Halloween Crafts for Kids: 7 Ideas That Really Work

Halloween is one of the best times of year for art projects with children — pumpkins, ghosts and bats are simple shapes, and kids know straight away what they want to make. We've picked 7 ideas that have worked in our studio: none needs special equipment, all give children something to be proud of, and they suit a range of ages.

For each one you'll find the age, the materials and step-by-step instructions.

1. Papier-mâché pumpkin

Ages: 6+ · Time: 2 sessions (drying in between)

Our Halloween classic. A papier-mâché pumpkin is light, sturdy and can sit on the windowsill all autumn.

Materials: a balloon, newspaper, wallpaper paste or flour and water, acrylic paints, brushes, a scrap of card for the stem

1. Blow up the balloon and cover it with newspaper strips dipped in paste — 3–4 layers, smoothing each with your hand
2. Leave it to dry completely, ideally overnight
3. Pop the balloon and pull it out through a small hole at the top
4. Press in the pumpkin's ridges with string, and roll a piece of card into a stem
5. Paint it orange — then let the children decide on patterns: dots, stripes, a face, or nothing at all

Tip: don't rush the painting. Damp papier-mâché dents under the brush.

2. Mexican calavera masks

Ages: 7+ · Time: 1.5 hours

Instead of scary masks, try colourful smiling skulls from the Mexican celebration Día de Muertos. It's a lovely chance to talk with children about how other cultures remember the people they love.

Materials: a blank white card or papier-mâché mask, acrylic paints, fine brushes, paper flowers, elastic

1. Start with a pencil sketch — the patterns should be symmetrical on both sides of the face
2. Paint colourful circles around the eyes, a flower on the forehead, hearts or spirals on the cheeks
3. Finally, glue on a crown of paper flowers

If you'd like to make them with us, we're running a calavera mask workshop at our Wilanów studio on 17 October.

3. Haunted house from a cardboard box

Ages: 6+ · Time: 2 hours

A shoebox or milk carton becomes a house with light glowing in its windows.

Materials: a cardboard box, scissors, black and grey paint, orange tissue paper or cellophane, cotton wool, a small LED light

1. Cut windows and a door in the box (an adult does this part)
2. Paint the house black or grey and add a card roof
3. Cover the windows from the inside with orange tissue paper
4. Add cotton-wool cobwebs, paper bats and ghosts outside
5. Put the LED light inside and switch off the room light

Tip: always use an LED light, never a real candle — card and tissue paper catch fire easily.

4. Gauze ghosts

Ages: 5+ · Time: 2 sessions

Ghosts that really stand up and look as if they're floating.

Materials: gauze or old white fabric, fabric stiffener or glue mixed with water, a bottle, a small balloon, cling film, a black marker

1. Put a balloon on top of the bottle as a head, and wrap it all in cling film
2. Drape the glue-soaked gauze over the bottle so it falls in folds
3. Once dry, lift the ghost off the bottle — the gauze stays stiff
4. Draw on eyes and a mouth

5. Toilet roll bats

Ages: 4+ · Time: 45 minutes

The simplest idea on the list — ideal for younger children and big groups.

Materials: toilet rolls, black paint, black paper, googly eyes, glue

1. Paint the roll black
2. Cut wings from black paper and glue them to the back
3. Fold the top edge of the roll inwards to make ears
4. Add the eyes — and hang them on a thread

6. Mummy jar lanterns

Ages: 5+ · Time: 1 hour

Materials: a jar, bandage or a strip of gauze, glue, googly eyes, an LED light

1. Wrap the jar in bandage, leaving gaps
2. Glue the eyes into one of the gaps
3. Put the LED light inside — the glow shines through the bandage

7. Stick and yarn spider web

Ages: 6+ · Time: 1 hour

A project that builds patience and hand skills — and looks great on a door.

Materials: 3 sticks or skewers, black or silver yarn, a pompom spider

1. Cross the sticks into a star and tie them in the middle
2. Wind the yarn around each stick in turn, working outwards from the centre
3. Finish by hanging the spider

How to choose an idea for your child

• For the youngest (4–5): bats and lanterns — quick, with simple steps
• For ages 6–8: the haunted house, ghosts and spider web
• For older children (7+): the papier-mâché pumpkin and calavera masks — they take patience, but the result is the best

Halloween at our studio

We teach all of these techniques — papier-mâché, cardboard building, mask painting — in workshops at our Wilanów studio, in small groups and in English. Take a look at our birthday projects or get in touch.