25 Easy Halloween Crafts for Toddlers and Preschoolers

You’ll need

Clear contact paper, painter's tape, short pieces of yarn, large paper spiders

Steps

Tape a sheet of contact paper to the wall sticky side out, at toddler height. Hand over yarn pieces and paper spiders and let your toddler press everything on to "build" a web.

You’ll need

White washable paint, black paper, a wet washcloth, a black marker

Steps

Paint the bottom of your child's foot white and press it heel-down onto black paper. The heel is the ghost's head. Once it's dry, draw on eyes and a mouth.

You’ll need

Black washable paint, orange or white paper, a white crayon or paper circles for eyes

Steps

Paint your child's palm and four fingers (not the thumb) and press. Turn the paper around and press the same hand again, palms overlapping, for eight legs. Add eyes.

You’ll need

An orange paper pumpkin, black and yellow dot stickers (about 3/4 inch)

Steps

Draw eye, nose, and mouth outlines on the pumpkin. Your toddler peels dot stickers and fills in the shapes.

You’ll need

Paper lunch bags, scraps of colored paper, glue sticks, markers

Steps

The bottom flap of the bag is the monster's mouth. Kids glue on eyes, teeth, horns, and hair any way they like.

You’ll need

Coffee filters, washable markers (orange, yellow, red), a spray bottle of water, green paper

Steps

Kids scribble all over a flat filter, then spritz it with water and watch the colors bleed together. When it's dry, scrunch the top and add a green paper stem.

You’ll need

Equal parts shaving cream and white school glue, black paper, a craft stick or brush

Steps

Mix the shaving cream and glue in a bowl. Kids spread it in ghost shapes on black paper. It dries puffy overnight. Add eyes the next day.

You’ll need

Orange construction paper, a pumpkin outline on paper, a glue stick

Steps

Kids tear orange paper into small pieces and glue them inside the pumpkin outline like a mosaic.

You’ll need

Pinecones, black paint, black pipe cleaners cut in half, paper eyes

Steps

Paint the pinecone black and let it dry. Twist four pipe cleaner halves around the middle to make eight legs, then bend the legs and add eyes.

You’ll need

A simple person shape cut from cardboard, white yarn, tape, a marker

Steps

Tape the yarn end to the back. Kids wrap the yarn around and around the cardboard until it's covered. Tape the end and draw two eyes peeking out.

You’ll need

Orange, black, and purple paper strips, a glue stick or tape

Steps

Make one loop for each day until Halloween, linking each new strip through the last. Each morning, your child tears off one link.

You’ll need

A paper plate with the center cut out, a hole punch, yarn with tape wrapped around one end, a paper spider

Steps

Punch holes around the rim. Kids lace yarn back and forth across the hole to make a web, then tape a spider in the middle.

You’ll need

White paper, a white crayon, watercolor paint, a brush

Steps

You or your child draws ghosts with the white crayon. They're nearly invisible. Kids paint over the page with watercolors and the ghosts appear.

You’ll need

A black or purple paper house shape, yellow paper squares, white paper, a glue stick, safety scissors

Steps

Glue yellow "lit" windows onto the house. Kids cut or draw little ghosts, bats, and cats to peek out of each window.

You’ll need

Black cardstock, white glue, table salt, watercolors, a dropper or brush

Steps

Draw a web in glue (do this part yourself for younger kids). Sprinkle salt over it and shake off the extra. Touch a wet brush full of watercolor to the salt and watch the color travel along the lines.

You’ll need

A cardboard triangle, yellow, orange, and white yarn, tape

Steps

Starting at the wide end, kids wrap yellow yarn, then orange, then white at the tip. Tape each color's end on the back.

You’ll need

A paper plate, black paint or marker, paper triangle ears, a craft stick, tape

Steps

You cut the eyeholes. Kids color the plate, glue on ears, and draw whiskers. Tape a craft stick at the bottom as a handle.

You’ll need

Orange paper pumpkins, black paper triangles, circles, squares, and crescents, a glue stick

Steps

Kids choose shapes to make the face: triangle eyes, a crescent smile, a square tooth. Make three or four pumpkins with different moods.

You’ll need

Orange or purple paper, safety scissors, tape, a paper strip for a handle

Steps

Fold the paper in half lengthwise. Kids cut slits from the fold toward the open edge, stopping about an inch short. Unfold it, roll it into a tube, tape it, and add a handle.