52 Fall Craft Ideas – Create Beautiful Keepsakes This Autumn Season
As the leaves turn golden and the air grows crisp, fall is the perfect time to dive into some creative crafts that celebrate the season.
Whether you are looking for classic fall-themed projects or something a bit more personal, like crafts with handprints and footprints, here are 52 fall craft ideas sorted by what you will be making them from. Gather your materials and get ready for a season of colorful leaves, pumpkins and keepsakes.
Handprint and Footprint Fall Crafts
The biggest group on the list, and the one worth dating on the back. Little hands change fast, and a handprint turkey or fall tree is an easy way to mark where they were this autumn. Most need nothing more than paint and paper.
Stamp colorful handprints around a painted tree trunk to represent fall leaves. Use different colors for a vibrant autumn look.
Trace and cut out your child’s handprint on yellow paper. Add googly eyes and draw a smile. Glue on yellow air dry clay squares to mimic corn kernels and attach green leaves.
Trace and cut out handprints in various fall colors. Arrange them in a circular pattern to create a festive wreath for your door.
A handprint acorn card, with full instructions from The Best Ideas for Kids.
Read the tutorialUse a painted handprint for the squirrel’s body and tail. Add a drawn or cut-out face, and surround it with painted leaves for a complete autumn scene.
Cut out multiple yellow handprints to form the petals of the sunflower. Add a black circle in the center and green leaves below.
Paint your hand in fall colors, press it onto paper, add a googly eye and a wattle to the thumb, and you’ve got a fun turkey handprint craft!
Create your own pumpkin patch using orange handprints for pumpkins. Add green vines and stems for a fun and festive fall activity!
Paint a brown handprint to resemble a football, then add white stitching details. Perfect for fall sports fans!1 cup sweetened condensed milk.
Trace and cut out your child’s handprints in various colors, arrange them in a fan shape to create a turkey tail, and add a turkey body for a cute and colorful keepsake.
Paint handprints in red and green to mimic apples, then arrange them in a paper basket. Add brown strips for a woven basket effect.
Paint a handprint with different colors on each finger to resemble turkey feathers. Add eyes, a beak, and feet to bring your turkey to life.
Paint handprints in various colors to create owls perched on a branch. Add googly eyes and details like feathers and feet for a whimsical touch.
Create a simple yet striking fall craft by placing a black handprint directly onto a pumpkin, letting the bold print stand out against the vibrant orange.
Create a scarecrow using handprints for the body parts. Add a painted face, hat, and details like grass to complete this cute fall scene.
Use handprints cut out in fall colors to resemble leaves. Glue them onto a paper plate and add details like leaf veins for a realistic look.
Paint a handprint red and cut it out to resemble an apple. Add a green paper leaf and frame it for a simple yet striking craft display.
A personalized 3D handprint tree, with full instructions from The Best Ideas for Kids.
Read the tutorialPaint your hand orange, press it onto paper, add googly eyes and paper ears and a snout to create a cute fox handprint craft!
Use white handprints as gnome beards and add colorful paper hats on top. Decorate each hat with different patterns and embellishments.
Trace and cut out a handprint for the tree trunk and use various colors of paint to create thumbprint leaves, making a colorful fall tree.
Use brown acrylic paint on the hand and different fall color acrylic paint on the fingers. Make a handprint on shrinky dink paper and follow the directions for shrinking the handprint!
Shop the suppliesUse brown paint and handprints to create the hedgehog’s body on a piece of paper, then add a face and other details with markers.
Dip hands in paint to create vegetable shapes on paper, cut them out, and string them together to make a festive garland.
Shop the list
Fall Play Favorites
Crafting is half of it. These are the toys, books and craft kits we actually reach for once the weather turns, from pumpkin sensory bins to leaf puzzles. All 61 picks live in one Amazon list.
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Leaf, Pinecone and Nature Crafts
Start with a walk. Leaves, pinecones and acorns do most of the work in this group, which makes these good for the afternoon after a trip to the park.
Cut out photos of children and attach them to a background with real or faux leaves, giving the illusion they are blowing the leaves in the wind.
Cut out a pumpkin shape from cardboard and fill it with natural elements like leaves, twigs, and berries, then glue them down for a textured fall-themed decoration.
Transform a green leaf into a fall leaf, scratch-off style, to discover the colors of autumn.
Read the tutorialCollect various leaves and arrange them to form different animal shapes on paper, adding googly eyes for a whimsical effect.
Glue felt pieces, googly eyes, and a small felt beak onto a pinecone to create an adorable owl perfect for fall decorations.
Decorate a plain photo frame with burlap, faux leaves, and acorns to create a rustic, fall-themed frame perfect for displaying family photos.
Squeeze a paper roll and use it as a stamp dipping it in fall colors to make leaves on a tree!
Gather fall leaves, pinecones, and acorns, and arrange them on a wreath base to create a beautiful autumn decoration for your door.
Turkey and Thanksgiving Crafts
Place settings, counting games and a turkey that blows up. These carry you from fall straight through to the Thanksgiving table.
Use a paper plate and colorful construction paper feathers labeled with each letter of a child’s name to create a personalized turkey decoration.
Give the turkey its feathers back. An easy set-up that works on fine motor skills.
Read the tutorialDecorate a paper cup with construction paper feathers, googly eyes, and a beak to create a festive turkey perfect for a Thanksgiving centerpiece.
Cut out a turkey shape and write things you’re thankful for on colorful paper feathers, then attach them to the turkey to create a thoughtful Thanksgiving craft.
Use a disposable plastic glove on top of a cup with our printable for this fun craftivity!
Get the printablePrint out turkey shapes and use numbered clothespins to create a fun and educational counting game for kids.
Get the printableApple, Corn and Harvest Crafts
Apples, corn and the rest of the harvest, with a few that sneak in letter recognition and color mixing along the way.
Paint bubble wrap yellow, cut out a corn shape, and add green construction paper husks for a fun and tactile corn craft.
Thread yellow and brown beads onto pipe cleaners to create a miniature corn cob, perfect for Thanksgiving decorations.
A color mixing activity with yellow and red paint that makes orange, with no mess.
Read the tutorialA lacing activity that is great for strengthening fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination.
Read the tutorialLearning the ABCs and cutting skills collide. Kids pick the alphabet fruit off the tree.
Read the tutorialCreate a fall owl craft from brown paper bag, adding googly eyes and a construction paper beak, and gluing on real or artificial autumn leaves for wings.
Paper Plate, Cup and Bag Crafts
Foxes, squirrels and scarecrows out of the recycling bin. Paper plates, cups and lunch bags are all you need.
Paint a paper plate orange, add cut-out ears and a face, and assemble into a cute fox for a fun fall craft.
Cut out a squirrel shape from construction paper and attach a crumpled tissue paper tail, adding googly eyes and a cute face for a playful craft.
Cut out a triangle from orange paper, fold and glue onto a paper plate, and add cotton balls for whipped cream to make a cute pumpkin pie slice.
Decorate a paper plate with yarn for hair, fabric scraps for a hat and clothes, and googly eyes to create a friendly scarecrow face.
Use a paper bag as the base and decorate it with fabric scraps, yarn for hair, and felt shapes to create a charming scarecrow puppet.
Pumpkin Crafts and Fall Play
A few pumpkin projects to round things out. For many more, there are 40 pumpkin craft ideas and 44 pumpkin decorating ideas in their own lists.
Cut out pumpkin shapes from orange paper, write numbers on each, and glue the corresponding number of pumpkin seeds to create a fun counting activity for kids.
Crack open a pumpkin and turn it into festive decor while learning about plants.
Read the tutorialDecorate a pumpkin with dried flowers and small craft pieces to create a magical fairy house that lights up for a stunning fall decoration.
Read the tutorialMore Fall and Thanksgiving Ideas
Free October Family Fun Checklist
As the leaves begin to change and the air turns crisp, October is the perfect month to enjoy some quality time with your family. The free printable checklist has 20 fall and Halloween activities on it, from pumpkin bowling and caramel apples to crafting with fall leaves and setting up a fall sensory bin.
Get the free checklistAll activities should be supervised by an adult. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This post may contain affiliate links.
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