10 Halloween Craft Ideas for Nursery and Reception
Posted by EYR Team on 12th Oct 2026
read moreLooking for easy Halloween craft ideas for nursery and Reception? From spooky spiders and friendly ghosts to messy sensory activities and creative Halloween characters, these 10 simple activities are perfect for bringing a little seasonal fun into your early years setting.
Many of the ideas use everyday art and craft materials and can be adapted to suit different ages and abilities. As well as encouraging creativity, the activities below offer opportunities to develop fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, sensory awareness and early mark-making.
1. Air-Dry Clay Ghosts
Create a spooky little ghost using air-drying clay or modelling dough! Children can shape the clay into a ghost before adding eyes and other features to bring their creations to life. This simple Halloween craft is a fantastic way to encourage creativity while strengthening little hands and fingers.
You will need:
-
Tealights
Learning Benefits: Fine Motor Skills, Expressive Arts & Design, Creative Thinking, Tactile Exploration
2. Spider Web Weaving
Get creative this Halloween and make your own spooky spiderweb decorations! Using lolly sticks and colourful wool, children can weave their own spiderwebs before adding a creepy-crawly spider to complete their creation. This fun craft is a great way to encourage creativity while helping children develop their fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination.
You will need:
- Lolly Sticks
- Black Paint
- Black pipe cleaners
- Coloured Wool
- Medium Black Pom-Pom
- Small Wiggly Eyes
- Glue
- Scissors
Learning Benefits: Fine Motor Skills, Hand-Eye Coordination, Creative Thinking, Pattern Recognition
3.Yarn-Wrapped Mummies
Get little hands busy creating spooky mummies with this fun Halloween craft! Children can wrap and wind white yarn around a mummy-shaped template, carefully covering the shape to create their own spooky character. This simple activity is a great way to encourage creativity while developing fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination and concentration.
You will need:
Learning Benefits: Fine Motor Skills, Hand-Eye Coordination, Concentration, Creativity
4. Fluffy Witch's Slime
Create a bubbling batch of fluffy witch's slime for a wonderfully messy Halloween sensory activity! Children can mix, squeeze and stretch the slime while exploring its soft and fluffy texture. Add your chosen food colouring to create a spooky potion-inspired slime that is perfect for Halloween-themed sensory play.
You will need:
- PVA glue
- Food colouring
- Shaving foam
- Slime activator
- Bicarbonate of soda
Learning Benefits: Sensory Play, Fine Motor Skills, Tactile Exploration, Creative Thinking
5. Yarn Spider Web Drawing
Create your own spooky spider web using yarn and a simple cardboard frame. This hands-on Halloween activity encourages children to carefully follow lines, explore patterns and develop control as they create their web design. It's a simple way to combine Halloween creativity with early mark-making and pre-writing skills.
You will need:
- Wool
- Cardboard frame
- Ballpoint pen
- Sellotape
Learning Benefits: Fine Motor Skills, Pre-writing skills, Mark Making, Patterns & Sequence
6. Pumpkin Oobleck Sensory Play
Get hands-on with this wonderfully messy pumpkin oobleck sensory activity! Children can scoop, squeeze and explore the unusual texture as it changes between feeling firm and flowing. Add a pumpkin-themed twist to create a fun Halloween activity that encourages curiosity, exploration and plenty of sensory discovery.
You will need:
- Tuff tray (we used a deep round tray)
- Cornflour
- Food colouring
- Halloween decorations
Learning Benefits: Fine Motor Skills, Physical Development, Sensory Exploration, STEM
7. Halloween Playdough Monsters
Let little imaginations run wild with these fun Halloween playdough monsters! Children can mould and shape colourful playdough into their own friendly monsters, adding googly eyes, pipe cleaners and other craft materials to bring their creations to life. This hands-on activity encourages creativity and imaginative play while helping children strengthen their hand muscles and develop their fine motor skills.
You will need:
- An assortment of modelling clay
- Googly eyes
- Pipe cleaners
- Additional decorations
Learning Benefits: Fine Motor Skills, Imaginative Play, Creativity, Hand-Eye Coordination
8. Spider Hunt Fine Motor Activity
Get little hands busy with this spooky spider hunt! Children can use tweezers to carefully pick up the spiders hiding amongst the web, encouraging them to develop their fine motor control and hand-eye coordination. This fun Halloween activity is a great way to practise using a pincer grip while adding a playful challenge to your setting.
You will need:
- Tuff tray (we used a deep round tray)
- Halloween sand
- String
- Paper Spiders
- Pincers
Learning Benefits: Fine Motor Skills, Hand-Eye Coordination, Physical Development
9. Blow Painting Ghosts
Create spooky ghosts using a fun blow-painting technique! Add small amounts of paint to paper and encourage children to blow through a straw, watching as the paint spreads into unusual ghostly shapes.
Once dry, children can add eyes and spooky details to transform their paint marks into friendly Halloween ghosts.
You will need:
- Black card
- White paint
- Straw
- Googly eyes
Learning Benefits: Mark Making, Creativity, Cause & Effect, Expressive Arts & Design
10. Peg Bats
Transform ordinary wooden pegs into adorable Halloween bats! Children can paint or decorate the pegs before adding wings, eyes and other spooky features.
This simple craft is a great opportunity to practise manipulating small materials while creating a fun Halloween decoration to take home or display in the setting.
You will need:
- Wooden pegs
- Black paint
- Black paper
- Googly eyes
Learning Benefits: Fine Motor Skills, Expressive Arts & Design, Hand-Eye Coordination, Creative Thinking
How Do Halloween Crafts Support EYFS Learning?
Halloween crafts offer plenty of opportunities for meaningful learning through play. Activities involving rolling, threading, weaving, squeezing and wrapping can help children develop the hand strength and fine motor control needed for everyday tasks and early writing.
Creative activities also give children opportunities to make choices, experiment with different materials and express their own ideas. Sensory activities such as slime and oobleck can encourage curiosity and exploration, while activities involving patterns, threading and mark making can support early mathematical and literacy skills.
Looking for even more Halloween activities for your nursery or Reception setting? Explore our range of Halloween resources for more spooky crafts, creative activities, themed learning resources and seasonal inspiration. Whether you're planning a Halloween-themed week or looking for a few extra activities to add to your provision, you'll find plenty of ideas to help make learning fun.
