21 Fall Crafts for Toddlers
Fall is such a magical time for little hands to create! These seasonal crafts capture all the wonder of autumn – from golden leaves to plump pumpkins to friendly turkeys. Each project is designed with toddlers in mind, celebrating their natural curiosity and love of getting messy. These crafts bring the beauty of the season indoors while giving your little one a chance to explore colors, textures, and shapes that make fall so special.
1. Handprint Turkey Art Using Finger Paints
These adorable turkeys burst with personality as tiny handprints transform into colorful feathered friends. Each finger becomes a vibrant turkey feather in warm autumn shades of orange, red, yellow, and brown.
The thumb creates the perfect turkey body, complete with a sweet little face that seems to smile right off the paper. The result is a keepsake that captures both the season’s spirit and your toddler’s tiny hand at this precious age.
2. Leaf Rubbing with Crayons and Real Leaves
The magic happens when crayons glide over paper and reveal hidden leaf patterns underneath. Beautiful textures emerge in rich autumn colors as veins and edges appear like nature’s own artwork.
Each rubbing captures the unique shape and character of real leaves – from oak to maple to elm. The finished pieces look like botanical prints with that lovely waxy crayon texture that catches the light just right.
3. Paper Plate Scarecrows with Construction Paper
Create adorable scarecrows using paper plates as the base! Simply glue construction paper pieces to make a friendly face – cut out triangle noses, circle eyes, and smiling mouths. Add strips of yellow or orange paper for straw hair sticking out around the edges.
These charming decorations are perfect for little hands to make and require no complicated cutting or mess. Kids will love personalizing their scarecrow’s expression and choosing different paper colors for a fun Halloween craft.
4. Pinecone Animals Using Googly Eyes and Felt
Ordinary pinecones transform into delightful woodland creatures with wiggly googly eyes and soft felt accessories. Little hedgehogs emerge with tiny felt ears, while owls sport colorful felt beaks and wings.
The natural brown texture of pinecones provides perfect animal bodies, and those bouncy googly eyes bring each creature to life with silly expressions. These little friends look like they’re ready to scamper through autumn forests.
5. Fall Leaf Garland Strung with Yarn
This beautiful garland captures autumn’s glory in a string of golden, red, and orange leaves dancing on colorful yarn. Each leaf seems to flutter gently as if caught in a crisp fall breeze.
The natural shapes create lovely organic curves along the yarn, bringing the outdoors inside with genuine seasonal beauty. Draped across mantels or doorways, it adds that perfect touch of harvest warmth to any room.
6. Coffee Filter Fall Trees with Washable Markers
These dreamy trees bloom with watercolor-like autumn magic as markers bleed into soft, flowing patterns. The coffee filters create a gentle, cloudy effect that looks like fall foliage caught in morning mist.
Colors blend and swirl together in unexpected ways, creating unique tree canopies that seem to glow with golden sunlight. Each tree has its own personality with flowing, organic shapes that capture fall’s gentle beauty.
7. Handprint Fall Tree with Fingerprint Leaves
A sturdy brown handprint becomes the trunk and branches of a magnificent autumn tree, while tiny fingerprints create a canopy of colorful leaves.
Each little fingerprint leaf adds to the tree’s fullness in shades of red, orange, yellow, and brown. The combination of hand and fingerprints creates a beautiful keepsake that shows how even small hands can create something wonderful and meaningful for the season.
8. Construction Paper Pumpkin Faces
These happy pumpkins grin with triangle eyes and jagged smiles cut from bright orange construction paper. Each face has its own silly expression – some winking, some surprised, others laughing with joy.
The bold orange color practically glows with autumn warmth, while the simple geometric shapes give them that classic jack-o’-lantern charm. They bring such cheerful energy to any fall display with their playful personalities.
9. Corn Cob Painting with Tempera Paint
Using real corn cobs as paintbrushes creates the most interesting textured patterns on paper. The kernels leave behind dotted trails and bumpy textures in warm fall colors that look almost like abstract art.
Each roll of the corn cob produces different effects – sometimes neat rows, sometimes wild swirls of color. The finished paintings have such an organic, harvest-inspired look that’s both rustic and beautiful.
10. Apple Stamping with Cut Apple Halves
Fresh apple halves create perfect star-shaped stamps when dipped in paint and pressed onto paper. The natural star pattern from the apple’s core makes beautiful repeated designs in red, green, and yellow.
Each stamp is slightly different, creating charming variations across the paper like a folk art pattern. The finished artwork has that fresh, orchard-picked feeling with natural shapes that celebrate autumn’s bounty.
11. Fall Leaf Suncatchers with Contact Paper@@
These gorgeous suncatchers glow like stained glass when hung in sunny windows. Real autumn leaves are pressed between clear contact paper, preserving their beautiful colors and delicate shapes forever.
The sunlight streaming through creates magical shadows and highlights every vein and edge of the leaves. They bring the golden warmth of fall right into your home with nature’s own artwork.
12. Paper Bag Turkey Puppets
These silly turkeys come alive with wobbly construction paper feathers that flutter with every movement. Brown paper bags become plump turkey bodies with bright orange beaks and red wattles that bounce when little hands make them talk.
Each puppet has its own goofy personality with mismatched feathers in autumn colors. They’re perfect little companions for Thanksgiving storytelling with their friendly, animated expressions.
13. Tissue Paper Fall Trees
Fluffy tissue paper creates soft, cloud-like tree tops in warm autumn shades that seem to glow from within. The crinkled texture gives these trees such dimension and movement, like real foliage rustling in fall breezes.
Colors layer together beautifully – orange over yellow, red over brown – creating depth and richness. These gentle trees bring such a dreamy, artistic quality to seasonal displays.
14. Acorn Cap Candles with Playdough
Tiny acorn caps become the sweetest little candle holders when filled with colorful playdough and topped with birthday candle “flames.” These miniature candles look like something woodland fairies might use for their autumn celebrations.
The natural brown caps contrast beautifully with bright playdough colors, creating charming little lights that seem to twinkle with magical woodland energy.
15. Fall Leaf Bowls Made with Mod Podge
These delicate bowls capture autumn leaves in graceful, curved shapes that seem to hold the season’s golden light. Real leaves are preserved in translucent layers, creating beautiful patterns and textures you can see through.
The finished bowls have such an organic, nature-inspired look with leaves appearing to float within the clear surface. They’re like holding a piece of autumn in your hands.
16. Construction Paper Corn on the Cob
Bright yellow construction paper kernels arranged in neat rows create cheerful corn that looks good enough to eat. The geometric pattern of kernels has such a satisfying, organized look while green husks add natural contrast.
These happy corn decorations bring that harvest festival feeling indoors with their sunny yellow color and classic autumn shape. They look perfect scattered around Thanksgiving displays.
17. Handprint Acorn Art
Little handprints become the perfect acorn caps in rich brown paint, paired with oval acorn bodies in warm tan colors. The natural curve of small fingers creates realistic acorn cap textures, while the simple oval shape below completes these woodland treasures. Each handprint acorn is unique, creating a sweet keepsake that combines nature’s design with your toddler’s special touch.
18. Fall Wreath Using Paper Plates and Hand Print Cutouts
Create a charming fall wreath by cutting the center out of a paper plate to form your base. Have kids trace their hands on colorful autumn paper—think oranges, reds, and yellows—then cut out the handprints. Glue these handprint “leaves” all around the paper plate rim, overlapping them for a full, leafy look.
Add a few paper acorns or a bow to finish. It’s a sweet keepsake that captures little hands and celebrates the season beautifully!
19. Pumpkin Decorating with Stickers and Markers
These happy pumpkins come alive with silly faces drawn in bright markers and decorated with colorful stickers. No two are alike – some sport polka dot patterns, others have striped designs or geometric shapes.
The combination of drawings and stickers creates playful, carnival-like pumpkins that seem to giggle with joy. They bring such cheerful energy to fall displays with their bright, whimsical designs.
20. Pine Cone Turkeys with Feathers and Felt
These dignified turkeys strut with pride, their pinecone bodies creating natural texture while colorful feathers fan out in magnificent tail displays. Bright felt accessories add personality – orange beaks, red wattles, and sometimes little pilgrim hats.
The combination of natural pinecone texture with soft felt creates appealing contrasts that make each turkey look ready for a Thanksgiving parade.
21. Fall Leaf Crown Made with Construction Paper
These regal crowns make every toddler feel like the king or queen of autumn with paper leaves in brilliant fall colors arranged around their head. The leaves seem to dance with each movement, creating a magical effect as red, orange, and yellow flutter together. Each crown is unique, reflecting the wearer’s personality while celebrating the season’s natural beauty in wearable art form.