Halloween Cardboard Tube Crafts

One cardboard tube becomes a ghost. The next becomes a monster. Then, someone decides it should have vampire teeth instead.

Soon the table fills with witches, pumpkins, bats, goblins, silly monsters, and spooky little creatures that no one planned to make when the afternoon began.

That is what makes these Halloween Cardboard Tube Crafts so unforgettable. Children rarely stop after creating one character. Every finished craft sparks another idea until ordinary cardboard tubes become an entire Halloween world of their own.

Whether you are looking for an easy Halloween craft, a creative way to reuse cardboard tubes, or an afternoon project that keeps children happily creating, these Halloween Cardboard Tube Crafts offer one simple invitation:

Set out the supplies and see who appears.

Planning more Halloween fun? Find more spooky experiments, messy play, and kid-made magic in our Halloween Activities for Kids collection.

Looking for something to do next? Explore hundreds of ways to play, create, experiment, and make a little mess together in our Play Recipes collection.

Why Kids Love Halloween Cardboard Tube Crafts

Children begin with something they recognize. A plain cardboard tube. Then, something changes.

A little paint becomes a pumpkin. A triangle of paper becomes a witch's hat. A pair of crooked eyes turns an ordinary tube into a monster no one has ever seen before.

Children decide which colors to use, how many eyes each creature needs, and whether their vampire should look spooky, surprised, or completely ridiculous. There is no single finished design to copy, so every choice becomes part of the character.

The first craft is only the beginning.

Soon the characters have names, voices, families, pets, and adventures waiting to happen. What began as a simple Halloween activity becomes an afternoon of creating, comparing, storytelling, and pretend play.

Supplies

Here's all you need.

This project is easier than it looks, and children can use whatever craft materials you already have on hand.

You will need:

• Empty cardboard tubes
• Washable paint
• Paintbrushes
• Construction paper
• Googly eyes
• Glue
• Child-safe scissors
• Markers or crayons

Optional materials:

• Yarn
• Pipe cleaners
• Craft sticks
• Tissue paper
• Pom-poms
• Sequins
• Fabric scraps
• Stickers

Children do not need every material on this list. A few tubes, some paint, paper, and glue are enough to begin.

How to Make Halloween Cardboard Tube Crafts

Step 1. Prepare the tubes

Begin by collecting several empty cardboard tubes. Toilet paper rolls work perfectly. Paper towel tubes can also be cut into smaller sections.

Paint each tube a solid Halloween color and allow it to dry completely.

Try:

• Orange for pumpkins
• Green or purple for monsters
• Black for bats and cats
• White for ghosts
• Pale green for witches
• Cream for vampires

Children can also wrap the tubes in construction paper instead of painting them. Colored craft tubes work well, too. At first, they still look like ordinary tubes. The transformation has only just begun.

Step 2. Choose a character

Once the paint is dry, invite children to decide what each tube might become.

Do they see a ghost?

A monster?

A witch with wild orange hair?

Or maybe a vampire with tiny paper teeth?

There is no need to plan every character before beginning. One idea often appears while children are working on another.

Step 3. Build the face

Add googly eyes, paper eyes, or faces drawn with markers.

Children can experiment with:

• One giant eye
• Several tiny eyes
• Crooked eyes
• Sleepy eyes
• Surprised expressions
• Silly smiles
• Jagged monster teeth
• Tiny vampire fangs

Matching eyes are never required.

In fact, the crooked ones are often the funniest.

Step 4. Add character details

Cut construction paper into the details that make each character recognizable.

Try adding:

• Wings for bats
• Pointed hats for witches
• Ears and whiskers for cats
• Triangle eyes for pumpkins
• Capes and fangs for vampires
• Spikes, horns, or extra arms for monsters
• Flowing paper tails for ghosts

Yarn makes wonderfully wild witch hair. Pipe cleaners can become spider legs, antennae, arms, or curly monster hair.

Children may begin by copying one of these characters, but their own ideas quickly take over.

Step 5. Glue everything in place

Once children are happy with their designs, glue the paper details onto each tube. Allow the characters to dry before playing with them.

A small amount of glue is usually enough. Too much can make the paper slide while children are arranging the pieces.

Step 6. Make another character

Now comes the part children have been waiting for. Place another cardboard tube on the table and see what happens.

The first monster may need a friend.

A witch might be looking for her cat.

Even the vampire could use a ghostly neighbor.

Every completed character seems to answer one question while creating another:

Who should we make next?

[INSERT VAMPIRE, GHOST, AND BAT IMAGE HERE]

Filename: cardboard-tube-vampire-ghost-bat.jpeg
Alt text: Cardboard tube vampire, ghost, and bat crafts arranged together on a black background.

Halloween Cardboard Tube Craft Ideas

Children can transform cardboard tubes into almost any Halloween character they imagine.

Here are a few ideas to begin.

Cardboard Tube Ghosts

Paint a tube white and add large eyes and a surprised mouth. Paper streamers or tissue paper can become a floating ghost tail.

Some ghosts look spooky.

Others seem far more interested in making everyone laugh.

Cardboard Tube Monsters

Monsters leave room for the biggest ideas.

Add three eyes, six teeth, paper horns, colorful spikes, or long pipe-cleaner arms. Nothing has to match because no one knows what a monster is supposed to look like.

Cardboard Tube Witches

Paint the tube green, add a black paper hat, and give the witch yarn hair.

Children can create friendly witches, sleepy witches, silly witches, or witches who insist on wearing enormous hats.

Cardboard Tube Pumpkins

Paint the tube orange and add a jack-o’-lantern face.

A strip of green paper or a pipe cleaner can become the stem. Children can make each pumpkin smile, frown, wink, or look completely surprised.

Cardboard Tube Vampires

Add a paper cape, tiny white fangs, and a dramatic face.

A black paper triangle can create a pointed hairline, while red paper makes an easy vampire collar.

Cardboard Tube Bats

Paint the tube black and attach paper wings.

Add large yellow eyes, tiny fangs, and pointed ears. Children can spread the wings wide or fold them around the tube as though the bat is sleeping.

Cardboard Tube Cats

Black paper ears, yellow eyes, whiskers, and a curling tail quickly turn a tube into a Halloween cat.

Add a bow or tiny paper hat if the cat needs a little extra personality.

Child-Invented Creatures

Some of the best characters will not fit into any familiar category.

A ghost may grow horns.

A pumpkin might need bat wings.

A monster may wear a witch hat and vampire teeth.

Let those ideas happen.

The goal is not to make matching decorations. It is to give children a starting point and see who appears.

Tips for Success

A few simple choices help the crafting stay enjoyable from beginning to end.

• Paint the tubes ahead of time when working with younger children who may not want to wait for them to dry.

• Cut a few basic paper shapes before beginning but leave plenty of paper available for original ideas.

• Place googly eyes, paper scraps, yarn, and pipe cleaners in small bowls so children can see their choices.

• Keep extra cardboard tubes nearby. Children rarely stop after making only one character.

• Use washable paint and protect the table with paper or an easy-to-clean covering.

• Let the characters look child-made. Crooked teeth, uneven eyes, and loose paper details give them personality.

• Offer help with cutting when needed but allow children to make as many design decisions as possible.

Ways to Extend the Play

The crafting may end, but the characters are usually just getting started.

Build a haunted house

Use a cardboard box to create a home for the finished characters.

Children can add doors, windows, secret passages, beds, and tiny rooms for every creature they made.

Create a Halloween parade

Line the characters across the table and let each child introduce their creations.

Who leads the parade?

Who brings up the rear?

Which monster keeps wandering away?

Invent a story

Choose one character and begin a Halloween story together.

Perhaps the ghost cannot remember where it lives.

Maybe the witch has lost her cat.

A monster might be searching for the perfect costume.

Let each child add the next part.

Put on a puppet show

Children can hold the tubes directly or attach craft sticks to create simple puppets.

Turn off the lights, use a flashlight as a spotlight, and invite the characters onto the stage.

Hide the characters

Place the finished crafts around the room for a Halloween scavenger hunt.

Children can search for each creature, count how many they find, or follow clues from one character to the next.

Create a Halloween town

Add blocks, small boxes, play dough, or construction paper roads.

Before long, the cardboard tube characters may have houses, shops, castles, caves, and an entire neighborhood of their own.

Frequently Asked Questions

What age are Halloween cardboard tube crafts best for?

Preschoolers, kindergarteners, elementary-aged children, and older kids can all enjoy this activity.

Younger children may need help cutting small details or attaching pieces. Older children often create more elaborate characters and accessories.

Can we use toilet paper rolls?

Yes. Empty toilet paper rolls are the perfect size for these crafts.

Paper towel tubes can also be cut into smaller sections.

Do we have to paint the tubes?

No.

Children can wrap the tubes in construction paper, use colored craft tubes, or decorate the plain cardboard directly.

What kind of paint works best?

Washable tempera or acrylic craft paint works well.

Washable paint is usually the easiest choice when crafting with young children.

How long does the paint take to dry?

Drying time depends on the type and thickness of the paint.

A thin coat may dry within 20 to 30 minutes. Thicker coats may take longer. Painting the tubes before the activity can help children begin decorating right away.

What can we use instead of googly eyes?

Children can draw eyes with markers or cut them from construction paper.

Stickers, buttons, pom-poms, and circles cut from magazines can also work.

Can these be made in a classroom?

Yes.

Paint or cover the tubes before class when time is limited. Set out small trays of paper shapes, eyes, yarn, and other details so children can create their characters independently.

Can the finished crafts be saved?

Once the paint and glue are completely dry, the characters can be displayed throughout the Halloween season.

Store them in a box after Halloween, and they may return for more storytelling and play the following year.

More Halloween Crafts Kids Will Love

If one cardboard tube turned into an entire table of Halloween characters, these activities offer even more ways to keep the creativity going.

Halloween Mummies

Wrap cardboard tubes in gauze and add crooked googly eyes to create funny little mummies children can name, display, and use during imaginative play.

Ghost Lollipops

Turn ordinary lollipops into friendly little ghosts that children can share with classmates, neighbors, and trick-or-treaters.

Halloween Paint

Invite children to create colorful, spooky artwork with Halloween-inspired paints and playful techniques.

Halloween Activities for Kids

Discover our complete collection of Halloween crafts, science experiments, sensory play, party ideas, and family activities for every age.

An Entire Halloween World

Long after the glue has dried, the characters often remain.

A witch sits beside a pumpkin.

A ghost waits near a crooked little monster.

A vampire leans toward a bat as though they are sharing a secret no one else can hear.

And somewhere between painting the first cardboard tube and reaching for the next, children have created an entire Halloween world of their own.

Because they were never just decorating tubes.

They were deciding who each one would become.

“Can I make another one?”

Save This Idea for Later

A few cardboard tubes, a handful of simple supplies, and a little imagination are all it takes for another Halloween character to appear.

Save these Halloween Cardboard Tube Crafts on Pinterest so they're ready the next time your family is looking for an easy Halloween craft or a creative afternoon together.