From dressing up and trick-or-treating to ghosts and haunted houses, Halloween is, without a doubt, one of the greatest times to be a kid. And we can’t forget about the decorating! Although this tends to be more fun for the adults for the most part, decorating can totally be fun for the kids too! Take a look at this fun and simple Halloween decoration ideas to try out with the kiddos this year!
Visit Dollar Tree, Dollar General and Target (dollar corner!) for affordable materials to use for your Halloween DIY project and get started this weekend!
1. Black Cat Pumpkins
Brit + Co
For these, you have the choice of using real pumpkins or fake ones. Either one works just fine, as all you’re doing is painting and decorating the outside, and not carving them at all. All you need for this project is one or two pumpkins, depending on how many cats you want to make; black paint to coat the whole pumpkin with; felt to cut the nose and ears out of; googly eyes for the eyes, of course (or you can paint the eyes on if you’d rather); and lastly, a few pipe cleaners for the whiskers. Easy peasy! And not nearly as messy as carving a pumpkin!
2. Centerpiece of the Dead
Little Sloth
This is definitely one of the most simple decoration ideas. Just take the kids outside to find some dead tree branches, brush them off and let them dry out, and then stick them in a vase or a hurricane in the middle of the table! If you want, you can even spread some cotton - aka spider web - across the branches to give it an even spookier feel. A super easy and creepy centerpiece to go with the rest of your Halloween decor!
3. Cookie Cutter Pumpkin
Little Sloth
If your child is too young for the whole traditional pumpkin carving experience, the cookie cutter method is a great alternative. You’ll still have to do all the dirty work, like cutting the top off and scooping all the guts out, but after that, your child will be able to make a personalized jack-o-lantern without the cut risks! The child simply presses the cookie cutter where he or she wants it, and then you can use a hammer, if needed, to make the cookie cutter go all the way through the pumpkin. Repeat this with lots of different shapes, all around the pumpkin!
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4. Creepy Crawly Pumpkins
HGTV
For this one, you’ll probably want to stick with the fake mini pumpkins, as they are lighter in weight than the real ones. You can either use them as they are, or paint them black to give them more of a real spider effect. Then, glue four pipe cleaners going across the bottom of the pumpkin, and bend them into legs to hold the pumpkin up. Lastly, glue a bunch of creepy googly eyes to the pumpkin, or even some lentils with a black dot in the middle. When they’re all finished and dry, set them up all around the inside and/or the outside of your house.
5. Foam Bats
HGTV
This super simple craft only requires three things. A sheet of black foam, a piece of string, and some googly eyes. Simply cut out the shape of your bat from the sheet of foam, glue the googly eyes on, and then either glue a piece of string to the back of the bat or punch a hole through it and tie the string through the hole. It’s that simple. When it’s finished, you can hang these little guys anywhere - indoors or outdoors!
6. Mini Bat Pumpkins
blogs.babycenter.com
Another fun and easy mini pumpkin decoration for you and the kids! This time, you can use real mini pumpkins or fake ones, but you’ll definitely want to paint them black either way. After the paint is completely dry, add some wings cut out of craft foam or cardstock. As for the eyes, you can either go with the googly eyes again or let the kids show off their creative sides by painting on the eyes and a mouth.
7. Mummy Candy Holders
Nordic by Nature Blog
This is a great idea because you can use things you already have in the house! Simply gather up some old, empty cans from the recycling bin, along with some toilet paper or gauze, and a black marker (or googly eyes). After peeling the paper off the cans and cleaning them off, wrap the toilet paper or gauze around each can, adding a little bit of glue here and there so that the wrapping doesn’t fall off easily. Next, draw or glue some googly eyes on, and make a small hole on the toilet paper or gauze to look like a mouth. Lastly, throw a few pieces of candy in each can and keep them around the house until Halloween night, at which time you can give them away to trick-or-treaters!
With this fun and simple Halloween decoration ideas, your kids will have so much more to add to their already-existing Halloween entertainment! Keep in mind, there are lots of variations to each of the ideas listed here, so be creative and have fun with whatever you and the kids decide to do!
