Fun Halloween craft that will make you giggle, FREE printable!

Halloween is the perfect time to get crafty with kids so try out this fun Halloween craft! If you’re a parent, teacher, or homeschooler looking for a fun and easy Halloween craft for kids, this project will be a hit. Children can create silly ghost, pumpkin, bat, or monster puppets with sliding expressions and the results are as giggly as they are spooky.

This Halloween activity is flexible because you can make it three different ways:

1. DIY from scratch with colored cardstock and markers
2. Free ghost craft printable this is a quick, no-prep option
3. Full Halloween craft printable bundle with four characters: pumpkin, ghost, bat, and monster. This bundle comes in both color and coloring page versions

No matter which option you choose, kids will love pulling the strips of faces through the puppets and watching the expressions change!

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Why This Fun Halloween Craft is Perfect for Kids

This activity is more than just fun, it’s also educational. While kids cut, color, and slide the expression strips, they are building fine motor skills, creativity, and imagination.

Teachers especially love this project because it’s a wonderful way to start conversations about feelings and emotions. Each puppet face shows different expressions, silly, happy, surprised, or spooky, which can open up meaningful discussions with preschoolers and young elementary students.

Plus, the puppets make a great classroom Halloween display or take-home craft.

 

 

Craft supplies to create this fun Halloween craft

You don’t need much to get started:

• • Free ghost printable OR the full Halloween bundle (download below)
  • OR colored cardstock (orange, green, white, blue, gray) if making from scratch
  • Scissors
  • Glue stick
  • (Paint) markers, crayons, or colored pencils
  • Craft knife (optional, for adult use)
  • Jumbo popsicle sticks (optional, to turn it into a puppet)

 

Three Ways to Make This Halloween Craft

Option 1: DIY Pumpkin or Ghost Puppet (Made from Cardstock )

If your kids love designing from scratch, this option is perfect. With just a few pieces of colored cardstock, they can create their own silly or spooky Halloween characters.

Instructions:

1 Cut your shape: Start by cutting out a pumpkin or ghost shape from colored cardstock, see images A, B, C above.

2 Outline for extra pop: Use a black marker to outline the edges. For the ghost, this helps give it a more recognizable shape, see images B & C above.

 

 

3 Add details: If you’re making a pumpkin, add a green stem and even a curly vine at the top for fun, see image above.

4 Create the expression strip: Cut a long strip of paper in the same color as your puppet. Draw spooky, silly, or surprised faces on the strip, leaving space between each expression.

5 Cut slits for the strip: On the puppet’s face, cut two slits (just tall enough for your strip to slide through).

 

 

6  Slide and play! Thread your expression strip through the slits and watch the faces change.

7  Optional puppet handle: For extra play, glue a Jumbo size popsicle stick to the bottom so kids can hold and move their puppet easily.

 

Option 2: Free Ghost Craft Printable 

Not ready for the full bundle yet? Start with our free ghost craft printable, a quick, no-prep way to try this Halloween activity with your kids or students.

How to use the free ghost printable:

1. Download your free ghost craft printable.
2. Print the ghost template (cardstock works best so it holds up to play).
3. Optional, color your ghost before cutting, kids love adding their own spooky twist.
4. Cut out the ghost and the strip of expressions.
5. Slide the strip through the slits and watch your ghost come to life with silly and spooky faces!

This free ghost craft is perfect for a fast afternoon activity at home, or as a small-group project in the classroom. It’s simple, interactive, and guaranteed to make kids giggle as they swap out the ghost’s expressions. For personal or classroom use only.

Option 3: Halloween Craft Printable Bundle

Want to take this craft to the next level? Grab the Halloween Craft Printable Bundle, available in our Etsy shop or on Teachers Pay Teachers. This bundle makes it super easy to set up a fun Halloween activity for the whole classroom or for a craft day at home.

What´s inside the BIG bundle:

• 🎃 Pumpkin puppet
• 👻 Ghost puppet
• 🦇 Bat puppet
• 👾 Monster puppet

Each design comes in two versions:

• Full color: Just print, cut, and craft (perfect for quick prep).
• Coloring page: Kids can add their own spooky or silly touch.

Teachers especially love this set because every student can pick a different character, making it fun, interactive, and easy to display on a classroom bulletin board. Parents love it too, it’s a simple way to keep kids entertained during Halloween season without a messy kitchen table or complicated setup. We also have the BIG printable bundle with four Halloween puppets with emotions: a monster, a bat, a pumpkin, and a ghost. The printable is in color and as a coloring page. Get the printable right here. Or get our Halloween puppet printable and have all the spooky creators slide out the big pumpkin. You can see the printable right here. 

Tips for Parents & Teachers

• Classroom use: Print the bundle so every child can choose their favorite puppet. This makes a fun October bulletin board display.
• At home: Use it as a rainy-day activity or at a Halloween party for kids.
• Learning angle: Discuss feelings as kids transition between emotions. “What does a scared pumpkin or ghost look like? What makes us feel surprised?”

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