Halloween Is A Creative Time
From costumes to house decorating, Halloween brings out the creativity in us. Youngsters can use their imaginations to come up with ghost stories or make potions out of mud. But if your kids claim they'll be ghosts after they die of boredom, get them to try one of these crafty activities.
1. Vampire Donuts
If you have a sweet fang, vampire donuts are a hit! You'll need costume fangs and icing to transform your donut into Dracula. They're easy and fun to make for kids of all ages. The end result is hilariously cute and a rewarding treat after an afternoon of decorating.
2. Mummy Dress Up
It's costume season! The kids don't have to wait until October 31st to play dress up. The kids can get mummified with old fabric scraps or a roll of toilet paper. A mummy costume is a simple Halloween activity that is bound to spark creativity and laughing fits.
3. Painted Pumpkins
Painting pumpkins is the perfect alternative to pumpkin carving if jack-o-lanterns are too advanced for your youngster. They can fully embrace a traditional Halloween activity with some paint and pumpkins. Find stencils online to use or let them wing it completely from their imagination.
4. Haunted Gingerbread House
Gingerbread houses aren't for Christmas if they're haunted! A gingerbread haunted house is Halloween's spin on a classic holiday treat. Find a kit online or at your grocery store, or create one from scratch. It's trick or treat season so candy decorations will be easy to come by.
5. Spooky Cookies
You can find cookie cutters in all sorts of Halloween-themed shapes. From bats to pumpkins, you can create spooky cookies that you decorate with sprinkles and icing. Use your favorite sugar cookie recipe to whip up these festive baked goods with help from your little baker.
6. Rock Monsters
Your little monsters can make stone replicas of themselves! With paint, they can transform found rocks into monsters, goblins, or any other creepy characters. Rock painting is an imaginative craft that needs little supplies and is a whole lot of fun.
7. Paper Bag Costumes
Making crafts from stuff around the house is very satisfying. Since it's costume season, making one from a paper bag is an ideal children's activity. With just a bag and a marker, kids can use their greatest imaginations to transform themselves into a robot or Frankenstein.
8. Donut Gourds
If they've already had too much sugar, you may want to skip the real donuts and try this instead. Paint gourds to look like tasty donuts. A donut gourd is an adorable twist on a traditional decoration and is a great alternative to pumpkin carving.
9. Witch's Spell Book
Tiny witches can transform journals and notepads into enchanting books of witchcraft. With paint, sequins, stickers, and any other scrapbook decor, you can create magic. Encourage them to come up with spells and potion recipes they can add to their books.
10. Mud Potion
Get your finest cauldron, it's the season for potion! Kids will use their greatest imaginations to whip up a witch's brew from ingredients in the backyard. With a bucket as a "cauldron" and a stick as a wooden ladle, they can stir a magic potion of dirt, acorns, leaves, and anything else they can scrounge off the grass.
11. Festive Face Painting
Halloween season is an excuse to get your face painted. Unless we're at a fair, it's not often that we paint our faces. Kids love to get in the spirit of Halloween and they can experiment with different characters they want to be.
12. Witch Lanterns
Repurpose old jars to light up your Halloween decor! Make this craft an outdoor activity as well. Send the kiddos on a wilderness exploration where they gather leaves that can be stuck to the jars. Additionally, you can cut out paper silhouettes of creepy crawlies and use Mod Podge to adhere the foliage and paper. Or, just use good old fashioned paint! Stick a candle inside and watch as the witchy lanterns turn aglow.
13. Spooky Twig & Pinecone Wreath
This is another craft that involves foraging in the woods first. Take the little crafters on a hunt for fallen sticks and pinecones that they can use to make the wreath. Cut a donut shape out of scrap cardboard to use as a base you can glue the twigs too. Make it extra spooky with faux webs and spiders!
14. Trick Or Treat Basket
Get the kiddos to decorate their own candy basket they can use for trick-or-treating. With a whicker basket, they can use accessories like ribbons and pipe cleaners to make spiders or other scary decor. With a plastic basket, they can use paint, glitter, or stickers to decorate the surface with.
15. Skeleton Dolls
Skeleton toys and decor are easy to find this time of year. Make your skeleton decorations unique by letting the kids play dress up with them. With old or thrifted clothes, they can dress them up into any characters they imagine them to be. Bring the skeletons back to life in style.
16. Pumpkin Goodie Bags
Whether you're hosting a party or want to level up your candy-giving on Halloween, pumpkin goodie bags are a delight. With orange fabric and green ribbon you can make little pumpkin sacks to hold candy. These adorable treat bags will keep little hands busy and make the cutest gifts.
17. Bedsheet Ghost
This one is a classic! Cut eye holes into an old white bedsheet and you've got yourself a ghost costume. A bedsheet ghost is a silly and fun costume activity in the spirit of Halloween. Kids can get involved in the creation and the imaginative playtime afterwards.
18. Halloween Night Sky
Create an interactive masterpiece that is spooky and fun. Hang up a piece of grey fabric or curtains to use as a night sky background. With felt bats and stars that you or them created, the kids can stick them to the fabric to create a scene that looks like the sky on Halloween night.
19. Halloween Activity Book
There is an abundance of Halloween-themed coloring and activity books you need to get your hands on. Activity books are easy to have on hand for when the kids are getting antsy. They can learn and color in the festive fall season.
20. Candy Corn Art
Let's be real–– candy corn is an attractive candy but it's not very tasty. It's made of sugar and food coloring and it's not wise to feed your children much of it. Instead of the sugar rush, use candy corn for decorations. The pretty candies can be easily glued and used in all sorts of crafts from pumpkin decorating to wreaths.