Halloween Paper Crafts for Kids: 8 Free Printable Ideas

A finished coloring page usually ends up on the fridge. With a pair of scissors, some tape and ten more minutes, it can become a bat garland for the window, a treat bag for trick-or-treating or a skeleton that really moves. Paper crafts like these are cheap, quick to set up and easy to adapt for any age, which makes them a good fit for a rainy October afternoon or a Halloween party table.

Below are 8 Halloween paper crafts for kids, and each one starts with a free coloring page. Every page is free to print with no sign-up or email, and comes as its own US Letter and A4 PDF. Halloween falls on Saturday, October 31, 2026, so there’s plenty of time to make a few before the big night.

A few ideas also mention cut files from SVG Hive, our sister shop for Cricut and Silhouette designs. They’re optional: every craft here works with scissors and glue alone.

Halloween paper crafts at a glance

Craft	Best age	Time
1. Bat garland	3 and up	30 minutes
2. Ghost treat bags	3 and up	20 minutes
3. Witch hat headband	4 and up	25 minutes
4. Glowing haunted house	6 and up	40 minutes
5. Moving skeleton	6 and up	40 minutes
6. Costume parade puppets	3 and up	20 minutes
7. Cupcake toppers	5 and up	20 minutes
8. Jack-o’-lantern planner	4 and up	15 minutes

What you need

Printer paper, or light cardstock (65 lb, about 175 gsm) if your printer takes it. Cardstock holds its shape better for garlands, headbands and puppets.
Crayons, markers or colored pencils
Kid-safe scissors, a glue stick and clear tape
A hole punch and some string, yarn or ribbon
For a few crafts: paper lunch bags, craft sticks, toothpicks, tissue paper and brass paper fasteners (brads)

1. Bat garland

Simple Smiling Bat is one round bat with its wings spread wide, which makes it easy to cut out in one piece. Print six to eight copies and let kids color each bat differently: purple, gray, striped, even rainbow. Cut them out, punch a hole near each wing tip and thread them onto a string. Hang the garland across a window or a doorway.

Simple Smiling Bat coloring page: a round, smiling bat with big ears and wide open wings, with stars and clouds around it — Simple Smiling Bat: big, simple wings that are easy to cut around.

For more variety, mix in Fluffy Baby Bat and Bat Flying Past the Moon. Little ones can color while a grown-up does the cutting.

Have a cutting machine? Cut a few bats from black cardstock with the Cute Bat Silhouette SVG and hang them between the colored ones. Black and color side by side looks sharp in a window.

2. Ghost treat bags

Turn a plain paper lunch bag into a trick-or-treat bag. Color Ghost with a Candy Bucket, cut out the ghost and glue it to the front of the bag. Fold the top down twice, punch two holes and thread a ribbon through for a handle. The same bags work as party favors: fill them with a few treats and write a guest’s name on each one.

Ghost with a Candy Bucket coloring page: a smiling ghost waving and holding a jack-o'-lantern bucket full of candy, with two pumpkins, stars and a crescent moon — Ghost with a Candy Bucket: the ghost is already carrying candy.

Ghost in a Pumpkin and Ghost Hugging a Pumpkin have the same big, simple shapes, so each child can pick their own ghost.

Have a cutting machine? The Cute Halloween Ghosts SVG has four little ghosts in a row. Cut them from white iron-on vinyl and press them onto a canvas tote for a trick-or-treat bag that lasts for years.

3. Witch hat headband

In Raccoon Making a Witch Hat, a raccoon sits at a craft table sewing stars onto a witch hat, with ribbon, scissors and two finished hats on the shelf. Color it first as a warm-up, then make a hat of your own. Pumpkin in a Witch Hat has a big hat with a buckle across the top of the page. Color the hat, cut it out and glue it to a strip of cardstock sized to go around your child’s head. Staple or tape the ends together, and the headband is ready for a costume.

Raccoon Making a Witch Hat coloring page: a raccoon at a craft table sewing stars onto a witch hat, with ribbon, scissors, paper stars and two finished hats on a shelf — Raccoon Making a Witch Hat: a crafty page to color before making your own hat.

Want a cat to go with it? Kitten in a Witch Hat is one kitten and one hat, easy enough for preschoolers.

Have a cutting machine? Cut the Witch Hat SVG from black or glitter cardstock and glue it to the headband. Its white cutouts show the folds of the hat, so it looks finished without any coloring.

4. Glowing haunted house

This one takes longer and is best for kids who can handle detail. Color Cozy Haunted Cottage, but leave the windows white. A grown-up then cuts out the window panes with a craft knife. Tape yellow or orange tissue paper behind the holes and tape the page to a window. When it gets dark outside, a lamp in the room makes the windows glow. You can also stand the page in front of a battery tea light. Never use a real candle with paper crafts.

Cozy Haunted Cottage coloring page: a small cottage with a curved roof, arched windows and a picket fence under a crescent moon with a bat and stars — Cozy Haunted Cottage: clean window shapes that are easy to cut out.

Haunted House with Happy Pumpkins and Spider Web Cottage work the same way, and a row of three on one window makes a small haunted street.

Have a cutting machine? The Flying Witch & Haunted House SVG has a haunted house silhouette and a separate witch on a broomstick. Cut both from black vinyl and put the witch high on the glass, flying over your paper houses.

5. Moving skeleton

Standing Skeleton shows a whole skeleton from the skull to the toes, arms at its sides. Print it on cardstock, color the bones (they don’t have to be white) and cut the skeleton into pieces at the shoulders, elbows, hips and knees. Punch a small hole at each joint and join the pieces with brass paper fasteners. Now the arms wave and the legs dance. It’s also a hands-on way to talk about how our own joints bend.

Standing Skeleton coloring page: a full skeleton standing straight with its arms at its sides, showing the skull, ribs, spine, pelvis and the bones of the arms and legs — Standing Skeleton: cut at the joints to make it move.

Paper fasteners are small and sharp, so this craft is for school-age kids with a grown-up nearby. For a friendlier skeleton to color alongside it, try Waving Skeleton.

6. Costume parade puppets

Not every child wants to dress up, but a puppet can. Color a few costumed animals, cut them out and tape each one to a craft stick. Vampire Teddy Bear and Vampire Kitten have large simple shapes for younger kids. Older kids can cut out all three kittens from Three Kittens in Costumes. Turn a table on its side for a stage and let the puppets hold their own costume parade, with a prize for every one.

Have a cutting machine? Match the parade with a shirt: the Halloween Capybaras SVG shows three capybaras dressed as a witch, a mummy and more. It works well in iron-on vinyl on a kid’s T-shirt.

7. Cupcake toppers

Happy Halloween Sticker Page is a sheet of small separate pictures: a ghost, a pumpkin, a bat, a witch hat, a potion, a spider, candy and a mug of cocoa. Color them, cut them out and tape each one to a toothpick. Stick them into cupcakes, a sandwich or a bowl of popcorn for the party table.

Happy Halloween Sticker Page coloring page: the words Happy Halloween with a ghost, a jack-o'-lantern, a bat, a witch hat, a potion, a spider, a candy and a mug of cocoa — Happy Halloween Sticker Page: eight small pictures, just the right size for toppers.

Save the “Happy Halloween” letters for a sign on the treat table. To color a cupcake before you decorate a real one, there’s Jack-o’-Lantern Cupcake.

8. Jack-o’-lantern planner

Before anyone picks up a carving knife, plan the face on paper. Pumpkin Show has five pumpkin faces, each with its own personality, and Pumpkin Patch Faces has six more. Kids color them all, pick a favorite and cut it out. Tape the paper face to the pumpkin, trace around the eyes and mouth with a marker, and a grown-up carves along the lines. Pumpkin Carving Friends is a good page to color while you wait.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a Cricut or Silhouette?

No. Every craft on this page works with scissors, glue and tape. The cut files are an extra for families and teachers who already have a cutting machine.

What paper works best?

Regular printer paper is fine for coloring and for crafts that are glued to something else, like the treat bags. For garlands, headbands and puppets, light cardstock (65 lb, about 175 gsm) holds up much better. Check your printer’s manual first: most home inkjet printers take it through the rear tray.

Which crafts work for toddlers?

The bat garland, ghost treat bags and costume puppets. Toddlers color the big shapes and a grown-up does the cutting. Keep the skeleton and the haunted house for older kids, since they need small cuts and paper fasteners.

Can I make these with a whole class?

Yes. The bat garland and the cupcake toppers scale well, because each child makes one piece and the class puts them together. For more classroom ideas, see our Halloween classroom activities.

More Halloween coloring pages

Every page in this post comes from one of these sets. Each has many more to choose from:

Bat Coloring Pages: cute bats by the moon, in caves and in costume (21 pages)
Ghost Coloring Pages: friendly ghosts with candy, balloons and pumpkins (17 pages)
Witch Coloring Pages: little witches, potions and cauldrons (20 pages)
Haunted House Coloring Pages: cottages, castles and spooky mansions (25 pages)
Skeleton Coloring Pages: silly skeletons in costumes, plus a body diagram (25 pages)
Halloween Animal Coloring Pages: animals in costumes at parties and shops (24 pages)
Pumpkin Coloring Pages: jack-o’-lanterns with every kind of face (21 pages)
Halloween Coloring Pages: candy, doodles and friendly monsters (20 pages)
Black Cat Coloring Pages: kittens in witch hats and pumpkins (29 pages)

Happy crafting, and happy Halloween!