Seasonal Activities

Free Halloween Ghost Craft Activity: Strengthening Little Hands

Make your own Halloween decoration: a fluffy cotton wool ghost to cut, stick and hang, with plenty of scissor practice along the way.

Updated 5 September 2023

Halloween ghost craft made from white paper covered in cotton wool with black paper eyes

Quick answer

Cut a ghost from white paper, cover it in cotton wool, add black paper eyes and a mouth, and attach a string to hang it. Ages 3 to 7, about 20 minutes.

Let's make a Halloween decoration ourselves and have a lot of fun along the way. This activity uses scissors, which supports fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination, and it asks your child to hold the paper with one hand while cutting with the other. The cotton wool is a fun texture to explore as well.

1. Cotton wool ghost

A fluffy hanging ghost cut from white paper and covered in cotton wool, with black paper eyes and a string to hang it up.

Best forScissor skills and texture play
Age3 to 7
TimeAbout 20 minutes
Mess levelLow
DifficultyEasy
CostUnder £2

You will need

White and black paper
Cotton wool
String or yarn
Glue
Scissors

How to set it up

Draw a ghost shape on the white paper and eyes and a mouth on the black paper, then ask your child to cut them out.
Spread glue over the ghost and stick on cotton wool until it is nice and fluffy.
Stick on the eyes and mouth, and attach a string to the back.
Hang it up to bring a little spookiness to the house.

Why it helps

Cutting with scissors builds hand strength and bilateral coordination: holding the paper with one hand while cutting with the other, which later helps with buttoning and zipping coats. The cotton wool adds a texture to explore, and hanging the finished ghost gives the craft a purpose your child can see every day.

Safety notes

Use child-safe scissors and supervise cutting. Cotton wool pulls apart into small pieces, so keep it away from babies and pets, and hang the ghost out of reach of the youngest.