This fall, we can’t wait for outdoor adventures like pumpkin patches, trick-or-treating, and apple picking. In-between those high-energy activities, relax and get creative with these 11 fall crafts for kids and toddlers. The best part about these DIY crafts? They require very little equipment while still delivering the perfect way to get every family is the seasonal spirit.

11 Fall Crafts for Kids

Read on to learn more about these 11 homemade fall crafts.

1. Crafty Leaf Collection

Take a wagon ride around your local park or neighborhood to collect the most colorful and unique leaves your kids can find. Once you are home and ready to craft, pull out the tree’s treasure and pick your craft:

• If you have crayons on hand, try leaf rubbing. Add a blank piece of paper on top of the leaves then rub the crayon across the leaf to expose different textures and tracings.
• If you have a few googly eyes and paint, try this craft from Handmade Charlotte to create little creatures with faces and wings. 

2. Halloween Scavenger Hunt & Coloring Sheet

After piling in your wagon to complete our printable Halloween Scavenger Hunt for Kids, bring it home to complete a bonus project. This free printable doubles as a coloring sheet. Practicing coloring between the lines, tracing, or mixing colors on this coloring sheet. By the end of the afternoon, your family will have gone on a haunting hunt and created frightful fridge art!

3. Cotton Ball Ghost Craft

This tutorial from Thriving Home is equal parts spooky and simple. First, start off by cutting the shape of a ghost. Depending on the age of your child, adults can help or give their child the opportunity to practice their scissor skills. Then, add cotton balls with glue to the ghost. When this is dry, add eyes and a mouth made from black construction paper.

After the craft is complete, your puffy ghosts are perfect to re-use as homemade decoration. Loop them across your wagon for your next ride around the block, hang them in your windows, or use as décor around the house. To string them together, simply tape yarn to the back of the paper.

4. Jack-O-Lantern Printable Template

When you just can’t wait for October to celebrate spooky season, grab a pumpkin and some carving tools to bring on the pumpkin party. Use our Jack-O-Lantern free printable as a template for a traditional pumpkin design or get creative with your own. Little ones will have a blast scooping the seeds out of the pumpkin and admiring the illuminated finished craft. 

5. Coffee Filter Creatures

Create bats, turkeys, butterflies, or other fall creatures with this coffee filter craft. First, gather the materials: coffee filters, markers, water, and clothes pins. Toddlers can kick off this craft by decorating the coffee filter. Check out this turkey tutorial by Darcy and Brian. When the colors are complete, mist water on the coffee filter using a spray bottle to get the best blending-effect.

While the filter is drying, little ones can get started on the clothes pin. This will be the body of your creature. Darcy recommends adding googly eyes and craft foam as eyes and a beak to the turkey. Get creative with what materials you have on hand to customize the creatures. Once the clothes pin and filter are dry, fold the filter in half and secure the pin in the middle.

This craft doubles as a fun toy for imaginative play and can even be used as household décor by stringing a few together.

6. DIY Costume

It’s never too early to start creating your Halloween costume! Our blog post 7 Wagon Halloween Costume Ideas is sure to inspire every family, from crafty connoisseurs to amateur artists. Whether little ones are helping to transform their wagon into a lion cage or painting scenic ocean waves, check out this post to get your DIY on.

7. Pumpkin Putty

If you have a little one, you know that slime is not seasonal – it’s a crowd-pleaser year round. This pumpkin slime craft from Jackie from I Heart Arts N Crafts is the perfect way to level up mundane slime to spooky slime, perfect for the season. Use your go-to slime recipe for this craft or check out the one provided by Jackie. To make this pumpkin slime, Jackie recommends a few add-ins like pumpkin scented oil, orange food coloring, and storing it in a clear jar with jack-o-lantern face on the front.

8. Pumpkin Stamping

Potatoes, paint, paper… easy as that! Simply cut your potato in half, dip in orange paint, and get stamping. Little ones can draw on jack-o-lantern details when the stamp is dry, or parents can choose to carve eyes and a mouth on the potato prior to stamping.

9. DIY Bird Feeder

Add this DIY bird feeder to your next outdoor adventure. Start by rolling pinecones in peanut butter then bird seed. Use yarn or other string to hang the pinecone on a low branch. The activity doesn’t stop there – next time your preschoolers are climbing or bouncing in the backyard, they will be able to watch the leaves change colors and birds stop by the pinecone feeders.

10. Suncatcher Pumpkins

These suncatchers make for a great craft activity and window decoration. To create a basic suncatcher, cut the middle circle out of a paper plate and add contact paper to the center. Little ones can stick leaves or tissues paper to the center.

Or, if you want to level up this craft and create a pumpkin shaped suncatcher, the blog Learn Create Love recommends cutting a pumpkin shape out of paper. Little ones should color the orange pumpkin peel and grey stem. With an adults help, cut the center out of the pumpkin shape and add contact paper. Next, add orange tissue paper to the center to create a kaleidoscope effect in the sunshine.

11. Painted Pumpkins

Level up your pumpkins this year with a little paint. Rather than carving pumpkins, little ones can add their favorite colors and designs to their pumpkin patch finds. Bonus: painting pumpkins usually makes the pumpkin last longer before wilting compared to carving. Try painting jack-o-lantern faces, colorful leaves, or abstract shapes on the pumpkin. Don’t forget to display them throughout autumn for a seasonal flair!

   

Check out our Pinterest account for more fall family crafts & activities for toddlers! If you tried any of these crafts, be sure to tag @radioflyerinc to share your adventures and help spread seasonal smiles.