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Halloween is a great time to indulge your creative side: whether you describe yourself as young, old or young-at-heart (translation: incredibly old), it’s the perfect excuse to settle down with some paints, paper and glitter to relax and unwind. And sometimes, people with dyslexia are very good at it: through what many people consider a heightened creative side and the ability to think outside the box, many individuals who have dyslexia excel in arts and design – Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso and Leonardo da Vinci to name but a few. So it’s a wonderful opportunity to really get creative and make some fun spooky things with that special someone who has dyslexia in your life too.
So that’s why we’ve chosen some Halloween crafts to get you started! These are simple and effective crafts that everybody will be able to enjoy (although for kids, perhaps some adult supervision is required where ovens and scissors are required). We’ve especially chosen these because of their short and easy-to-follow instructions, simple language and step-by-step formula that makes them easier to read for people with dyslexia and literacy differences. You can also use the on-page accessibility tools and screen readers to alleviate the stress of reading altogether; or print them out in order to use a handheld scanning device such as a ReaderPen to create a detailed audio feedback of the on-page text.
Let’s get spooky!
Halloween Baking
Autumn is the season of gingerbread, pumpkin spice and all things nice, so it’s the perfect time to start getting culinary in the kitchen and maybe even hone your festive gingerbread recipes for the festive period. We especially love this Halloween gingerbread recipe from BBC food which is simply written and easy to follow; and for the more advanced chefs among us, we simply adore this super-creepy spiderweb cake– but be careful with this one, as if The Great British Bake Off has taught us one thing, it’s that Swiss meringue buttercream icing isn’t to be taken lightly.
Costume Creation
Going out trick-or-treating? We’ve got it covered. I mean, you could go to a store and buy a ready-made Halloween costume, complete with masks, comfy hook-and-loop tape fastenings and a wipe-clean front for those inevitable sugary drink spills – or you could create something yourself! We’re big fans of these 15 DIY Halloween Costumes for Kids, or for the more macabre amongst us, you can take a look for inspiration for some eldritch horror level costumes from the vault of millennial fears, such as ‘Student Loan Debt Collection Agency Employee, ‘That One Guy in Your Office Who Wants You To Try His Homemade Kombucha’ and (worst of all) ‘Grandparent Who Won’t Stop Talking About Politics’.
Pumpkin Carving
A Halloween tradition almost as old as the holiday itself (alright, that’s not strictly true, but certainly in our modern estimation of it) is carving your very own pumpkin! From the classic creepily grinning gourd to some more cool and creative designs from the worlds of film and media, they’re a great way to display your commitment to spooky season right on your doorstep, as well as letting Trick-or-Treaters know that you’re up for dishing out some candy treats if they dare to step inside the spook zone (your front garden).
Paper Crafts
From spooky bat garlands to add a little seasonal frightfulness to your porch to dangling spiderweb wreaths to decorate your windows, Halloween wouldn’t be Halloween without some quick and easy paper crafts to help create some atmosphere! The best thing about these is that unlike the plastic garlands that you’d buy in stories or online, they’re paper and will biodegrade much easier than ones made of acetate or laminated cardboard – because let’s face it, there’s nothing spookier than the idea of non-recyclable plastics and exhausting the world’s natural resources by the time we’re 50.
Spooky Stones
You know what kids love? Painting rocks. We’re not even being sarcastic here, it’s actually a pretty beloved arts and crafts staple that can create some cool paperweights and decorations that can be used again and again – and from the painted rock gardens created in honour of the NHS over here in the UK to the funky painted stones we’ve loved watching you create for our Go Red For Dyslexia campaign, it’s actually a fun way of exploring mixed media and creating something useful. We love these Halloween Monster Painted Rocks, as well as these super-creepy Halloween silhouette rocks that are as aesthetic as they come.
As ever, make sure to follow adult attendance and safety guidelines when using sharp objects, and happy crafting – it’s the season to be spooky, but that doesn't mean a trip to urgent care has to be on the cards.
Happy Crafting! 🕷️
