Can Halloween decorations get too scary for your little ones? My kids get freaked out by the displays at some stores. Here is a craft that provides fun and kid-friendly Halloween decorations.
You will need toilet paper rolls (we used toilet paper and paper towel rolls-you will see in a minute), black craft paint, piece of black construction paper, glue, black chenille stem/pipe cleaner, scissors, wiggly eyes, glitter glue, and a small sponge roller. You can always just paint with a brush, but the sponge roller provides an even layer of paint that is thin and dries fast. That is always important when doing a craft with small children.
I taped some popsicle sticks inside my toilet paper roll for my 5 year old. The sticks gave him something to hold onto as he painted the entire roll. I knew my 3 year old might have difficulty with the popsicle sticks, so I used a paper towel roll for her.
I had her paint one end of the roll. Both children completely covered their rolls with black paint.
We let the paint dry while we had a small snack. The roller allows the paint to dry that quickly. I cut the paper towel roll the size of a toilet paper roll. So now both children had the same thing, but without a giant headache.
We pressed half of the edge into itself. It sounds funny, but you can see in the picture that it is simple.
We folded over the other side, too. Now you have something that looks fiendish.
Have your child glue on some wiggly eyes. Your creations should look like this and are now ready to be modified depending on which animal your child wants.
My son wanted the cat. So to make a cat, just puncture a ole in the bottom of the back with a pencil. Push your chenille stem into the hole and press out the end to make a stopper.
After adding some whiskers with the glitter glue you now have a black cat ready to spook.
My daughter wanted the bat. To make the bat, just take the black construction paper and fold it in half. Draw something that resembles a bat wing. You do not have to be artistic, just your best shot will do. Cut out along your pencil mark and unfold to reveal perfectly symmetrical bat wings. Glue the wings onto the back of your painted tube.
Use the glitter glue to make a straight line for his mouth and add some fangs. You now have one cool bat that can stand on his own or get hung to swing and swoop on unsuspecting visitors.
So you no longer have an excuse not to decorate for Halloween. Easy, fast, and kid friendly.