18 Halloween Crafts for Children That Are Actually Fun to Make

The best Halloween crafts for children are the ones that produce something they are proud of — a decoration for their room, a treat bag for trick-or-treating, or a gift for a grandparent. The projects below are organized by age and mess level so you can choose the right craft for the right child.

Prepare the workspace before starting. Most Halloween crafts involve paint, glue, or both.

Toddlers (Ages 2–4)

1. Handprint Ghost

Dip a child’s hand in white paint and press it onto black card. Add two small black dot eyes with a finger. The handprint becomes the ghost’s body. This is one of the most classic children’s Halloween crafts and takes about five minutes.

Use washable paint — it comes off skin and most fabrics easily.

2. Finger-Painted Pumpkin

Give a child a piece of orange card and let them finger-paint a pumpkin face using black paint. No template needed — the messier and more expressive, the better.

Use a smock or an old shirt to protect clothing.

3. Paper Bag Ghost

Stuff a white paper bag with crumpled newspaper, tie the top with a ribbon, and draw a ghost face with a black marker. Add a loop of ribbon for hanging. This takes about ten minutes and requires no paint.

Use a white paper lunch bag rather than a plastic bag.

4. Googly Eye Pumpkin

Paint a small foam pumpkin orange and let it dry. Give the child a selection of googly eyes and let them stick them on in any arrangement they choose. The more eyes, the better.

Use a foam pumpkin rather than a real one for a craft that lasts indefinitely.

Young Children (Ages 5–8)

5. Painted Rock Pumpkins

Collect smooth rocks and paint them orange with a brush. Add a black jack-o-lantern face with a fine brush or a marker. Seal with outdoor varnish spray. These make great garden decorations and gifts.

Choose rocks with a flat base so they sit stably.

6. Paper Plate Spider

Paint a paper plate black. Cut eight strips of black card for legs, fold them accordion-style, and attach them to the back of the plate. Add googly eyes and a smile. Hang it from a thread.

Accordion-folded legs look more realistic than flat ones.

7. Toilet Roll Bat

Paint a toilet roll tube black. Cut bat wings from black card and attach them to the sides. Add googly eyes and fold the top of the tube into two pointed ears. Hang it from a thread.

Make a mobile by hanging several bats from a stick at different heights.

8. Paper Chain Garland

Cut strips of orange and black paper and link them into a paper chain. Hang it across a window, a mantel, or a doorway. This is a classic craft that children can do independently once they understand the linking technique.

Use a glue stick rather than tape — it is easier for small hands.

9. Pumpkin Treat Bag

Decorate a brown paper bag with orange paint, a black jack-o-lantern face, and a green paper stem. Add a handle made from a strip of card. This is a treat bag the child can use for trick-or-treating.

Reinforce the handle with tape on the inside so it does not tear.

10. Mummy Jar

Wrap a glass jar in white yarn or strips of white fabric, leaving a gap for the face. Add two googly eyes. Fill with candy or use as a pencil holder. This is a simple craft that produces a useful result.

Use a jar with a wide mouth so it is easy to fill.

Older Children (Ages 9–12)

11. Carved Pumpkin

Carve a pumpkin with a child-safe carving kit. Let the child choose the design — a classic face, a geometric pattern, or a character. Light it with a battery tea light.

Use a child-safe carving kit with serrated plastic tools rather than sharp knives.

12. Decoupage Pumpkin

Apply torn pieces of tissue paper, newspaper, or patterned paper to a foam pumpkin using decoupage glue. Seal with a final coat of glue. The layered paper effect creates a textured, interesting result.

Use a foam pumpkin rather than a real one — decoupage lasts indefinitely on foam.

13. Halloween Slime

Mix white school glue with a small amount of contact lens solution and a few drops of orange or green food coloring to make Halloween slime. Add plastic spiders or googly eyes for extra effect.

Use contact lens solution containing boric acid — it is the activator that makes the slime work.

14. Sensory Bin

Fill a large bin with black beans, plastic spiders, small pumpkins, googly eyes, and a few scoops and cups. This is more of an activity than a craft, but it keeps younger children engaged for a long time.

Add a few drops of pumpkin spice essential oil to the beans for a seasonal scent.

15. Halloween Wreath

Attach foam pumpkins, plastic spiders, and ribbon to a grapevine wreath base using a hot glue gun. Let the child choose the arrangement. This is a craft that produces a decoration they can display in their room.

Supervise hot glue gun use — the tip gets very hot.

16. Painted Canvas

Give a child a small canvas and let them paint a Halloween scene — a haunted house, a pumpkin patch, a night sky with bats. Frame it and hang it in their room.

Use acrylic paint — it dries quickly and is easy to clean up.

17. Halloween Card

Fold a piece of card in half and decorate the front with paint, stickers, and markers. Write a Halloween message inside. This is a gift a child can make for a grandparent, a teacher, or a friend.

Use a card-weight paper rather than regular printer paper — it holds its shape better.

18. Boo Basket Assembly

Let the child assemble a boo basket for a friend or neighbor using a selection of crafts from this list — a painted pumpkin, a mummy jar, a paper bag ghost — plus a few pieces of Halloween candy. This teaches generosity and gives the child a sense of pride.

Let the child write the note and deliver the basket themselves.

Final Thoughts

The best Halloween crafts for children are the ones that give them creative freedom rather than asking them to follow a template exactly. Set up the workspace, provide the materials, and let them make their own choices. The result will be more meaningful — and more fun — than a perfectly executed craft that looks like the picture on the box.