Pipe Cleaner Spiders/Pumpkins
Using orange and black pipe cleaners have the children make little Halloween crafts that can be hung around the house. Spiders and pumpkins are both easy.
Pipe cleaner spiders are best made using four hole buttons to thread the pipe cleaners through, and glueing googly eyes on as a finishing touch. You can also use different sized foam balls which you will need to paint beforehand. They will easily attach to synthetic spider webs in any available doorway.

Harvest Crafts

Autumn/Fall Leaves
There are few different Halloween craft activities that the kids can do with Fall leaves. Firstly you can take them out on an expedition to collect a mix of leaf shapes, colors and textures that appeal to them.
The leaves can then be used to make-

Leaf Placemats
Stick a display of leaves onto an A4 sheet of cardboard. Cover with clear contact for a long lasting placemat. The children can use pencils/paint and crayons in harvest colors before glueing on the leaves for added effect.

Leaf Bookmarks
Similar to a placemat but on a smaller scale. Cut a 2-inch-by-6-inch piece of thin cardboard in one color. Cut a slightly smaller piece of cardboard in a different color and glue the two together. Finish with leaves that have been pressed (to dry out) and cover with clear contact/adhesive film.

Leaf Rubbings
Fall/Autumn leaves can also be used so that children are more aware of their form and texture. After collecting leaves, place a few under a shett of paper. Leave room between each leaf. Have the children gently rub over their page with soft crayons or pencils so that the shape and form of their leaves is slowly revealed.

Hand-Print Spiders
A fun and simple Halloween craft for younger children.
If possible sit all the children around one table. Supply each child with a piece of paper, and show them how to dip their hand into a flat tray of black paint and print it onto their page, with fingers pointing out, leaving out the thumb.

They need to do both hands with the hands overlapping, giving the shape of a body and eight legs for a spider. Once dry you can glue on googly/wiggly eyes for a very cute result. After they have made their spider they will want to continue painting their own hand-print creations!

Horrible Edible Hands
These great edible Halloween crafts are perfect for take home goodies and they're a healthy snack too.
All you need is some candy corn, clear plastic gloves (from beauty suppliers / pharmacies) and popped popcorn. Have the kids put a piece of candy corn inside the bottom of each finger of their gloves, these are the fingernails. Fill the glove with popcorn and use curling ribbon to tie a bow at the wrist.

Halloween Cookies
Bake and decorate sugar cookies using Halloween cookie cutters.
Depending on the size of the group, they can take turns at rolling the dough, cutting out Halloween shapes and listening out for the timer telling you it's time to get them out of the oven. With royal icing, or even bought vanilla frosting, they can then decorate their creations and finish with licorice, candies, chocolate chips and sprinkles for hair, eyes and faces. Each child can take a couple home to show the family and the rest can be served during the party.

Ghost Paintings
For the littlies an easy Halloween craft idea is cut sponges into ghost shapes which they can then dip into paint and stamp onto paper.
Another simple but effective painting project involves dropping blobs of white or black paint onto paper. Use different colored papers to give a suitably Halloweenish result. Fold the sheet in half and when it is reopened a ghostly shape appears.

Make a Halloween Mask
A super Halloween craft idea which the kids can keep for future Halloween parties. Use paper plates a hole punch and scissors to cut a mask. Have the children paint thier masks in a color to suit their chosen character.
Decorate with glitter glue, gel pens, markers, glue, odds and ends of fabric, feathers and so on. Using a stapler, fix a length of elastic to each maks so that the kids can model their masks (when dry) at the end of the party. Give prizes for scariest, funniest, most creative...

Pumpkin Decorating
If the kids are too young for pumpkin carving then there are many Halloween crafts involving pumpkins without the worry of carving.
Gourds- come in great shapes and can be decorated with acrylic paints or markers to make funny faces.
Decorating- You can also use a collection of real pumpkins in different shapes and sizes and have the kids decorate them with plastic googly eyes, fake hair, pipe cleaners, markers, stickers- whatever else takes your fancy. This activity can be adjusted to suit absolutely any age group.
Paper Mache- for older children is a great way to make pumpkins using newspaper over balloons. Once the paper has dried the balloon can be popped and the paper mache pumpkin decorated with paints. This project will need to be done over two days to allow for drying of the paper mache.