Fall is just around the corner, and with the cooler weather comes more inside time for the little ones. Naturally, they're going to need something fun and creative to keep them busy. Help your kids prepare for Halloween by constructing these adorable craft projects! They're easy and fun to make and the kiddos will love displaying them for the holiday.

Egg Carton Spiders

What you will need:

Cardboard egg carton

Pipe cleaners

Poster paint

Elastic thread

Something to poke small holes

Instructions:

Cut the egg cups out of a cardboard egg carton. Cut pipe cleaners into 3 inch sections. To make each spider, poke four pipe cleaners through each cup sideways. Bend the ends to look like eight spider legs. Paint the spiders black or in any wildly creative way you want! After the paint has dried, attach a length of elastic thread to the middle of each spider. Have fun holding your thread and bouncing your scary spider up and down as you take it for a walk!

Plastic Bag Ghost

What you'll need:

White plastic trash bags

Black marker

Balloons

Some string

Scissors

Masking tape

Instructions:

Blow up/inflate the balloons and cover each one with a trash bag. With the string, gather and tie each bag under the balloon to make a head. Using your markers, draw a spooky face on the trash bag. Be as creative as you can-make a scary face or a funny face. Whatever you want! Attach a piece of string to the top of your ghosts and display them all around your house and yard.

Having a Halloween party, or just want something fun to adorn your table this season? These friendly spiders are easy to make and fun to look at.

Age 7 and up

This project is rated AVERAGE to do.

What You Need

Styrofoam ball, approximately 4" in diameter

Purple acrylic paint

Sponge applicator

2 large wiggle eyes

Hot glue

9 black chenille sticks

Colorful craft gems OR purple sequins and sequin pins

Halloween Puppets

Dress each one of these fun and colorful ghosts in fancy attire and have fun pretending you are the Ghost Host!

Age 5 and up

This project is rated EASY to do.

What You Need

6 large craft sticks

1 sheet of white felt

White craft glue

12 medium wiggle eyes

Colorful craft gem circles or buttons

Glittery chenille sticks

1 sheet of black sparkly felt

Scissors

What You Do

Cut out simple ghost bodies from the white felt and glue them to the craft sticks.

Use your imagination to create clothing and accessories such as skirts, vests, bow ties, and hair bows for your ghoul friends. Cut short pieces of chenille stems as crazy hair or as a rim to a top hat.

Glue clothing and accessories to the white felt. Use craft gem circles or buttons to further decorate.

Use black felt for clothing, hair and mustaches.

Glue on wiggle eyes and allow everything to lay flat and dry.

Have a ghoul party!

Helpful Hints

Use simple shapes to create clothing. Triangles make wonderful skirts, and rectangles with a triangle cut at the top finishes off the upper part of the dress. Larger triangles can be put together at the points to create bow ties and vests.

Use felt or chenille sticks for hair. If you have yarn lying around, this makes great hair as well!

Have a puppet show at home by having kids hide behind the couch and provide a show for the rest of the family.