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5 creative Halloween craft ideas for children

Dull and rainy days aren’t unusual in October, and this is no reason to feel down. Getting creative with children is a great way to spend a rainy day indoors. As Halloween approaches there are various spooky decoration ideas, which are great for passing the time when it’s raining cats and dogs outside. In this article, we will show you five easy creative Halloween decoration ideas, which have different levels of difficulty. This is a great way to get children of any age involved.

Contents:

Halloween window décor: make a spooky ghost garland out of leftover pieces of fabric

You will only need a couple of things to make this fantastically spooky Halloween garland. You can upcycle old pieces of material to make it.

What you will need to make a Halloween garland:

  • Old pieces of material such as old bedsheets, tablecloths or plain t-shirts

  • Stick on googly eyes

  • Cotton/wool wadding (or other old pieces of material cut into small pieces)

  • (Parcel) string or ribbon for hanging up

How to make an easy Halloween garland:

  1. Cut out squares (approx. 30 x 30 cm) from the old pieces of fabric.

  2. Put a cotton wool ball or some cut-up pieces of old fabric in the centre of the square piece of fabric.

  3. To make the ghost’s head, fold the piece of fabric together and tie the cotton wool ball with some ribbon.

  4. Glue two googly eyes onto the ghost. Voilà, your homemade ghost is ready for Halloween!

  5. You can make about 5 to 10 other ghosts using this one as an example and then thread them carefully onto a piece of string so that you can hang up the garland.

Tip: If you would like to have different coloured ghosts, then your children can help to paint old pieces of fabric using some fabric paint or watercolours before making the garland. This will give your Halloween garland a unique look.

Making a Halloween lantern: upcycling glass to make Halloween decorations

These homemade Halloween lanterns create a spooky atmosphere in no time at all and they make great decorations for a Halloween party. The flickering candlelight will also make your room feel cosy.

What you will need to make a Halloween lantern:

  • Large screw-top jars (clean old jars if necessary)

  • Glue or wallpaper paste

  • Paint brush

  • Orange, white, green or purple coloured tissue paper

  • Black marker pen or an old box

  • Scissors and a pencil

  • (LED-) tea lights

How to make Halloween lanterns:

  1. The first step is to give the jars a quick rinse, including the tops, so that they are clean and then dry them thoroughly before using them.

  2. In the meantime, get your children involved in making the lanterns by asking them to cut the tissue paper into smaller pieces. You can make a pumpkin out of orange tissue paper, a ghost out of white tissue paper and little monsters out of other colours like green or purple.

  3. Coat the first glass with glue and spread the tissue paper over it. Two coats may be necessary to bring out the colour of the tissue paper.

4. When the tissue paper has dried properly, you can then make the faces for the lanterns. A ghost needs two big eyes and a round mouth, a pumpkin needs some crooked eyes, a triangular nose and a big grin. You can either draw on these spooky faces with a black marker pen or cut out some black cardboard and stick it over the tissue paper.

Tip: Once the Halloween lanterns have dried and you have added all the details, the only thing missing is a tea light. The safest option in this case is an LED tea light, which will flicker just like a real flame. These types of tea lights are safer as they do not get hot, and they will also last for a long time.

Making Halloween window decorations: creative Halloween decorations using handprints

This is a creative activity that even small children can have a go at. You will only need a couple of things to create some spooky and funny Halloween decorations, which you can then hang up once they are finished.

What you will need to make Halloween window decorations:

  • Paint brush and watercolours or fingerpaint

  • An old cardboard box in different colours

  • Stick on googly eyes

  • Scissors and a pencil

Below we have put together step-by-step instructions on how to make Halloween window decorations:

  1. Paint your child's hand with their favourite colour, for example, green for witches or orange for pumpkins.

  2. Next, they need to put a handprint onto some white cardboard.
    Alternatively, you can outline your child's hands on coloured cardboard with a pencil and carefully cut out the shapes.

  3. You can then decorate the handprint with some googly eyes or cut out some other shapes to add further details to your window decorations, for example, a witch will have messy hair, a crooked nose and a pointed witch's hat.

  4. You can then attach the finished works of art to a string or hang them up individually as window decorations.

Quick Halloween decorations: making pumpkin decorations out of conkers

Enjoy the autumnal weather by going for walks and collecting conkers. This is a great way to spend some time outside in the fresh air on a dry autumnal day. When the weather is bad, you can then use the collected conkers to make some unique looking Halloween decorations, such as pumpkins.

What you will need to make Halloween window decorations:

  • Conkers

  • Orange and white acrylic paint

  • Paint brush

  • Black marker pen

Below we have put together step-by-step instructions on how to make some mini pumpkins out of conkers:

  1. Use a metal skewer to carefully make a small hole in each conker so that you can then put it on a toothpick. By putting the conkers onto a toothpick, it is easier to paint each side.

  2. Paint the conkers with a base colour.

  3. When the base colour is fully dry, carefully paint a pumpkin or ghost face onto the conker using a black marker pen. Younger children may need a little bit of help with the trickier parts.

Halloween crafts: bat and monster Halloween themed tin can toss game

This clever DIY idea is not only fun to make, but it can also be used as a fun game for Halloween on a spooky night.

What you will need to make this fun Halloween game:

  • Some empty tins

  • Different coloured acrylic paints

  • Spray paint (if necessary)

  • Paint brush

  • Black cardboard

  • Scissors and a pencil

  • A hot glue gun

Below we have put together step-by-step instructions on how to make this fun game for Halloween:

  1. Wash the empty tins thoroughly and leave them to dry.

  2. Next, apply the base colour, which is an ideal task for children who can paint on the colour using a brush. If you would like to save a little bit of time you can also spray the tins with spray paint.

  3. You can then paint on the scary faces with a brush once the base colour has dried. Here are some easy ideas for scary faces: orange for pumpkins, grey or green for monsters, white for ghosts or mummies and black for cats or bats.

  4. Here is the last step for making a spooky bat. Start by cutting out two bat wings and two small ears from some black cardboard. Then attach them to the sides of the box by using a hot glue gun; however, make sure that an adult always does this part. Finish off by adding some round googly eyes and some pointed vampire teeth.

Tip: Sharp parts of the tin should be covered with some sticky tape or duct tape before letting your children use them.

Conclusion: fantastically spooky Halloween decorations made easy

Making decorations for Halloween will really make you and your children look forward to it. Getting creative is also a great way to keep children busy on a rainy day in autumn. You will only need a few things for the spooky and fantastic looking Halloween decorations. However, when using upcycled materials such as empty tins or jars make sure to always wash them out thoroughly and leave them to dry. It is a good idea to do this a couple of weeks before Halloween to avoid stress. Once you have prepared everything, you can get creative and make some fantastically spooky looking Halloween decorations with your children!

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