When ghosts and ghouls are pounding pavements trick or treating, Halloween can seem a blur! Between face paints, costumes and carving, we round up our top five simple Halloween crafts for kids.

You will need…

An egg box, black poster or acrylic paint, paintbrush, scissors, googly eyes, glue or double-sided tape, string, ribbon or elastic.

BATS

• How to…
• Cut the egg box into a three-cup sections
• Cut out two triangles on both of the end cups to create wings
• Attach the googly eyes with glue or double-sided tape
• Pierce a hole in the top of the bat, thread and knot the string or ribbon and hang
• Want the bat to bounce in flight? Use an elastic band instead of string

Not blind as a bat!

Some bats can see as well as humans! So ‘blind as a bat’ doesn’t fit all our flapping friends. However, at night, their ears are more important than their eyes – they use a special sonar system called ‘echolocation’ to pinpoint objects using echoes. So when they fly at up to 60mph, it’s unlikely you’ll face a head on collision. Phew!

Boo! Wingston the bat Witchney and Cryptopher the vampire haunt our Boo! Box Halloween chocolate collection. Wingston’s wings flap out, making an instant, extra Halloween decoration. Keep your doors closed though, he’s prone to take to the skies.

MUMMIES

You will need…

Black cardboard, white wool, googly eyes, glue or double-sided tape.

How to…

• Roughly draw the body shape you want, the simpler the better
• Cut it out carefully with scissors
• Gently wrap the wool around, as often as you like
• Leave a space to glue the two googly eyes in place.

From ancient Egypt direct to your door. Warning: may attract trick or treaters.

FUN FACT

Mum, why mummy?

The English term mummy is derived from the medieval Latin word mumia, which in turn comes from the medieval Arabic word mumiya and Persian mum (wax). So there you go, all wrapped up.

SPIDERS

You will need…

Wood craft sticks (look like ice lolly sticks), craft glue, white wool, plastic spiders (you may find a few in the cupboard from last Halloween).

How to…

• Glue three craft sticks together to make the spiderweb structure
• Wait to dry and cut a few long lengths of wool
• Tie one end around the middle and wrap in each direction to secure centre
• Wrap the wool around each spoke of the web
• You’ll get a better effect if you wrap over the top of each stick
• Work your way around, spacing the wool slightly apart
• When you’ve made a whole web tie a knot
• Use the remaining length of wool to hang up your web

The perfect catch for Halloween windows.

PUMPKINS

You will need…

Apples, paper (black or white), orange, green and black poster or acrylic paint.

How to…

• First cut the apple in half
• Gently pat dry with a paper towel
• Dip the apple stamp into the orange paint
• Print your basic pumpkin face as many times as you like
• Leave to dry, then add a green stalk and black for face details
• Use black paint or a permanent black marker to add finer detail

Super-easy alternative: Draw pumpkin faces on clementines. All you need is a black, permanent felt marker. Advantage: you can always eat them if you make a mistake!

FUN FACTS

Why do apples bob?

That apple you crunch through is 25% air, which explains why they rise to the surface of water.  If an object is less dense than water, it floats. Which is why apples ‘bob’.

Where does ‘pumpkin’ come from?

A seed, yes, but the name pumpkin comes from the Greek word ‘pepon’, meaning ‘large melon’. Large, and very round!

Perfect on your patch: pumpkin pie isn’t to everyone’s taste. The Yumpkin 40% milk chocolate pumpkin is a real treat, made with more cocoa, less sugar. If it lasts to Halloween, also makes a great decoration!

GHOSTS

You will need…

Two or four pint clean, empty plastic milk bottles, LED fairy lights, permanent black marker.

How to…

The simplest and possibly most effective of them all. We love these on doorsteps at Halloween. Draw your spooky expression in marker and wait to dry. When it’s dark outside and you’re ready to haunt, simply switch on the LED fairy lights and place them in the bottle. Eerie and effective.

FUN FACTS

Ghostly lovies treading the boards

In Covent Garden plays have been produced for over 300 years. It seems in Drury Lane ghosts also want to tread the boards. The most famous is the ‘Man in Grey’ a nobleman carrying a sword. True or just an act?

 Who’s looking at you? Spooky. You can’t escape the stare of our Oozy Eyes, one bite and they drip molten red caramel. Fabulously gory, gorgeous eyeballs.

Want a crafty pick-me-up? Fiends are afoot in our Halloween chocolate collection, keep your spirits lifted while you’re busy with the glue and scissors.

Share the spooky results or your own decoration tips on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Happy handmade haunting!