Halloween Crafts for Kids

Halloween is a great time to let kids get creative with crafts. Crafts can help you decorating for a kids' party or just add a little Halloween fun to your home. Here are some very basic craft ideas you can try with your kids around Halloween.

The Monster Mash
supplies: basic glue, blank construction paper; string or thread; scissors; old magazines, newspapers and/or junk mail, crayons. Give your scissor-capable kids a stack of old magazines and ask them to cut out facial features, hair and limbs from old magazines, newspapers and/or junk mail. If possible, assign each kid one of these tasks to do solo. If you're kids can't cut yet, do it yourself the day before. Once you have all the random parts cut out, mix them all up and let the kids go wild playing Dr. Frankenstein. Let them mismatch eyes, give their monster five legs, do whatever they want. Afterward, ask them to tell you all about the monster they've created!

Haunted Gingerbread House
supplies: frosting, food coloring (optional), graham crackers or gingerbread, miscellaneous candies including some Halloween specific. Who says gingerbread's only for Christmas? Just ditch the candy canes and red & green for Halloween candy like candycorns and other black & orangey candies. Help your kids as needed to assemble their house using frosting to glue the graham cracker or gingerbread (if you're in the mood to bake it..) together into a house. If you like, pre-dye white food coloring orange or black. Then let the kids attach their candies all over their house, going for the spookiest or yummiest effect. Or keep the house blank and attach candy when you get home from trick-or-treating.

Halloween Mobile
wire hanger, yarn, scissors, markers or crayons, white construction paper This is a simple Halloween craft and one your kids may have done in some fashion in school, maybe for another holiday or for a book report. Help kids as needed cut out Halloween-theme pieces from the construction paper. These can include pumpkins, ghosts, black cats, witches, or random monsters of their own design. Let your kids design the fronts and backs of each piece. Pop a hole in the top of them, insert varying lengths of yarn through the holes, then hang on the wire hanger. There you go- great, homemade decoration. An alternative to this craft is to attach the colored cutouts to popsicle sticks and use them as puppets, bookmarks or cupcake toppers.

Thematic Trick-Or-Treat Bags
Paper grocery bags or old pillow case, scissors, markers or crayons, optional: stickers, feathers, sparklies, other craft items, glue. If your kid is one of those lucky few who actually knows what he or she wants to be for Halloween before ten minutes before you leave, why not have him or her design a trick-or-treat bag that goes with the costume? If your daughter's going to be a princess, for instance, just take a paper grocery bag, cut out handle holes in the top for easy carrying let her go to town princess-ifying it: pink swirls, flowers, hearts, maybe glue on some sequins or add some princess stickers. If you have an old, blank, pillowcase you don't mind giving up, let her do the same with that with appropriate materials. (Make sure if marker is involved, it's permanent if it's going to be near your child's fingers when they go trick or treating.) Your child will be the best accessorized trick or treater on the block, and you won't have had to spring for a overpriced manufactured bag!

Welcome Trick-Or-Treaters Sign
Poster board, crayons or marker; optional: glue, scissors, craft materials Your kids can help make your house the most welcoming on the block with this craft. Simple have them make and decorate a "Welcome Trick Or Treaters" poster for your front door. Chances are they will not need your help coming up with Halloween themed designs! If you've got a few kids, make a few signs, why not! These will not only make your house festive, but can be great keepsakes you can use again each year.

It's Big Foot!
Empty tissue boxes, white paper, tape or glue, crayons or markers, old newspaper, feathers, sequins, sparklies, glue, stickers, yarn, cotton, glue This can be a fun Halloween craft for younger kids for use indoors. Save some old tissue boxes. You'll need two per kids. Cover the boxes white paper. Then let your kids decorate them into monster's feet. Use rayons, markers, cotton, yarn, feathers, whatever you want. Stick newspaper in the boxes so the kids feet can fit snuggly inside and let them roam around being Big Foot for a while!

Of course, you know best what your kids do and don't need supervision with. And don't hesitate to join in the fun, too. Halloween crafts, like Halloween candy, aren't just for kids!