20 No-Mess Halloween Crafts for Young Children

As we all eagerly await mountains of candy, it’s always fun to get into the Halloween spirit by doing some crafting with the kids. Time to make some spooky ghosts or snaggletoothed jack-o-lanterns! Crafting projects are always fun while they’re happening, but the aftermath can be a huge mess that takes an entire afternoon to clean up.

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If you’re looking for some organized chaos, emphasis on the word organized, we’ve got some paint-free and minimally messy Halloween crafts for you and your kids to try. We’ve searched the internet and asked around and come up with 20 of our favorite Halloween crafting projects that won’t break the bank or require tons of prep and clean up. When you don’t have the time or energy to carve a pumpkin, turn to these delightful crafts.

Transform a toilet paper roll into a pumpkin lantern

Bust out the safety-scissors and let your kids get to snipping. This toilet paper roll turned-lantern is adorable and will be a blast for them to construct.

A masking tape mummy

A masking tape mummy is the perfect, quick craft to keep your kids occupied for a little bit. If you need to make a call or do some cleaning in another room, leave your kids to make a little mummy.

Turn a paper cup into a ghost

Give them googly eyes, some streamers, and a marker and see how your kids do making mini ghosts with a paper cup. The results are haunting.

Let them weave a spider web

Oh, the webs we weave! This fun paper plate, yarn, and crayon project takes a little prep. After you’ve helped punch holes in the plate, let your kids decorate it and then weave yarn to create a spider web.

Paperchain Halloween countdown

Your kids just want to know when they can finally go trick or treating! Let them keep track of the time by constructing a countdown to Halloween with paperchains.

Get batty with buttons and a clothespin

Let your kids build a bat from clothespins, buttons, and some construction paper. These little bats will be so cute clipped to all sorts of fun stuff from backpacks to curtains. They make great Halloween decorations.

A sensational Frankenstein monster bottle

Keep the kids occupied for hours with a sensory bottle! Recreate Frankenstein’s monster, “It’s alive, It’s alive!” with household items. You’ll need glitter, corn syrup, food coloring, construction paper, glue, an empty plastic bottle.

Let them plant a haunted forest

This craft will get the kids outside too! Put your kids in the yard and tell them to collect the spookiest twigs and leaves they can find. After they return from their scavenge, give them glue and googly eyes to create a spooky wooded scene.

The Curse of the Mummy returns

The trusted toilet paper roll makes a comeback! Crafting a mummy is so good for the little ones. Use toilet paper rolls and gauze to let the kids create a creepy mummy.

Create cotton ball ghosts

With some yarn, construction paper, and cotton puffs, your kids can create little cotton ghosts. They’re so cute hung around the house and the glue is the only thing you’ll have to worry about.

Creepy monster hands

Get ready for so many giggles with this dried bean monster hand! Your kids will love gluing on beans that look moles and warts.

Create a leafy Jack-O-Lantern

Here’s another crafting project that requires some time outdoors. Tell your kids to go collect the most beautiful leaves they can find outside and then use the leaves to create a jack-o-lantern with a clear bag and markers.

Get pumped with Halloween hand soap

Time to raid the dollar store for cheap, plastic Halloween decorations. Have your kids fill a handsoap bottle with the little trinkets and then add soap for a fun Halloween hand soap craft that they can enjoy the whole month of October.

Spooky spiders made of beads

Work together to create a beaded Halloween spider that will be fun to tease the other kids with! This cute little black spider comes together easily, but they might need a little help from an adult to pull it off.

A sunny monster

Suncatchers are fabulous little crafts for kids. Create a Frankenstein’s monster suncatcher to keep things bright.

Squeeze some pumpkin stress balls

Use whatever dried goods you have on hand (popcorn kernels, rice, lentils, etc) to make pumpkin stress balls. These are fun for kids to create and play with and even more fun for mom and dad to take a deep breath with.

Perfect pine cone bats

Tell the kids to find some pine cones and then transform them into little pine cone bats. These bats are so cute and they are a good excuse to get the kids outside for some fresh air.

Illuminated tealight ghosts

All you’ll need is some air-drying clay and tealight candles for these adorable illuminated ghosts. Put these on the mantle or in the bathroom as a little night light. Pro tip: those battery-operated tealights are the safest choice to light these little crafts.

Old faithful: the paper pumpkin

It may look simple, but kids really enjoy using scissors to create these paper pumpkins. This Halloween craft requires your child to cut and construct the ends of the paper just right to make a sphere.

A ghostly surprise in a cup

Making a peek-a-boo ghost is such fun for toddlers! Use the household items you have on hand for a simple, yet entertaining, Halloween craft. This is such a sweet little craft that is so fun to peek-a-boo with!