Are you looking for easy fall crafts to do with your kids? Fall really knows how to show off with all the colours, even if the cold arrives along with them. I love the cosy feeling of the season, the crunchy leaves, and all the little bits of nature that make crafting feel extra fun. Crafting with my kids is also one of the ways I make those long afternoons go by a little faster without creating a huge mess or turning it into another job for myself. I have one daughter who is naturally very artistic and another who honestly could not be bothered most of the time, but still joins in anyway. These two fall crafts are ones we made together at home last fall, and I loved how simple they were to put together.
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This means that if you click on a link and buy something, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting 3craftmama!
Before You Start: Which Craft Should You Choose?
If you’re wondering which of these two fall crafts you can realistically handle right this moment as you’re reading through this post, here’s how I choose which activities to do with my kids. I like to go by what we all need and what we have the energy for
| If you need… | I would choose …. |
|---|
| Very little preparation | The apple collage craft |
| Something for ages 3-4 | I would go for the apple collage |
| Something siblings can do together | Either one of them works |
| A craft that becomes a toy afterwards | The leaf people |
| Something with a bit of movement afterwards | The leaf people streamers are perfect |
| A relatively low-mess activity | Both do a good job at being low-mess |
What I keep in our low-prep fall craft basket
I’m the kind of mum who doesn’t buy new craft supplies for every activity my kids do. I mean, I’m not trying to build my own craft supply store over here; it’s why many of our activities come from the same little basket of basics I keep at home. So if you already have things like paper, glue, tape and scissors, you’re probably good where you are. But there are a few supplies I find myself reaching for repeatedly, because we can use them for so many different activities at the same time. So instead of buying supplies for one craft and never touching them again, these are the basics I keep in our basket to make our seasonal crafting a little easier and less stressful.
The Core Craft Supplies
- Paper: Construction paper and crepe/tissue paper in fall colours
- Adhesives: Glue sticks and a roll of child-safe tape
- Tools: Kid-friendly safety scissors and a single-hole punch
- Paints: Washable tempera paints in autumn shades and foam paint brushes, washable markers
Nature and Loose Parts
- Nature Finds: Pinecones, acorns, and twigs gathered from outside
- Pressed Leaves: Real or faux autumn leaves for tracing, glueing and printing on paper with water paint
- Textiles: Scraps of felt, yarn, and twine
FREE fall paper basket craft printable
I also made a simple fall paper basket craft printable you can download for free, print and keep nearby for long frustrating afternoons. They are waiting inside Fall Play Library. The templates give you an easy way to turn the craft into another few minutes of play, without setting up another activity
Your Free Printable Fall Basket Template is Here
Leaf People Fall Craft
This was easily my kids’ favourite of the two because the craft became part of their play after they were done. Prep time: I drew leaf shapes on autumn-themed coloured paper and cut the shapes out. For the streamers part, I used crepe paper.
Craft time: We started by tearing strips of crepe paper in autumn colours (my kids loved this part, because of the shredding sound, plus it’s sensory fun). Also, if you choose to skip the shredding part, you can get crepe paper that’s already stripped here. Then we glued the crepe paper strips to the back of each leaf cutout, turned it back over, added our googly eyes and drew the faces. The last thing we did was attach a paper straw to the back so that my kids could hold it and wave it like a leaf streamer.
Here are the supplies we used:
- Coloured paper (in autumn shades: red, orange, yellow, brown)
- Crepe paper (Tissue paper is an option too)
- Scissors
- Glue stick
- Googly eyes
- Marker
- Paper straws
Let’s turn the fall crafts into play
This is where I’d normally be tempted to clean the table and declare the activity finished, but please don’t be like me because those leaf people can become play puppets that can keep your kids playing for a good amount of time. I’m going to share the exact games I tried with my kids using these leaf people
The first one is the ‘leaf dance party’: After we were done crafting, my kids naturally started jumping around and waving the streamers in the air, so I made it more fun by putting on music and letting them and their leaves dance. But there was a tiny rule: When the music stops, everybody must freeze, including the leaves and their streamers (if possible).
The second we named windy day: For this one, I called out different phrases and told my kids to move their leaf people to match the word. For example. when I called out gentle wind, they waved their streamers rather slowly, like they were being careful. And when I called out big wind, they ran around the house waving their streamers harder than the first time… and we went on and on like that. The other words I called were: up, down, stop, slow, etc
The third is called ‘rescue the leaf ‘: For this activity, you have one child hide one of the leaf people somewhere in your living room or garden, and have your other child, or you, search for it. Now, to make it even more fun, you time yourself – and if you don’t find the hidden leaf before your time runs out, the hider gets to give you one clue; then you have 30 extra seconds to rescue your leaf person before time runs out again. And if time runs out on you again, you must do a silly dance for 30 seconds.
Apple Collage Craft
Our second project was this simple apple collage. I love making collages, and sometimes when I’ve run out of crafting ideas for my kids or want something rather simple for them to craft, I run to collage-making. Another reason I love them is that they are easy for toddlers and preschoolers to do independently, and also because the glueing and the sticking are natural ways for them to practice their fine motor skills, which is what we parents of toddlers and preschoolers really want to see our kids doing.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- White paper (for the base)
- Red paper
- Green paper
- brown paper (toilet paper roll)
- Googly eyes
- Marker
How to Make It:
- Draw a big apple outline on your white paper, then tear red paper into small pieces and glue them inside the apple outline. Tear green paper into tiny pieces and glue them inside the leaf shape.
- Cut a toilet paper roll into tiny pieces and glue them inside the stem.
- Finally, finish with googly eyes and a smiley face for a fun look.
Make the Apple Activity Last Longer
If you’d like to make the apple activity go beyond a cute craft, cut out little brown paper “seeds” and encourage your child to put 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 seeds onto the apple. For your older kids (If you’ve got them), you can make an Apple shop – just make some red, yellow and green apples and turn them into pretend-shop food. In addition to that, encourage your kids to play shop by being their customer and asking questions like, “Can I buy two red apples, please?” and before you know it you’ll be casually sneaking in counting and colours at the same time.
Would you like to turn it into a cosy Fall afternoon? Try adding a book
Another thing I did after doing the crafts was to pair this autumn crafting with the book All About Autumn by Wander Will. I used it as an opportunity to teach my kids more about the fall season and why the leaves have the colours that they have, and also because my 4-year-old would always ask why it happened often, and I wanted to do more than explain with words but also show them through crafts and pictures. We did the crafting first, then sat down with the book, which wasn’t so bad after all.
While reading, I talked to them about leaves changing colour and falling from the trees; I mentioned how animals, such as squirrels, prepare for colder weather, and autumn activities like pumpkin patches and apple picking.
The illustrations and simple sentences were easy for my kids to follow, and having already made leaves and apples gave us hands-on things to talk about while reading.
By the way, you absolutely don’t need this particular book to do the crafts; you can use whatever autumn book you already own or borrow one from the library if you want to pair the craft with a book. Pairing books with crafts turns our storytime into an interactive moment that helps my kids put an image to what they’re hearing. And, while reading All About Autumn, we could see the colours, talk about leaves and apples, and then make them with our own hands. It helps my kids remember new vocabulary, connect ideas, and, most importantly, have fun.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are some easy fall crafts for preschoolers? As an Early Years ESL Teacher and a mom of a preschooler myself, I really love paper activities such as the ones in this post and other cutting, tearing and glueing activities. I love them because they work particularly well when I want my kids to craft independently, and they can be adapted to my daughters’ ability. But I also like to suggest preparing the main shapes or materials beforehand and letting them concentrate on decorating.
Can a 3-year-old make these fall crafts? Of course! With some adult preparation, definitely. For a three-year-old, I’d pre-cut the main leaf and draw the apple outline, then maybe let them tear the paper, glue the cut pieces, and choose their own colours, then decorate.
What fall crafts can I make with things already at home? I’d say start with newspaper, recycled cardboard, toilet paper rolls, markers, glue, and whatever craft scraps you already have. The likes of googly eyes and other decorations are completely optional.
How do I make a kids’ craft last longer? Hmmm… the fact is that you cannot truly tell from the outset how your child might react to an activity that you set up, so there isn’t really a fixed “How” when it comes to this. However, in an attempt to make this possible, I’d choose crafts that can become something your children can play with afterwards, especially if it’s something that they can pair with their other toys at home. For example, a paper character can become a puppet for pretend character play, and can even become props for storytelling and simple hide-and-find games.
Are these good rainy-day activities? Yes. Both can be done at a table in a small indoor space and don’t require lots of movement, making them useful for rainy autumn afternoons.
