Halloween Creative Drawing Ideas for Kids

Looking for Halloween drawing ideas that leave a little more room for kids to use their own imaginations?

Try a creative drawing prompt.

Instead of showing kids exactly what to draw or giving them a finished picture to copy, start with an interesting question:

What if candy grew on trees?

Where is that bat going?

What happens when the full moon comes out?

Then give them some paper, something to draw with and room to decide what happens next.

That’s the idea behind these Halloween creative drawing ideas for kids.

And if you’d like to make it even easier, we’ve turned some of our favorites into free printable Halloween Creative Challenge Cards.

→ GET THE FREE HALLOWEEN CREATIVE CHALLENGE CARDS

Why Try Open-Ended Drawing Prompts?

Sometimes a blank piece of paper is exactly what a kid wants.

Other times they need a little something to get the idea started.

That’s where a creative drawing prompt can help.

The prompt provides just enough structure to get them thinking without deciding what the finished picture should look like.

Ten kids could start with:

Design your own haunted house.

And you’d probably end up with ten very different haunted houses.

That’s what we want.

The goal isn’t to teach kids the “right” way to draw a haunted house.

It’s to give them a starting point and let them decide what happens from there.

Enough structure to get started. Enough space for kids to think.

10 Halloween Creative Drawing Ideas for Kids

Grab some paper, pencils, crayons or markers and try one of these Halloween drawing prompts.

1. Invent a Halloween Candy Machine

Invent a machine that helps pass out Halloween candy.

How does the candy get into the machine?

What happens inside?

How does the candy come out?

Does your machine do anything completely ridiculous?

Draw your invention and add as many details as you’d like.

2. Create a Magic Potion

Draw a cauldron and invent your own magic potion.

What ingredients go into it?

What color is it?

Does it bubble, glow, smoke or sparkle?

And most importantly…

What happens when someone drinks it?

3. Where Is the Bat Going?

Start by drawing a bat somewhere on your paper.

Now imagine where it’s going.

Is it flying over a forest? A city? A haunted house? A giant bowl of Halloween candy?

What does it see along the way?

4. Design a Spider Web

Imagine you’re designing a web for a very creative spider.

What would the web look like?

Does it have to be round?

Could it include patterns, shapes, letters or something nobody has ever seen in a spider web before?

5. Draw What Happens Under a Full Moon

Start with a full moon.

Then decide what happens when it comes out.

Who is there?

Where are they?

What happens next?

Your drawing can be spooky, funny, strange or anything else you imagine.

6. Design Your Own Haunted House

What would a haunted house designed by you look like?

Think about the windows, doors, roof, rooms and everything around it.

What makes it haunted?

Who lives there?

Does it have any unusual features?

7. Create a Jack-O’-Lantern With Personality

Start with a pumpkin.

Now give it a personality.

Maybe it’s grumpy.

Maybe it’s surprised.

Maybe it’s fancy.

Maybe it looks like it knows something you don’t. 😂

Design a jack-o’-lantern face that shows who your pumpkin is.

8. What If Candy Grew on Trees?

Imagine walking outside and discovering that the trees don’t have leaves anymore.

They grow candy.

What kind?

What does the tree look like?

What does the world around it look like?

Draw your candy tree and everything you imagine happening around it.

9. Something Strange Flew Across the Night Sky

Draw a nighttime sky.

Now imagine that something strange just flew across it.

What was it?

Where did it come from?

Where is it going?

It doesn’t have to be something that actually flies.

That’s kind of the fun part.

10. Invent Your Own Halloween Drawing Challenge

Now it’s your turn.

What could you imagine, invent, design or draw for Halloween?

Create your own Halloween drawing prompt.

Then try it.

Or give your challenge to someone else and see what they create.

Get the Free Halloween Creative Challenge Cards

Want to make these creative drawing ideas easy to pull out whenever you need one?

We’ve created a free set of printable Halloween Creative Challenge Cards.

Print them, cut them apart and keep them in a stack, basket or jar.

Then let your child choose a challenge.

[IMAGE OF CHALLENGE CARDS]

→ GET THE FREE HALLOWEEN CREATIVE CHALLENGE CARDS

You can use the cards for drawing, but you don’t have to stop there.

If your child reads “Invent a machine that passes out Halloween candy” and decides they’d rather build one out of cardboard?

Let them.

If the magic potion becomes an experiment?

Go with it.

If a drawing turns into a story?

Perfect.

The card gives them somewhere to start.

They get to decide where the idea goes.

What Do You Need?

Not much.

For drawing, put out whatever you already have:

• Paper or a sketchbook
• Pencils
• Crayons
• Markers
• Colored pencils

If your child’s idea moves beyond drawing, they might want cardboard, tape, paint, recyclables or other creative materials.

You don’t need to anticipate everything they might need before they begin.

Sometimes figuring out “How could I make this?” is part of the challenge.

What Should Adults Do While Kids Create?

This might be the hardest part:

Try not to tell them what to make.

If your child asks:

“What should I draw?”

Try:

“What do YOU think?”

If they get stuck:

“What could you try?”

If something doesn’t work:

“What could you change?”

You can help with materials, safety or a skill they don’t know yet without taking over the idea.

And you don’t need to pepper them with questions the entire time, either.

Sometimes the best thing we can do is give them an interesting starting point and then…be quiet. 😂

Let Kids Own the Idea

Creative drawing prompts aren’t really about producing a perfect Halloween picture.

They’re an easy way to give kids repeated experiences with having an idea of their own.

I can imagine something.

I can make a choice.

I can try my idea.

I can change it.

I can make something that came from me.

That’s why we like open-ended creative challenges at Innovation Kids Lab.

Give kids somewhere to start.

Then see where they take it.

→ GET THE FREE HALLOWEEN CREATIVE CHALLENGE CARDS

Big ideas start here.

Turn a Drawing Into a Story

If your child wants to keep going, their drawing can become the beginning of something else.

Ask them to give their picture a title.

Name a character.

Tell you what happened five minutes before the scene in their drawing.

Imagine what happens next.

Or write a story inspired by the picture.

Again, these are invitations, not assignments.

If they happily drew a candy tree for fifteen minutes and they’re done?

They’re done.

No need to turn every creative moment into a literacy extension before they can escape the table. 😂