Halloween Paper Plate Crafts for Kids
Halloween is just around the corner. This means cooler evenings spent indoors, pumpkin flavored everything and paper crafts with the kids to get the whole family into the spooky-fun spirit of October.
Below are a few halloween crafting ideas for kids you can prepare ahead of time for those unscheduled days when it’s too rainy or cold outside. Having ready activities for kids ahead of time is a good idea.
To prepare these crafts for the kids, you’ll need a few supplies — some you probably already have around the house.
Paper plates — plain, uncoated
Ruler
Masking tape — light color
Decorative twine
Wooden popsicle sticks
Glue or hot glue
Cutting mat(s) — Working on a cutting mat prolongs the life of your tools and protects your table top. Use these as work space for the kids, too, for a quicker cleanup.
Decorative notions like paper, pom-poms, googly eyes, crayons, markers, ribbons, streamers or stickers.
Keep and store all sharp tools safely away from kids.
Paper Plate Pennants
This is an easy project to prepare ahead of time and it will keep the kiddos busy for a while.
For Parents: Cut the paper plates into six “slices.” Use a ruler and a craft knife for straighter, smoother edges. Next, on the back, reinforce the two top corners with a small piece of masking tape to prevent tears. Using the awl, create holes in the corners, about half an inch away from the edges. This will be used for the twine.
Once the kids are done decorating the pennants, string them up on the twine and hang up.
For Kids: Decorate using crayons, markers, googly eyes, paper scraps and letters in their favorite Halloween theme.
Paper Plate Masks
Another easy and fun project for the spooky season! Make impromptu costumes, photo booth masks or turn it into a game of theater.
For Parents: Cut out two circles for eyes towards the bottom of the top half of the plate. Use a craft knife like the K71 Index Finger Knife for a cleaner cut in the plate. Using scissors can bend or crinkle the plate surface. Then, using glue, attach the popsicle stick to the bottom of each plate. Center the stick between the two eye openings and use masking tape on the back side to reinforce.
For Kids: Create your favorite character or a wholly original one by decorating the plate.
Paper Plate Lanterns
Shop Cutting Mats
For Parents: Prepare the lanterns ahead by cutting the centers out of the paper plate, keeping the rim intact. This will be the front of the lantern.
To recreate the lanterns in the image, pre-cut paper strips, about 2.5” long and about half an inch wide. They don’t have to be perfect. In fact, they look better if they’re all slightly different. Then, cut out a large circle the size of the plate for the back. For the bat, cut out two bat wings and glue or staple to the circle.
Optional items for this project are small individual LED lights in order to light the lanterns up.
Once the front plate and the back plate are decorated, add a string loop at the top to hang up or carry. Optional step is adding the LED lights. Glue or tape down one or two LED lights on the edges so that they’ll be covered by the front plate. Make sure they’re secure and do not come loose or fall out. Lastly, add glue all around the edge rim of the bottom plate and glue the front plate to it. Press along the edges to assure a better grip.
For Kids: Decorate the front plate and a full back plate in a fun Halloween-themed design. Use crayons to draw a Halloween scene or color the surface. Add googly eyes, pom-poms or whatever craft materials you have to be creative!
To make the bat or pumpkin lanterns, glue the pre-cut strips to the rim of the front plate. Create a silly bat or pumpkin face on the pre-cut circle with googly eyes, stickers, crayons or markers.
Have fun and don’t forget to tag us in your pictures, @excelblades. We love to see your work!