10 Fun and Easy Fall Crafts for Kids
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I’ve rounded up 10 easy fall craft ideas that won’t have you running to three different stores or pulling your hair out over complicated instructions. These are the kind of projects where you dump the supplies on the kitchen table, let the kids go wild, and actually enjoy the chaos. Think crunchy leaves, warm colors, and that cozy autumn feeling — and the best part? They look brilliant for the little effort they take. Simple to make, fun to do, and perfectly festive for fall.
Leaf Printing
Take a walk and let your kids pick the coolest leaves they can find. Back home, paint those leaves and press them onto paper. You'll end up with prints that look way fancier than the effort required. Frame a few and suddenly you're that parent with seasonal décor.
Apple Stamped Pumpkins
Slice an apple in half, dip it in orange paint, and stamp away. Your kid will be thrilled that they're making pumpkins. You'll be thrilled that this craft takes five minutes and you can eat the other half of the apple.
Paper Plate Owls
Paper plates are the unsung heroes of kid crafts. Paint the plates, glue on some leaves and those giant googly eyes that make everything adorable. Bonus: owls are very forgiving if the symmetry is... creative.
Fingerprint Trees
Draw a simple tree trunk and branches. Then let little fingers do the rest, dotting on leaves in reds, oranges, and yellows. Fair warning: you might find orange fingerprints on your couch later. Worth it.
Leaf People
This one's silly and perfect. Glue googly eyes onto real leaves and draw mouths. Suddenly your kitchen table is populated by a family of leaf characters with distinct personalities. My daughter once made one she called "Jeremy" and we had to keep him for weeks.
Leaf Handprint Turkeys
Glue colourful fall leaves onto a paper plate, then add a brown handprint turkey cutout with paper legs, beak, and wattle.
It's a Thanksgiving classic for a reason. Plus, you get to see how much bigger their hands got since last year.
Rock Owls
Find smooth rocks and paint them to look like owls, hedgehogs, or whatever creature strikes your fancy. Display them on windowsills or in the garden. They're like permanent little friends watching over your house. For more ideas, check out the great resources at artycraftykids—they have lots of creative rock painting examples! If you’re feeling extra creative, try making Hedwig from Harry Potter (can you tell I’m a millennial?).
Painted Leaf Art
Pick up some sturdy leaves and turn them into animals with markers or paint. Let your child use the shape of each leaf to decide which animal to create and where to draw its features—sometimes a pointy leaf makes the perfect fox nose, or a round leaf is great for an owl’s face. Drawing or painting animal faces on fall leaves means each creation is totally unique. Owls, foxes, hedgehogs—whatever your kid sees in that leaf shape. This is where you discover your 6-year-old has more artistic vision than you ever will.
Nature Collage
Take a little adventure outdoors with your child — pockets ready for treasures! Gather fallen leaves, tiny twigs, flower petals, and seeds, then bring them home to create your very own nature collage. As you glue each piece in place, you’re not just making art — you’re capturing a little piece of the season, one leaf at a time. No two collages will ever be alike, and that’s the magic of it.
Handprint fall tree
Trace those tiny hands and turn them into a masterpiece of autumn magic! Paint a paper roll brown for the tree trunk, then add colourful leaves in red, orange, and yellow. It’s such a sweet keepsake of those little hands before they grow too big.
Here's the thing about fall crafts: they're not really about making Pinterest-perfect decorations. They're about your kid proudly presenting you with something that looks nothing like what you planned, and you loving it anyway.
So don't stress about perfection. Let the glitter spill. Let the glue strings hang everywhere. Take pictures of the messy process, not just the finished product, because those are the moments you'll want to remember.
Grab your supplies, embrace the chaos, and make some fall magic together. The house will be a disaster, but the memories will be beautiful.