Monster Handprint Wreath
A wreath made entirely from children's handprints is a Halloween decoration that grows more treasured with each passing year — because those small green and purple monster hands shrink in relative size with every Halloween. Children cut out their own handprints, color them in monster shades, add googly eyes, and assemble them into a circular wreath that is both adorable and genuinely spooky.
What You'll Need
- Construction paper in monster colors: green, purple, orange, blue
- Pencil — for tracing hands
- Scissors
- Googly eyes — lots of them
- Glue stick or craft glue
- A paper plate with the center cut out — as the wreath backing
- Optional: stapler for more secure assembly
How to Do It
Step 1: Trace the hands. Help children trace their hands multiple times on different colored papers. For a full wreath, you need 12–16 handprints.
Step 2: Cut out the handprints. Children cut along the traced lines. Younger children may need help with the fingers.
Step 3: Decorate each handprint. Each handprint becomes a monster: glue on 2–4 googly eyes in various positions (on fingers, on the palm, in a row), draw a small zigzag mouth, add dots and stripes.
Step 4: Assemble the wreath. Glue or staple the handprints around the paper plate ring, alternating colors. Overlap the handprint wrists slightly and fan out the fingers to create a full, circular monster wreath.
Step 5: Add a hanger. Attach a loop of yarn to the back of the plate for hanging.
Step 6: Display. Hang on a front door or window for maximum Halloween impact.
Skills Your Child Will Develop
Self-directed decoration — Each child decides where the eyes go and what the monster expression is, building creative autonomy.
Rotational symmetry — Arranging handprints around a circle introduces rotational symmetry informally.
Collaborative work — Wreath-making is ideal for groups — each child contributes handprints that become part of a shared artwork.
Tips & Variations
- Date the back of the wreath — the handprints become a size record over years.
- Use glow-in-the-dark paint for the googly eyes for a nighttime effect.
- Make an all-class wreath where each student contributes two handprints.
My Two Cents
The googly eyes make or break this craft. Tiny eyes produce mild-mannered monsters; large, wildly mismatched eyes produce genuinely alarming ones. Buy an assorted pack with multiple sizes and let children choose their monster's eye situation.
