10 Awesome Fall Crafts for Kids: A Craft/Week from the First Day of Fall until Thanksgiving

Ahhh, fall – my favorite season. Cooler air, beautiful colors, football, the refreshing smells, and women chugging pumpkin spiced lattes – what’s not to love? I suppose an over caffeinated wife is certainly something to watch out for, but all the rest is such good stuff. And for some reason it seems to fuel the creative imagination of many. Maybe its the slower pace where we aren’t traveling as much mixed with a few more rainy days during this season, but the kids and I seem to churn out some pretty awesome crafts during the fall season.

Yes, I am a man who teaches, cleans, does laundry and crafts with his kids. Just to keep it even, I also fix stuff, lift heavy things and remove stuck jar lids. However, I have spent the last two falls as the stay-at-home parent – a privilege (…not a curse, I assure you) most men don’t get to enjoy. So…stay-at-home parent (husband or wife) you know what I mean when I say it is so helpful to have ideas on hand to entertain the kids on not just a rainy day, but any day of the work week. And a fall craft could be just the thing!

The kids and I really enjoy the opportunity to be creative during our craft time, and they are known to suggest the activity on their own. At times this has sent me scrambling trying to pull together some sort of a craft, however this is a little easier during the fall season as there are a myriad of fun ways to be creative with the kids out there.

Below you’ll find 12 of our favorites including some how-to links and pictures to give you some ideas. If you play your cards right, you could do one a week starting September 22 (the first day of fall) up to Thanksgiving! I tried to sequence them in an order that would make sense if so.

So here you go… Keep in mind, I am a guy, so the photos may not be as perfect as you are used to – but this is real. Please don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions you have!

A Craft/week from September 22 to Thanksgiving

1) Squirrel Paper Bags

Really, this could be any animal of your child’s choosing, however squirrels are super active during the fall. Their busy tails often catching the kids’ eyes out the window during schoolwork is often a big…SQUIRREL! (Sorry, had to). Depending on your artistic ability, you could draw your own cut-outs, color and personalize however you see fit. If you need some ideas, here is a link to get you started. Once all the pieces are cut out, glue on the bag, and be amazed at how much time the kids actually spend playing with something so simple! You just need a brown lunch bag, some construction paper and a glue stick!

2. Squirrel Head Bands

Staying with the…SQUIRREL! theme…why not make headband hats out of them? Hey, if it’s fun for the kids, it’s fun for the parent! Same thing goes here, except there is no moving mouth to make the squirrel talk. Feel free to use the basic shapes shown here. Heads up- there is a brown tail that your kids will think looks like you know what before you glue it on- huge bonus for them of course. This one requires only construction paper, glue stick, and we stapled the head band – oh and google eyes are a plus! Here is the example/printout link.

3. Q-Tip Colorful Fall Trees

This painting project was a hit with the kids. It proved to be a simple way to get a really cool effect, capturing the oranges, reds, yellows, and browns that epitomize fall. Using different shades of acrylic pain, lightly swirl these colors together – even this was cool for the kids to do. Just make sure not to mix them up too much, because the colors will quickly match the end of fall browns! Once the tree trunk and branches have been painted, tie a good two dozen Q-tips together with a rubber band. Try your best to line the tips up flat before handing them over to the kiddos. Then it is simply a stamping process until your child is happy with the result. Needed for this one are fall color acrylic paints, q-tips and paint brushes.

4. Leaf Creatures

Since we’re on the topic of the leaves of fall, why not go out on a walk around the neighborhood to collect some with the kids? Yes, leaf rubbings are fun, but give this one a try to elicit a more creative spark. Encourage your kids to collect as many different sizes, colors and shapes as they can while you are out. Quick tip – plan on collecting the leaves on a walk one day, and then doing this craft two or more days later. The reason being, the leaves are easier to paste on when flat. To flatten, lay the leaves on parchment paper, and then close between the pages of a few heavy books. For craft time, use basic Elmer’s glue and have at it. Brainstorming and penciling out a rough outline is helpful at first too. Of course, your stash of google eyes will come in handy here!

5. Modge Podge Jack-O-Lanterns

YES!!! We are getting super close to Halloween if you are keeping track with the weeks since fall began. Witches, ghosts, goblins, and of course, jack-o-lanterns! The craft ideas here are endless, however, this one is a fantastically messy, hands on and really cool craft when completed. This will require a trip to the dollar store for some supplies. You first need a round-ish, clear jar or container. Stay away from glass as your kiddo will be handling the jar – a slippery jar as you’ll see. You’ll also need a jar of Clear Modge Podge, orange (different shades is fine) tissue paper and black construction paper. Start by cutting the tissue paper into a ton of strips – roughly 1.5 x 2.5 inch shapes. Coat the jar with a layer of Modge Podge, and start covering with the tissue paper, then comes another layer of Modge Podge. Allow this to dry for an hour or so, and repeat at least one if not 2-3 more times, finishing with the black construction paper jack-o-lantern face. See where I got slippery and messy? Way cool when it’s all done though! Drop in a battery-operated tea light for the full effect8.

6. Mummy Dogs!

Such an easy and kid friendly snack to make right before Halloween! All you need is an 8oz can of crescent rolls and a package of little smokies. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Then, pressing the perforated dough together to make four rectangles, cut each lengthwise into 8 strips. Next is the fun part; wrap each little smokie like a mummy. Pop ’em in the oven for around twelve minutes, and voila! You can decorate with dots of mustard or ketchup for faces, blood what have you. The kids really dig these!

7. Marshmallow Architecture

Although not really a “fall” themed craft, I wanted to include this craft. Marshmallows are usually around the house as the weather gets colder whether leftover from smores at a fire or small ones to enjoy in hot coco on those first rosie nose cold snap days. I also liked this one because it made the kids think about structure. It can be rather frustrating to figure out how to build a 3-D structure without a rigid jointing compound… ie marshmallows. I found once I helped through examples, the kids took off with some cool designs. You need a bag of marshmallows (probably mini ones), a box of toothpicks, some patience and imagination!

8. Thankful Turkeys

Oh man, Thanksgiving! If you like to eat like we do and have mothers like ours, Thanksgiving is certainly something to get excited about! I would highly suggest beginning your crafts centered around Thanksgiving with this one. Make a thankful turkey! It is great to see what the kids come up with while stopping to be grateful for all they are blessed with. The first day begins by cutting out a turkey from construction paper and choosing several colors of feathers to cut out ahead of time. Depending when you start this craft, time it out so you have a fully feathered Thankful Turkey by Thanksgiving. You could choose to do a feather a day in which the kids write something they are grateful for, then paste on the turkey as it hangs on a wall, window or fridge.

9. Feet Pilgrim

This is certainly a craft that needs to be done outside, and takes longer to clean up than to complete, yet is super cute… and the kids love the messiness of it all. On a paper plate, choose a tan/peach colored acrylic paint and leave a heel-sized glob. Then place a larger, black pool of paint above it. Help your kids press their foot onto the paint with the heal in the tan colored paint. Place their foot on the working white paper carefully, leaving their two-toned footprint. After this dries (which is about how long it will take to remove the paint off your kids’ feet), use a few paints or markers to fill in the picture as male and female pilgrims! A great addition to the Thanksgiving fridge!

10. Turkey Hats and Beaks

This is two simple crafts in one – a great one to pull out should your family tradition be spending the full day together…whether you have kids or not – HA! This will take some preparation. For the hats, you will need brown paper cups, orange pipe cleaners, colorful feathers (paper or real), construction paper, a head band or elastic… and google eyes. The only addition to this for the turkey beak is a tongue depressor/popsicle stick. From there, it is cut-out time to make your turkey and turkey faces look great. Again – the kids will pretend to be turkeys for way longer than you think they could with this craft! This a link to something similar for additional ideas for your turkey hats.

A good, engaging craft at the right time can make a world of difference when you’re struggling with what to do with the kids until dinner time. Fall hosts a ton of themes that make for great crafts. You could find just about anything you desire with a simple search. These crafts were great for my kids and I, and I hope you’re creativity was sparked to involve your kids this fall.

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