Halloween, with its spooky yet enchanting stories of witches and goblins, transforms the world into a realm of imagination. But there’s more to the festive Halloween spirit than just candy and costumes. It’s the perfect opportunity for some Halloween fun with crafts to make memories with your little ones, memories that’ll last for a long time. Halloween crafts for toddlers can be fun for both children and parents.
These Halloween activities nurture creativity and aid in the development of their fine motor skills as they cut, glue, and decorate various materials. Don’t stress much on the end product; it’s the excitement, giggles, and learning along the way that matter.
With simplicity and safety in mind, dive into these fun, age-appropriate, and easy Halloween craft ideas for toddlers.
Easy Pumpkin Painting
No need for knives! Pumpkin painting is an easy Halloween craft and an enjoyable activity involving toddlers using non-toxic paint to decorate pumpkins with different colors and patterns.
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Just provide your little one with a pumpkin as a canvas and some black paint. From polka dots to cute faces, you’ll be astounded by how each pumpkin transforms into a unique masterpiece.
Glowing Ghost Balloons
Among the range of ghost crafts, here’s a two-in-one craft that doubles as room decor! Take some white balloons and draw spooky ghost faces on them. Before inflating, insert a glow stick in each one.
Once they’re inflated and up, you have floating specters that provide a soft, eerie glow to enchant your toddler during bedtime.
Ghostly Handprints
Every tiny hand has a story; those small hands can also make cute ghostly figures. All you have to do is dip those pudgy little hands in non-toxic white paint, stamp them on black paper, and add googly eyes and screaming mouths.
Voilà! A phantom handprint and some memorable moments of Halloween!
Handprint Spiders
Handprint spiders are another fascinating Halloween craft that requires tracing the toddler’s hand on black construction paper to make the spider’s body. When the paint dries, attach pipe cleaners as legs and use a glue stick for sticking.
This craft allows children to explore different textures while creating the spider artwork of their choice.
Paper Plate Frankenstein
Bring Frankenstein along for your Halloween celebrations (not literally!).
Paint a paper plate with some green, non-toxic paint. Add some wild black hair, two bewildered googly eyes, and a zigzagging stitched mouth.
Frankie’s ready for a Halloween debut! It’s going to be so much fun.
Paper Plate Ghosts
Since we’re on paper plates for Halloween crafts for toddlers, how about paper plate ghosts?
It’ll involve cutting out ghost shapes from white paper plates and allowing your toddlers to paint or color them. Add some googly eyes or white yarn for hair to make it look more interactive.
Popsicle Stick Spiders
Have these creepy critters weave a web of creativity.
Take some popsicle sticks (or craft sticks) and color them or paint them black. Then, glue them together with hot glue to make star-like legs, use a black pom-pom for the body, and finally, stick googly eyes for a surprised arachnid look.
Don’t forget to give your new eight-legged friend a lovely name.
Creepy Pipe Cleaner Creatures
Are you worried about the fuzzy wires being safe for kids? You’ll be glad to know that they’re versatile AND safe!
Twist and turn colorful pipe cleaners together to make ghoulish figures, mythical creatures, or abstract Halloween-inspired shapes. Pair them with buttons, beads, and googly eyes for added pizzazz.
Miniature Witch Hats
There’s something amusing about giving toys a Halloween makeover. It also makes for some cute Halloween crafts.
Fashion tiny witch hats from black paper and jazz them up with sequins, glitter, or ribbons. Place them onto dolls, action figures, or even those cuddly teddy bears and watch the transformation.
Your toddler’s playtime just got spookier!
Mummy Wrapped Cans
Here’s your chance to do your bit for the planet by upcycling!
Grab some empty cans from your pantry, and use white bandages, yarn, or white tissue paper to wrap them up. Don’t forget those googly eyes to peek through.
This is a fantastic craft idea, and your little mummy can double as a cute pencil holder or candy stash.
Jack o’Lantern Faces
Jack o Lanterns make excellent Halloween crafts for toddlers, who are like tiny Picassos waiting to be unleashed.
Cut out pumpkin shapes from bright orange paper. Give your toddler some pre-cut black shapes, like squares, crescents, and triangles. Watch in awe as they delightfully assemble whimsical Jack-o’-lantern faces, each with a unique personality.
Pumpkin Seed Mosaics
If you’ve been carving pumpkins, don’t throw away the seeds just yet. Dry and paint them in vibrant autumnal colors.
Let your toddler create fun Halloween crafts by gluing them onto card stock. They can create abstract mosaics or fun Halloween patterns.
Candy Corn Collages
Some things scream Halloween, including candy corn.
Craft the iconic candy corn shape using colored paper and let your little artist collage them on a canvas or bigger paper. Take this opportunity to also teach them patterns using different-sized candy corns—big, small, and upside-down—there are endless possibilities!
Toilet Paper Roll Mummies
Mummy crafts make exciting Halloween craft ideas, too.
Make toilet paper roll mummies by wrapping toilet paper rolls with strips of crepe or white tissue paper. Add googly eyes to give them a spooky look, and your DIY mummy is ready to haunt your home.
Footprint Bats
If hands can be ghosts or Frankenstein, feet can be bats!
Dip those tiny feet in black, non-toxic paint and print them on orange or purple paper. Add some googly eyes, and behold—a colony of adorable bats right in the middle of your living room!
Halloween Silhouette Scenes
Shadows seem more eerie during Halloween than usual, but they can also be used to fuel young kids’ narrative skills and some interesting Halloween crafts.
Cut out haunted houses, witches on broomsticks, or scampering black cat shapes and stick them on contact paper. The setting sun will cast shadows, and you can make up stories with your little one about each silhouette for unforgettable Halloween tales.
Jackins, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Tissue Box Monsters
Anything and almost everything that generally appears as trash can be repurposed for craft-y activities, including monster crafts. This includes those empty tissue boxes with oval openings; they aren’t trash but little monsters waiting to be brought to life.
Let your child decorate these boxes using acrylic paint and masking tape. Once they’re done, they can even feed these monsters toys, trinkets, or their candy stash!
Edible Pumpkin Playdough
Nothing can beat combining sensory play with a culinary twist!
Blend canned pumpkin with cornstarch and a dash of pumpkin spice for some squishy, edible playdough. As you and your child mold and shape this playdough, the delightful scent of autumn will fill the air, adding an irresistible factor to playtime.
Glow-in-the-Dark Slime
Make your Halloween a bit more squishy and squealy with some DIY slime. This can easily be one of the best toddler Halloween crafts for the spooky season.
You can start off with a basic slime recipe combining clear glue, baking soda, and saline solution. Then, add a sprinkle of non-toxic glow-in-the-dark powder for the magic touch. This luminous concoction will have your toddler overjoyed come nighttime. Plus, that stretchy texture is wonderful for sensory play ideas.
Don’t forget to store the slime in an airtight container to keep it fresh.
Felt Halloween Masks
And for the grand finale, assist your toddler in designing Halloween masks.
Ghosts, vampires, witches, pumpkins, cats—craft them out of felt and elastic bands, and there you have it: an instant Halloween prop or costume for any Halloween party.
Nature’s Halloween Masks
Instead of using felt, you can harness the beauty of autumn leaves. This craft starts with a nature walk, where you and your toddler gather shaped and colored leaves.
After you get back home, attach these leaves to a sturdy paper plate or card stock, positioning them as masks, crowns, or fanciful feathers. This is a delightful way to appreciate nature’s fall palette while creating a one-of-a-kind Halloween mask.
Things to Keep in Mind for Halloween Crafts For Toddlers
As entertaining as these craft ideas may seem, parents must remember a few things.
Flickr Image by San José Public Library
Choice of Activity: Choose age-appropriate Halloween crafts for toddlers. Consider using simple materials such as black construction paper, foam shapes, stickers, and non-toxic paints.
Choice of Material: Most craft ideas can be executed using simple materials that are easily accessible, making them a budget-friendly option.
Where to Do It?: These Halloween arts can be done at home or in preschools/daycares as part of Halloween-prep activities.
A New Experience: Toddlers might be surprised by the different textures of craft materials, like pipe cleaners or cotton balls. Such sensory experiences can enhance their creativity and engagement in the activity.
Safety First: Don’t forget to prioritize safety when involving toddlers in Halloween craft activities. Use child-safe scissors with rounded edges and non-toxic art supplies. And use a hot glue gun only under adult supervision.
Supervise your toddlers during the crafting process to ensure they don’t put potentially harmful or small objects into their mouths.
Assist Your Toddlers: You may have to assist your toddlers while completing certain steps of the craft activity, especially when using hot glue or cutting with scissors. This provides a bonding opportunity between parent or caregiver and child while also promoting problem-solving skills and teamwork.
Positive Outcomes: Halloween crafts allow toddlers to express themselves creatively by making choices about shapes, colors, and decorations. This helps boost their self-confidence and sense of accomplishment.
Such activities can also teach basic concepts like shapes, colors, and counting while being enjoyable for the little ones.
Start Crafting Memories!
Crafts are a fun Halloween activity to engage your toddlers in the festive spirit beyond being just trick-or-treaters. Whether you go for a free printable or have fun decorating paper plate ghosts, pumpkin painting, and handprint spiders, these can be enjoyed by young children (and adults alike).
Easy Halloween crafts for toddlers promote creativity and fine motor skills while also creating lasting memories for the Halloween season.
As the spooky season wraps up, these craft items can find their places on refrigerators, shelves, and walls, with the memories lingering. Each craft is a testament to your toddler’s growing years, creativity, and the special bond you share.
Here’s to glitter everywhere, sticky fingers, and the pure joy that comes with the best Halloween crafts for toddlers. Happy crafting and a spook-tacular Halloween!
