This cool haunted house lantern craft activity is also a great Halloween decoration idea. There are two versions below: one where Mum will have to help because it involves using a craft knife and one kids can do themselves. Templates included!

What you need:

• 2 x paper plates
• black paint
• craft knife
• 30cm x 30cm piece of baking paper
• sticky tape
• pencil
• 1 x Haunted house template
• an electric tea light to light up your lamp

Number of players:

Activity:

Version 1.

This version involves cutting with a craft knife, which can be tricky (and dangerous!). It is recommended an adult do the cutting.

Print out the haunted house template.

Lay it on top of one of your plates and sticky tape it in place. Now use a craft knife to cut out the background sections of the picture: i.e. not the house and the bat, the bits around the house and the bat. (See video for clarification of this.)

Now paint both plates black.

Cut a circle of baking paper that will fit over the circle section of the cut out plate – to sit behind the picture (see video).

Stick the circle of baking paper to the back of the plate.

Cut a slit in the second plate, this plate will be your lamp’s base.  Wedge the main plate (with the picture) into the base plate. You may need to trim the lower curve off the main plate to make it all sit right.

Now place an electric tea light behind your lamp, turn out the lights and see how it looks.

Version 2.

This version is easier for children and involves no tricky cutting.

Cut a large circle out of the main part of one plate: large enough to fit the picture from the template.

Now lay the baking paper over the template and trace over the picture.  Use black paint or a black marker pen to colour in the house and bat sections of the picture.

Trim the picture to fit into the circle you cut from the first plate. Sticky tape the baking paper picture you have created, into the ‘frame’ you made out of the first plate.

Wedge the main plate into the base plate as in version one.

Hints and tips:

• If you use the second method, you can put almost any Halloween shape into your lantern.
• You could use this witch colouring in page here.
• Or here is another haunted house you can print out and trim up to go inside your plate.
• Thanks to our sister company Kidspot Australia for creating the instructional video.