Preschool Crafts

4 Ghost Crafts for Preschoolers (Easy, Low Prep)

4 easy ghost crafts for preschoolers with step-by-step pictures. Simple Halloween ideas for ages 3 to 5 using paper, cotton balls, and paint.

Kindergarten Prep Team
Oct 14, 2026

White on black is the whole trick. A footprint, a cotton ball, or a white tube plus two drawn eyes is a ghost. Here are four ghost crafts, each with a picture, supplies, and steps, from the cotton ball ghost craft preschool rooms make in October to a tissue ghost for the window.

A three-year-old can cover the outline with cotton balls alone and finish in ten minutes. A five-year-old ties the tissue ghost and names each one in the paper roll ghost family. They fit the week before Halloween.

Start here: three ghost crafts that always work

Cotton ball ghost, an easy ghost craft for preschoolers made with simple suppliesCotton ball ghostGlue and cotton balls, a three does it aloneFootprint ghost, an easy ghost craft for preschoolers made with simple suppliesFootprint ghostOne footprint, five minutesTissue ghost, an easy ghost craft for preschoolers made with simple suppliesTissue ghostTissue, a cotton ball and string

4 easy ghost crafts for preschoolers, with pictures

Footprint ghost, an easy ghost craft for preschoolers made with simple supplies

1. Footprint ghost

The child's white footprint on black paper, heel at the top, becomes a ghost with drawn eyes and mouth.

You need: 1 sheet of black construction paper, white poster paint, paintbrush, black marker

How to make it
  1. Brush white paint thickly over the bottom of your child's bare foot.
  2. Press the foot in the middle of the black paper with the heel at the top. Lift it straight up.
  3. Let the print dry.
  4. Draw 2 dot eyes and a small oval mouth on the heel with the black marker.
Cotton ball ghost, an easy ghost craft for preschoolers made with simple supplies

2. Cotton ball ghost

The child glues cotton balls all over a ghost outline and adds black eyes and a mouth.

You need: white paper, cotton balls, black paper, 1 sheet of black paper, glue

How to make it
  1. You cut a ghost shape from white paper. Glue it in the middle of the black sheet.
  2. Your child glues cotton balls over it until it is covered.
  3. Cut 2 small black ovals and 1 larger one. Glue the small ones on the cotton as eyes and the larger one below them as an open mouth.
Paper roll ghost family, an easy ghost craft for preschoolers made with simple supplies

3. Paper roll ghost family

The child paints tubes of different heights white and draws a face on each ghost.

You need: 3 cardboard tubes cut to different heights, white paint, black paint, paper plate for the paint

How to make it
  1. Your child paints all the tubes white. Let them dry.
  2. Stand them in a row.
  3. Your child dips a fingertip in black paint and presses 2 dabs near the top of each tube as eyes.
  4. Press a third dab and drag it into a longer oval as the mouth.
Tissue ghost, an easy ghost craft for preschoolers made with simple supplies

4. Tissue ghost

The child drapes white tissue paper over a cotton ball, ties it with string and draws a ghost face.

You need: 1 square of white tissue paper, 1 cotton ball, 1 short piece of black string, black marker

How to make it
  1. Place the cotton ball in the middle of the tissue square.
  2. Gather the tissue up around it and tie the string under it so the ball is the head.
  3. Your child draws 2 eyes and a round open mouth on the head.
Free · 30 questions · about 4 minutes Is your child on track for kindergarten? Answer 30 questions about what your child does today, and you get a report like this one: Every area at a glance: strong, on track, or worth a little time The one or two areas to focus on first Simple things to do at home for each area How many months you have until kindergarten starts Get my child's free report → Example kindergarten readiness report with a bar for each area: language, social-emotional, math, thinking, fine motor and literacy

Easy ghost craft for preschoolers: the 1 a young three can do

One of these a young three can do almost alone: Cotton ball ghost. No exact cutting, no small pieces, and the glue stick does the rest.

Ghost crafts for Halloween: setup, mess and what to do with them

White paint on black paper shows best. Keep a damp cloth next to the footprint ghost so the foot is wiped the moment it lifts, and tape the paper down so it does not slide.

For the cotton ball ghost, draw the outline, squeeze the glue inside it and let your child press the cotton balls on. That part needs no help at all.

Tie the tissue ghost with a piece of string and hang it from a doorway or a branch in a jar. A row of paper roll ghosts stands on the windowsill through October.

Draw the faces last, once the paint is dry. Two dots and an O for the mouth is enough, and a three year old can do that part.

Free · 30 questions · about 4 minutes Before you go: see where your child is for kindergarten A report with every area at a glance, what to focus on first, and things to do at home. Get my child's free report →

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