exciting and may lead to distractions and failure to follow instructions. Allow the children to be as hands on as appropriate for their age. During the tasks where the adult must do the work, remember to talk with the children and describe what you are doing so they learn as you work. Explain to them why an adult must do that specific task and why they should not attempt it on their own. Crafts are great teaching tools! Discuss colors, shapes, textures, counting, letters, sounds, and safety rules as you work. Have a great time with your projects and create beautiful smiles and memories as you go!