Easy Printable Day of the Dead Skull Crafts for Kids

If you are teaching your Spanish classes about Day of the Dead celebrations, you might want to explain the skulls that are everywhere in bright colors! Even older kids who have heard about el Día de los Muertos before might not know what calaveras have to do with this holiday. While making sugar skulls is a lot of fun, it can be messy. Instead, let’s look at some easy printable Day of the Dead skull crafts for kids!

What is Day of the Dead?

While many think of this as a Mexican holiday, it is actually celebrated in many different cultures on November 1st and November 2nd, although celebrations can start as early as the end of October around October 31st. This also overlaps with the celebration of All Saints Day, so some families have combined those traditions in a blend of culture and practices, which makes it a perfect time to introduce meaningful Day of the Dead skull crafts for kids in your classroom.

Día de Muertos or Día de los Muertos is a way to remember and celebrate the lives of friends and family members who have died. I personally love this lighthearted celebration and I think it’s a great way to talk about death in a way that isn’t scary for kids. It is an important tradition and celebration in many Latin American countries, and is becoming more and more common in the United States. Some common elements in the celebrations include:

• papel picado
• flowers
• ofrendas (or a Día de los Muertos altar)
• sugar skulls

As images of skulls and skeletons are common throughout Day of the Dead celebrations, it can be a fun way to teach kids about Mexican culture with hands on crafts. Check out the list of awesome Day of the Dead crafts below!

Why Day of the Dead Skull Crafts for Kids Matter

Let’s be honest. When October rolls into November, the classroom energy shifts. Halloween has passed, students are restless, and attention spans get short. That’s where Day of the Dead skull crafts for kids come in as a total win. They’re not just adorable decorations, they’re opportunities to teach culture with creativity. The best part? These crafts open up conversations about celebration, remembrance, and family in a way that’s light, respectful, and age-appropriate.

And here’s the secret: you do not need to be a master crafter or turn your classroom into an art studio. Most of these printable options require nothing more than markers, scissors, and maybe a glue stick. You can introduce the concept of calaveras with a short story or video, and then jump right into a hands-on activity that your students will love.

Easy Printable Day of the Dead Skull Crafts for Kids

I have shared before how much I love no mess, simple projects. They are a good way to incorporate art into your Spanish class or homeschool lessons without having a huge mess of paper mache or paint to clean up when you’re all done! Check out these easy printable Day of the Dead skull crafts for kids, perfect for introducing culture with creativity and ease.

Day of the Dead Ideas for Easy Crafts

When it comes to easy Day of the Dead crafts, this is my all time favorite. Students use colorful markers and intricate designs to create their own calavera. You can then use these for Day of the Dead decorations in your classroom!

Here’s how it works:

1. Introduce calaveras with a short reading activity
2. Pass out the step-by-step handout and template
3. Students design and decorate their skulls
4. Hang up to make a bulletin board

Before giving this project to your students, I recommend doing a simple lesson on calaveras. Just a short reading activity will do! Remember, we want to avoid them thinking this is “Spanish halloween” and we want them to understand what calaveras represent as part of the celebration. This reading and comprehension activity is a great way to introduce them to the concept of this celebration of life. 

All of these Day of the Dead resources have Spanish versions included. Check them out here!

Day of the Dead Skulls Banner

The Crafty Chica has a free printable on her blog for a Day of the Dead skulls banner. That is an easy way to celebrate because you just download the free printables, cut them out, and hang up the banner. She has several great ideas in her step-by-step instructions for ways you can use this free printable for a fun Day of the Dead craft.

​Sugar Skull Template for Bookmarks

A simple craft for older kids is to make a corner bookmark. Check out this video:

Her Youtube channel is full of video tutorials. I bet you could use this one and tweak the pumpkin to be a sugar skull puppet instead!

There are also step-by-step instructions with images in this blog post that I found! Origami can be so much fun. I find it challenging, but that makes it even better when you figure it out. You can print a template or use a blank sheet for a coloring option. Either way!

Roll and Draw a Calavera

This Roll and Draw a Calavera activity is a great project for students who feel like they’re “not creative” or “not artistic”! Students read a short passage on calaveras to learn about them, then roll for different components of their calavera and add them to the skull outline to create their own. There are a few template options for them to choose from, too!

Free Sugar Skull Coloring Pages

This blog post has free Day of the Dead printables, including these free sugar skull coloring pages you can use as masks! There are 8 variations here in color and black and white so you can use the different sugar skull designs and let kids choose which they prefer. You might even use construction paper for this so that they are a little sturdier if you are going to make them into masks.

Free Day of the Dead Coloring Pages

The Crafty Chica shared that her husband loves drawing and art. She has shared three free Day of the Dead coloring pages you can download and use on her site. I know this isn’t quite a craft, but it is an easy option and sometimes that’s all we have bandwidth for. 

Día de los Muertos Crafts

​I hope you were able to choose a fun craft for your younger students and older classes from these easy Day of the Dead activities! If you need help with some simple in-class differentiation, remember you can always give students choice by selecting few of the options above. Kids of all ages love to have that power to choose what they are working on!

Keep It Simple, Keep It Powerful

When planning Day of the Dead skull crafts for kids, I always think about the goal. Do I want to give students a moment to express themselves? Introduce new vocabulary in context? Create a mini museum of colorful calaveras in our hallway? Yes to all of it.

Try printing out several different templates and letting students choose their own design. Then, use the finished crafts as a mini gallery walk or class bulletin board. You can even have them write a short reflection or caption in Spanish to go along with their work.

No glitter explosions, no glue chaos, just meaningful cultural learning with a splash of creativity. Day of the Dead skull crafts for kids make culture come alive, and they make your job just a little easier during one of the busiest times of the year.

How to Make Tissue Paper Marigolds for Day of the Dead

If you’re looking for another easy Day of the Dead craft option, check out this simple tutorial for making tissue paper marigolds!

Easy Marshmallow Sugar Skulls for Day of the Dead

Check out this easy sugar skull craft for Day of the Dead! You just need one extra material as compared to the projects above – marshmallows!

​More Day of the Dead Activities

Here are some great Day of the Dead Activities for Spanish class!

Sometimes a student requests an alternate activity for Day of the Dead . While this can feel frustrating, it is important to respect the guardians’ wishes and provide an option for those students. Check out this list of alternate activities for Day of the Dead!

Your students will love this one day Día de los Muertos lesson plan for Spanish class!

Check out this build a Día de los Muertos altar escape room style challenge activity for your older students. It’s such a fun idea to introduce your students to different elements of the celebration!

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