Do you remember Halloween as a kid? The thrill of picking out pumpkins, carving jack-o'-lanterns, dressing up in costumes that were too cute to spook, and, of course, the sugar rush from trick-or-treating…
It felt magical! But now, as eco-conscious adults, the waste that Halloween brings each spooky season is a different kind of scary.
Fortunately, there are plenty of fun ways to make Halloween special at home, without piling up plastic packaging and polyester costumes. With a bit of creativity, household items and natural materials gathered from fall walks can make for cool craft projects. Along with some so eco-friendly craft kits, we’ve put together ideas for 25 Halloween crafts for kids.
From home decor to face paints, these craft ideas are easy and fun, with options for all ages. Ready to have some skele-fun?
Contents
The Real Scary Stuff! Halloween Waste
Brace yourself for the frightening truth about Halloween trash:
- Candy wrappers: Nearly 600 million pounds of Halloween candy is bought each year in the U.S., which comes out to an unimaginable amount of candy wrapper waste.
- Synthetic Costumes: Almost 85% of Halloween costumes end up in landfills, and many store-bought costumes are made from non-biodegradable materials.
- Pumpkin Waste: 18,000 pumpkins are sent to rot in toxic landfills that release greenhouse gases into the air
Before we get on to the crafty fun, here are some quick tips for reducing your Halloween waste this year:
- Home-baked treats: Opt for homemade goodies to cut down on packaging waste and add a personal touch. It can be as simple as mixing rice crispies and melted chocolate into little balls, then leaving them in the fridge to harden!
- DIY Costumes: whether it’s borrowing Dad’s old shirt or repurposing an old bed sheet, make a memorable costume from materials you already own.
- Re-Purposed Pumpkins: Instead of tossing your pumpkin in the trash, consider composting it or using it for homemade pumpkin puree or soup.
Now that’s out of the way, let’s get crafting!
Sustainable Craft Essentials
The great thing about arts and crafts is you don’t need lots of new things to make it fun - the whole point is to nurture your kid's imagination, so start thinking creatively with what you already own!
That said, there are some unsustainable craft materials to avoid, and some eco-friendly and non-toxic essentials you might want to consider for a planet and child-safe.
Art and crafts materials to avoid:
- Glitter - Often made from tiny pieces of plastic, glitter can contribute to microplastic pollution.
- Googly eyes - these are also often made from plastic, not to mention they’re a choking hazard for young children.
- Foam sheets - often made from polystyrene or other non-biodegradable materials, foam sheets can end up in landfills where they take a long time to decompose.
- Synthetic paints - Some paints contain harmful chemicals and solvents that can be damaging to the environment.
- Non-recyclable glue stick - Many glue sticks are made from synthetic polymers that are not easily recyclable.
Eco-friendly essentials:
25 Easy Halloween Crafts For Kids
These Halloween crafts for kids are either made from materials you can find around the house and repurpose, zero waste materials that will decompose or wash away, or use Earth Hero’s sustainable craft kits. Take your pick!
Repurposed Material Crafts
1. Scary Spiders
Repurpose: Egg Cartons
How to: Cut egg cartons into sections, paint them black, add yarn legs, and glue on googly eyes. Hide them around the house for some unexpected scares!
2. Graveyard Scene
Repurpose: Cardboard Shoe Box
How to: Cut out tombstone shapes from the cardboard lid, paint them gray, and add spooky names and dates with markers. Place them inside the box to create a mini graveyard scene.
3. Tin Lanterns
Repurpose: Tin Cans
How to: Clean and remove labels from tin cans, punch holes to create spooky designs, and place a candle or LED light inside. Be sure to supervise your kids when punching the holes.
4. Trick-Or-Treat Bags
Repurpose: Paper Bags
How to: Design your own trick-or-treat bags by painting paper shopping bags with a Halloween design. Fill them with treats or small toys for Halloween night!
5. Spooky Mummies
Repurpose: Toilet Paper Rolls
How to: Paint empty toilet paper rolls white, add eyes and mouths with markers or stickers, and glue scrap pieces of paper or bandages around them. Hang them with string for a spooky effect.
Check out these cool creations from Glue Sticks & Gumdrops!
6. Frankenstein Creations
Repurpose: Magazines and Newspapers
How to: Cut out people and objects from old magazines and newspapers to create a Frankenstein-style character…or encourage your kids to work together to create their mismatched monster!
7. Monster Puppets
Repurpose: Cereal Boxes
How to: Cut and paint cereal boxes to create monster faces. Add eyes, teeth, and other features using recycled materials, and pop your hand inside for a cool puppet show.
8. Jack-O-Lantern Jars
Repurpose: Glass Jars
How to: Paint glass jars orange with jack-o'-lantern faces, and place LED candles inside to create festive lanterns.
9. Sock Puppet Horror Show
Repurpose: Odd and old socks
How to: Add button eyes, yarn hair, and fabric scraps for teeth and tongues. These sock puppets can be decorated with recycled materials to create your creepy cast for a sock puppet horror show!
10. Ghost Garland
Repurpose: Yogurt Pots
How to: Paint empty yogurt pots white, add googly eyes and spooky faces, then string them together to create a ghostly decoration.
11. Classic Ghost Costume
Repurpose: Old Bed Sheets
How to: Go back to the classic Halloween craft for kids and cut eye holes in old bed sheet. Add fun accessories like hats or scarves for a personalized touch, and you’ve got yourself a fun costume..It never gets old!
12. Bat Magnets
Repurpose: Bottle Tops, Old Cardboard
How to: Paint bottle tops black, draw on eyes, and attach cardboard wings. If you have magnets, stick them on the back; otherwise, use them as cute tokens or decorations.
We love these bat magnets by I Heart Arts 'n Crafts!
13. Pumpkin Patch Sensory Bin
Repurpose: Dried Beans and Recycled Paper
How to: Fill a shallow container with dried beans or rice as a base. Cut small pumpkin shapes out of recycled paper or cardboard, and paint them orange. Hide the pumpkins in the beans, and let kids "harvest" them by digging through the bin with spoons or their hands.
Zero-Waste Crafts
14. Leaf Garland
Collect colorful autumn leaves and string them together to make a natural garland for decorating doorways or mantels.
15. Alien Slime
Mix 1/2 cup of cornflour with 18-20 teaspoons of water and add food coloring or natural color for a gooey alien slime. Store it in an old mason jar for fun sensory play.
16. Spider Web Wreath
Cut a donut shape out of recycled cardboard, then glue on fallen twigs to create a spider web effect. Add fake spiders and webbing for extra spookiness.
17. Haunted House Welcome
Chalk pavement outside your home with spooky messages or haunted house designs to greet trick-or-treaters. Here are some we love…
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Witch way to the candy?
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Come in for a fang-tastic time!
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Ghouls just wanna have fun!
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It’s frightfully fun in here!
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We’re just Creep-ing it real
18. Witch Brooms
Collect fallen twigs and bundle them together with string to create miniature witch brooms for decoration.
19. Pumpkin & Ghost Veggie Prints
Cut potatoes or apples in half to create pumpkin stamps and carve simple faces into them. Use carrots cut into oval shapes for ghost prints. Dip them into eco-friendly paint and stamp them onto recycled paper to create a Halloween design.
20. Pumpkin Seed Trees
After carving pumpkins, clean and dry the seeds, then paint them in various fall colors. Draw a tree shape on a large piece of recycled paper, and let your kids add the seeds as falling leaves.
Use this one by Happy Toddler Playtime for inspo!
Sustainable Craft Supplies
21. Face-Paint Creations
Product: EcoPiggy Face Paint
How to: From cute cat whiskers to spooky zombies, create face paint designs with EcoPiggy's natural face paint.
22. Jack-O-Lantern Beeswax Candle
Product: Natural Beeswax Candle-Making Kit
How to: Use beeswax sheets to create simple candles to place inside your jack-o-lanterns or around a dimly lit room for a haunted house vibe.
23. Eco-Glitter Magic
Product: EcoPiggy Eco Glitter
How to: Use eco-glitter to add a magical sparkle to your Halloween costumes, decorations, or face paint. Safe for both your skin and the environment.
24. Eco-Dough Monster Mash
Product: Make Your Own Eco-Dough
How to: Have fun making your own colorful dough and create spooky shapes and characters like ghosts, bats, and monsters. Let the kids get creative with this safe and sustainable dough.
25. Bath Time Bats
Product: Honeystick’s Ultimate Bath Fun Set
How to: Turn bath time into a Halloween scene by drawing bats, pumpkins, and spooky faces on the tub with beeswax crayons and bath color drops. Easy to clean and great for some festive creativity.
There you have it! Days of spooky fun, with easy and eco-friendly Halloween crafts for kids.
Witching You a Happy Halloween from Earth Hero!
