Halloween is one of the best occasions for craft with children, because rough edges read as character rather than as mistakes. That is not true of most crafts, and it makes Halloween unusually forgiving.
A balloon ghost
You need a white balloon, scissors, white plastic bags, tape, string and a black marker.
Cut the plastic bags into strips, leaving one uncut edge holding the strips together. Inflate the balloon and tape the uncut edge around the knot so the strips hang down like a sheet. Draw a face on the balloon with the marker, and hang it by a string.
It costs nothing, takes ten minutes, and a group of them hanging at different heights looks genuinely effective.
Other things from what is in the house
Paper bats. Cut from black paper, folded down the middle so the wings sit at an angle, and stuck to a window. Simple, and dramatic in quantity.
Jar lanterns. A clean jar, tissue paper and glue, with an LED tea light inside. Orange and black tissue, or a face cut from black paper stuck inside.
Handprint spiders. Two handprints in paint, thumbs together, make eight legs. Add googly eyes.
Toilet roll characters. Painted tubes with cut-out features – mummies wrapped in strips of white paper, black cats, owls.
Egg box spiders and bats, cut from the cups and painted.
Decorating pumpkins without carving
Better for children in every way. A carved pumpkin collapses within days; a decorated one lasts weeks and involves nothing sharp.
Paint, stuck-on paper shapes, or crocheted appliqués pinned to the surface. The pumpkin can be composted afterwards and the decorations kept.
Trick-or-treat bags
A decorated paper bag, or a crocheted one that lasts for years.
If it will be carried after dark, add something reflective or light-coloured. A child carrying a black bag on a dark street is considerably less visible to drivers than one carrying something pale.
Practical points
Use LED candles rather than real ones anywhere near paper, plastic or fabric. It removes the only real hazard and means decorations can be left unattended.
Set up somewhere that can get messy and say so, so nobody is anxious about the table.
And let them do it. A wonky ghost they made is worth more to them than a neat one you finished.
