7 Easy Halloween Crafts for Seniors

One of the most common conditions a senior can experience is loneliness. It’s harmful for their mental health in ways that extends to their physical health. The solution to helping a loved one avoid loneliness doesn’t have to be difficult – it can be fun. Your family should seek out opportunities to keep your loved one active and engaged as they age. Finding activities to spend time together around as a family isn’t just good for enjoying yourself and creating memories, it’s good for your loved one’s health.

With Halloween approaching, you’ve got an easy opportunity for planning some fun activities handed to you. We’ve got seven easy Halloween craft ideas you can tackle with the senior(s) in your life and any other family members you enlist to join you. You can always add to the activity with spooky music or some Fall-themed snacks.

1. Pom-pom Spiders

Making the pom-poms themselves may take some time, but once you’ve got those done, turning them into a spider is simple. You can add a few to strategic spots around the house and be greeted by adorable spiders throughout the Halloween season.

2. Floating Ghost

Spiders are one thing, but ghosts are a quintessential part of the Halloween experience. Work together to make one of these guys (or a few so anyone participating in your Halloweeen craft day has one to take home) for an extra addition to your Halloween decorations.

3. Bat Mobile

Time to add bats to the mix! Martha Stewart’s bat mobile is pretty easy to put together using the provided bat templates, a bit of construction paper, and a branch from the yard.

4. No-carve Pumpkins

Decorated pumpkins are an obvious go-to for Halloween crafts, but depending on the age and dexterity of those you’ll be crafting with, you might want to avoid the sharp tools. Even so, you’ve got plenty of decorating options to choose from! This Buzzfeed list offers 37 carveless pumpkin-decorating ideas that involve glitter, paint, ribbons and more, but your creativity can always add even more ideas to the list.

5. Super-sized Spider

Those pom-pom spiders are a little involved, so if you want something simpler (or something in addition), you can make these very simple super-sized spiders to add to your Halloween decorations as well.

6. Tin Can Luminaries

If you want to add some outdoor decorations to your craft plans for the day, these tin can luminaries look great on a front porch. They do involve some advance prep, so be sure to throw them in the freezer the day before your Halloween craft day is planned.

7. Ghost Wreath

Finally, we’ve got our ghost wreath. Find a wreath that has the potential for spookiness, and dress it up per the instructions above. This can go inside or outside, depending on your preference. If you like the felt ghosts, you can always add extras to put up in different parts of the house.

If you’re the primary caregiver of a senior in your life, it can be a challenge to remember to stop and have fun together. Let Halloween be a handy excuse to do so! Commit an afternoon to working together on crafts and any other Halloween activities you think you and your loved one might enjoy. You’ll gain memories, decorations and a pleasant afternoon out of the deal.

Happy Halloween!

Kristen Hicks

Kristen Hicks is an Austin-based copywriter and lifelong student with an ongoing curiousity to learn and explore new things. She turns that interest to researching and exploring subjects helpful to seniors and their families for SeniorAdvisor.com.