10 DIY Crafts to Get You in the Holiday Spirit
There’s no doubt that October through December is one of the most festive times of the year! While many people are quick to deck the halls and get right to Christmas, let’s not forget about the holiday that starts off the season: Halloween! Whether you’re looking to decorate your home for the whole month or you’re hosting a one-night-only Halloween party, gather up some of your best witches and get spooky with these spell-casting DIY crafts!
1. DIY Halloween Fabric Scrap Garland
This is a really easy craft to start you off! Excellent Halloween decor for a dorm or apartment, this garland can be made with any color fabric. While the instructions here highlight black, grey, and orange fabric, other colors can be used to make garlands for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, or any other holiday you can think of! All you need is some string, fabric scissors, and fabric of your choice.
2. Coffee Filter Ghost Lollipops
One of the best parts of Halloween, besides dressing up, is the candy! This sweet and simple craft includes two of my favorite things: coffee and candy. These friendly ghosts make yummy party favors for guests and are great for any trick-or-treaters that come your way. These Halloween treats are made with coffee filters, lollipops, a marker, and ribbon. Click here to get step-by-step instructions.
3. Flying Paper Bats
If you’re looking to have big Halloween spirit on a small budget, this is a great craft to do with your roommate to decorate your apartment or dorm! All you’ll need is some black construction paper, scissors, and scotch tape. If you’re looking for an extra pop, you could also alternate between black, orange, purple, and green construction paper for an extra spooky look. If you’re not super confident in your art skills, you can always use a template to model your bats so they all look uniform.
4. Punny Halloween Dish Towels
I can’t speak for anyone else, but in my family, there is a communal love of dishtowels. When I moved out on my own, my relatives had given me enough dishtowels – I now have one for every major holiday- that I have a small tote of them stored under my sink. It might be a little excessive, but a festive dish towel is a great way to perk up your kitchen with some holiday spirit! Also, who doesn’t love a good pun?
Go check out the step-by-step instructions here on Club Crafted.
5. Batty Branches
If you can’t get enough bats after making the paper bats from #3, check out these adorable branches you can stick in any pumpkin of your choosing! After picking out the perfect pumpkin with your friends or partner, head to the craft store to buy some construction paper or Halloween scrapbooking paper to dangle from some branches. If you’re like me and can’t get enough sparkles, pick up some glitter spray paint to coat the branches. The effect is reminiscent of a charming haunted forest that you can place by your front door or on the mantle. Check out more detailed instructions here.
6. Spooky Gourd Critters
If you’re in a dorm or apartment where you don’t have the luxury of being able to set a jack-o’-lantern outside your door, this is a great craft for you! Depending on what time of animal you want to make, cut up some felt shapes to make cat or bat ears or bat wings and grab some twigs or pipe cleaners for spider legs. All else you’ll need is some black paint and a silver Sharpie or another marker to draw your critter’s face on.
A bonus of this craft – you don’t have to get your hands icky scooping out pumpkin guts.
7. Glittering Halloween Witch Door Decoration
This craft is for our overachieving craft makers. Don’t feel too intimidated, though, there are some templates you can use if you’re not confident in your witch-drawing abilities. Nothing says Halloween quite like a giant witch covering your door. To achieve this look, head to the craft store and pick up some black matte vinyl, double-sided type, craft glitter, gold spray paint, craft glue, small strips of Velcro, shiny fabric for the cape, ribbon, and a craft brush. A pro-tip: do this craft with some friends and delegate different tasks, like making the moon and stars.
8. Creepy Crawlers
Do you love Halloween, but hate lugging heavy pumpkins into your house? Relatable. Swing by your local pumpkin patch and buy some tiny pumpkins for this Halloween craft. The only other things you’ll need is a few tea lights, craft glue, and some black or orange pipe cleaners. The instructions are very simple to follow and these little cuties look great on a mantle or crawling around any other space you can think of in your home.
9. Ghostly Greeting Pumpkins
Around Halloween, pumpkin patches spring up by the dozen. Most people scoop up the traditional orange pumpkin, but white pumpkins, or “ghost pumpkins,” are just as festive and functional. If you’re not feeling very adventurous in your crafting, these ghostly greeting pumpkins are the perfect Halloween craft for you! All you need are ghost pumpkins and permanent markers and paint in the color or colors of your choosing. If the punny dish towels aren’t your speed, this is another DIY project you can get write your favorite Halloween puns on!
10. Ghost Paper Lanterns
Here’s a craft that even the least artsy person can rock! All you’ll need for these ghostly lanterns are white paper lanterns, black construction paper, scissors, and glue. You can keep it simple with 3 black ovals to stick on your lantern or you can get creative and make your own macabre designs. These simple to make lanterns are perfect for your next last-minute Halloween party.
