Spooky season has officially started. If you haven’t decorated—have no fear! The kids (and you kids at heart) can whip up some spooky decor this weekend for next to nothing. We made a super easy Halloween-themed garland with supplies we had around the house. Here’s how you can make one, too!
Materials:
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construction paper
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kraft paper (or a paper grocery bag)
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yarn/jute/fishing line/a paper chain
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pencil
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markers or crayons
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scissors
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clear tape
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hole punch
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glue stick
Instructions:
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Make your shapes. The first step is to decide what shapes you need for your garland. We chose a simple pumpkin, some leaves, and a friendly ghost. You can freehand your shapes or do a web search for ideas. If you use search terms like “ghost shape clip art,” you’ll get plenty of ideas that you can print out, too. How about a witch’s hat or a spooky tree?
We made templates of our shapes out of kraft paper and used clear tape to attach them to the construction paper. Placing a few pieces of tape on the edges of the templates makes it easy to cut around them but, if you want to keep the kids busy, you can trace the templates ahead of time and let them do the cutting out.
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Decorate your shapes. This is the really fun part! Once your shapes are cut out, you can use almost anything to add personality. Markers, crayons, fabric, googly eyes, glitter (if you’re brave), pasta shapes, and more construction paper are perfect for getting the creative juices flowing! We found some paper punches in circle and heart shapes and used those to make our jack-o-lantern faces and a bow tie for one of our ghosts by cutting them out of construction paper and gluing them on with the glue stick. Then we added some details with markers.
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String your garland. Use the hole punch to punch a hole in the top of each of your shapes and then string your shapes on some jute (like we used here), yarn, fishing line or whatever you have around that will work. You can even hang your ghosts and pumpkins from a paper chain that you make yourself!
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Hang your new decoration! Once your garland is strung, find a place to hang it… from a mantle, over a doorway, or on a wall where everyone can enjoy it.
Making decorations is fun for everyone—artistic skills are not required! Just channel your inner kindergartener and enjoy the experience of creating. If you keep the theme simple and easy to assemble, you may find yourself looking forward to making your own decor for every season!
