DIY Halloween Decorations, Arts and Crafts for Kids to Decorate Your Home

As Halloween approaches, it’s the perfect time to infuse your home with a little creativity and a lot of spooky fun! This season, why not turn your living space into a spooky home of ghoulish decorations crafted by your little ones? Halloween crafts for kids are not only a fantastic way to bond with family, but they also allow their imaginations to run wild. 

As Kim Bloomberg from Art Beat Box says, “As the days get shorter and the temperatures begin to cool, I can feel the excitement in the air. Fall has always been my favorite season because of the beautiful foliage, the crisp air, the apple picking, and Halloween. Now that I have two kids of my own, Halloween takes on an extra special meaning in our house. 

Halloween isn’t just about trick-or-treating and candy; it’s also a wonderful opportunity to be creative, slow down, and spend time with family. One of the best ways to do this is by making art together. I love making art that can be used in our home. This year, we got together as a family and made resin Halloween coasters. Each of us chose one item to include and the result made all of us happy!”

With a little glue, some colorful paper, and a dash of creativity, you can create a magical atmosphere that brings joy to your family and all your visitors. Whether it is an apartment in Seattle, a spooky new home in Savannah, or a rental home in New Orleans, with ideas from this Redfin article, let the spirit of Halloween inspire your projects, and enjoy the delightful process of crafting together!

Courtesy of Juice Box Homeschool

Crafting across ages, making Halloween fun for everyone

When it comes to Halloween arts and crafts, the great news is that there’s something for every age group! For the youngest crafters, around ages 3 to 5, simple projects like decorating paper pumpkins or making ghostly handprints can be both fun and easy. As kids grow older, around ages 6 to 10, you can introduce slightly more intricate activities, such as creating spooky masks or baking and decorating spider cupcakes. 

For tweens and teens, ages 11 to 16, you might consider projects that require a bit more skill and creativity, like carving pumpkins with detailed designs. Parent blogger Dave Taylor of Go Fatherhood piece of advice is, “Halloween is a great time to work on craft projects with your kids, and it’s easy to make something just the right level of spooky for any age, from 3 to 16. From experience, I recommend you pick a craft project that’s just a bit more challenging than what your children usually do, then be hands-on with them so that you all create something together. Spider cupcakes, ghostly toilet paper rolls, spooky paper plate masks, glow-in-the-dark slime, or that old standby, pumpkin carving, they’re all fun and add to the enjoyment of the season!”

Marybeth from Kids Crafts by Three Sisters adds, “When making Halloween crafts for kids it’s important to consider the child’s age and let them be involved in the decision-making process! For example, I would always pick two crafts, one that used unconventional items and a second that used items around the house to teach the concept of upcycling. Then I let them decide which one they wanted to make. Their two favorite Halloween crafts were the Cheesecloth Ghosts and the Halloween Cotton Ball Magnets. They had never seen anyone do it before plus they LOVED to get messy while letting their creativity flow. So there was not only a reward for making it with mom, but the next morning they would be able to see all their hard work and put it on display for everyone else to enjoy.”

Courtesy of Rediscovered Families

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Boo-tiful art projects, bring Halloween to life with creativity

Diving into art ideas to explore, Brittany of Daycare Detector says, “Start by choosing Halloween crafts that kids can personalize, like our egg carton ghosts, which allow for a wide range of creative expressions while keeping it fun for home decor. Use materials that are easy to handle and safe, such as non-toxic paint and simple household items, to keep the experience enjoyable and stress-free. To truly engage the little ones, let them choose their colors and fun little details for this craft. These projects not only add a festive touch to your home but also make crafting a memorable part of your family’s Halloween traditions.”

Amanda at Barly & Birch notes, “ At its heart, Halloween is all about letting the imagination run wild. Whether you prefer cute or creepy, it’s a great opportunity to make some things that convey the mystery and magic of October. Keep it simple by limiting the number of supplies you’re working with. Forcing yourself to work with less can sometimes lead to the most creative Halloween craft surprises!   

Try mixing familiar themes with unexpected colors or experimenting with a new supply to keep your Halloween art and craft-making fresh, exciting, and appealing for kids. You don’t have to look further than your recycling bin or a pile of scrap materials from costume-making for creative crafting supplies. 

Find the themes and activities you get the most enjoyment out of sharing together. Whether you’re inspired by classic movie monsters, October nature supplies, or prefer spontaneous process art activities – work with the styles, supplies, and subjects that bring you all the most joy! Showcase your kid-made or family projects front and center in special frames, a shadow box, or a place of honor. Nothing adds style, warmth, and heart to a space like kid-made masterpieces.”

Sharon Harding from Rediscovered Families shares, “For Halloween arts and crafts, focus on simple and festive projects that can double as home decor. Some ideas would include spooky wreaths, sun-catchers, garlands, and painted pumpkins. You could also make a batch of fun spiders and display them with your Halloween decorations. Another popular idea with kids is to make crafts that double as candy holders.

To make the experience more fun, allow kids to explore different materials and textures, such as felt, tissue paper, googly eyes, pipe cleaners, and glow-in-the-dark paint!

You can boost the excitement by creating a “Halloween art gallery” at home, where their creations are proudly displayed for all to see if you have space, set up a crafting station. Kids would love it if you also provided spooky-themed snacks and music while they work. Why not join them? Plus, involve them in decorating different rooms with their creations, making them feel like they’re part of your home’s spooky transformation!” 

Trisha Vuong, of the Juice Box Homeschool blog agrees with Sharon when she says, “One of my favorite ways to weave kid crafting into our home is by turning their creations into meaningful decor. This not only adds a personal touch to our space but also gives my kids a sense of ownership and pride, knowing they’ve contributed to the atmosphere of our family home.

Beyond crafts, I love incorporating children’s literature into our seasonal decor. The festive illustrations bring a whimsical charm, and scattering books throughout the house inspires my kids to pick them up and read during their free time!” 

Raelen blogger of Lesbian in the Treehouse states, “One of my favorite Halloween crafts for kids is “Monster Mason Jars.” This project is great because it lets kids explore their creativity without any limits or gendered expectations. All you need are mason jars, paint, googly eyes, and some fun extras like pipe cleaners and felt.

Kids can turn each jar into a unique monster — spooky, silly, or somewhere in between! It’s a simple craft that doubles as a fun decoration or a treat holder. I love how this activity encourages self-expression and lets kids explore all sides of themselves, which fits perfectly with the gender-creative approach I often talk about on my blog. It’s all about making space for every child to express who they are without the pressure to conform to outdated ideas of what’s ‘for boys’ or ‘for girls.’ ”

Elle Sitek of Beanstalk Mums suggests, “Make Halloween arts and crafts double as spooky decor by creating easy DIY projects like ghost garlands, pumpkin lanterns, or bat wall art. To keep kids engaged, turn it into a game by timing each activity or playing Halloween music while crafting. Encourage them to personalize each piece with their favorite colors or glitter to add a fun touch. Display their work proudly around the house to build excitement leading up to Halloween night.”

Joy from Anuri’s Journey shares her approach to creating her favorite arts and crafts idea, spooky paper lanterns.

“Kids can draw their favorite Halloween characters, like ghosts or bats, vampires or witches on black construction paper, cut out the shapes, and then glue them onto orange or purple paper cups. Any color of paper cups can do as far as it goes with the theme which is Halloween.

After this, they can insert a battery-operated tea light inside, and create fun and safe lanterns to light up the home and add some spooky decor to compliment the Halloween season. To make it more engaging, I suggest turning it into a storytelling activity. Have the kids come up with a short story about what they created.” Little Lions Learn’s Khara Sandoval suggests recycling as a great way to engage kids’ creativity. “Fall is a great time of year to explore creative ways to recycle things around us. Whether it’s tying up corn stalks, making fall wreaths out of dried leaves and pine cones, or stuffing old clothes to make a scarecrow, there is plenty of fun to be had! This fall, encourage your kids to use their imaginations to come up with fun new projects using old items around your house! Maybe, go on a nature walk and collect odd items to turn into a collage or fall-themed bouquet. Better yet, consider decorating a spooky front door with them!”