10 Easy Halloween Craft Ideas for Kids

Handmade Charlotte's silly skeleton turns a pom pom, string and paper straws into a dance party. With a little measuring this Halloween craft is great for school-aged kids or a team project after school. Watch him dance and make your own.

Decorating wood pumpkins that you can find at any craft supply store is an autumnal party take-home activity. Set each place at a table with washable black and white paint, glitter, a paintbrush, and an unfinished wood pumpkin for each mini. Amy Blessing used hollowed-out mini pumpkins, but small dishes or plates work too.

The next time you're on a neighborhood walk with the minis, gather a few leaves together and paint them black with washable paint. After they dry, use chalk or a white marker to create vampire faces on each leaf. Hide them in unexpected places like the bathroom mirror or tucked into a school book.

You probably have everything you need to make these silly scribble noodles from Handmade Charlotte. First, cook spaghetti noodles, then dye them with food coloring. Give kids time to explore the sensory experience of wet noodles, then shape the noodles into little monster piles. Let them dry on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper overnight.

Slice an apple in half and dip it in washable paint to make apple prints. Add googly eyes, witch hats, or pumpkin stems with paint to this toddler-friendly printmaking project from Studio DIY.

When stylist Ginny Branch couldn't find Halloween sidewalk chalk for her daughter, she whipped up her own with Halloween-themed baking molds. Mix 1 1/2 cups of warm water with 3 cups of Plaster of Paris until smooth. Add a few tablespoons of tempera paint, pour the colored mixture into the mold, and let dry completely before popping them out and head to the sidewalk. It will take about a day. Make a batch over the weekend to practice stirring and measuring with your minis.

Paper dolls but make it Halloween? This Newspaper Garland from Handmade Charlotte turns the Sunday paper into a series of repeating bats, ghosts, and pumpkins to hang from bunk beds or front stoops. All you need is the paper, tempera paint, and child-friendly scissors.

This play on words treat bag idea from Oh Happy Day is just the right amount of creepy for Halloween get-togethers or a DIY Haunted House or a non-candy trick-or-treat alternative. First, fill each bag with eyeballs, candies, toys, or erasers. Then, print out the template tag, cut it out, and attach it to the bag with a ribbon before handing them out to friends.

Skip the carving knives (and pumpkin guts) and break out the sparkly stickers instead. Just paint pumpkins pink and let littles go crazy with Meri Meri stickers in Halloween shapes that feel decidedly not spooky. Top your pumpkin with a witch hat, obviously.

Art director and illustrator Erin Jang created luminaries to make Halloween at home feel special for her two boys. She asked them to draw on each white paper bag with a black marker, then added an LED tea light and filled them with a few treats for them to find around the house, scavenger hunt style.

These genius wands from Oh Joy! light the way as the sun sets on Halloween night. Drop a small LED light into a balloon, fill with air and tie off. Tape the balloon to a skewer and drape with gauze. Add faces if yo'd like.