Kid-Friendly Day of the Dead Activities + Crafts

Photo by Loren Javier

Some of the images associated with Day of the Dead/Dia de los Muertos can be frightening to small children, but most of the traditional symbols that represent this ancient celebration depict the concept of death in a joyful and colorful way.  Make use of this celebration to create crafts and activities of objects like papel picado, calaveras, paper flowers and kitschy altars that your kids will have fun with in a non-spooky way and will, at the same time, learn about the concept of death and how to remember our loved ones with reverence of their time with us.

Here are some links of Day of the Dead crafts, activities and lesson plans we found around the web and thought you might enjoy.

• Create a Día de los Muertos Altar (Education.com)

• Five Foods to Eat on Día de los Muertos (OC Weekly Blog)

• Downloadable, full color designs to create garlands and masks (MiMaseca.com)

• Thematic curriculum unit about the Day of the Dead (MisCositas.com)

• Día de los Muertos Craft: All about Shrine. How to make a traditional altar. (Diary of a Crafty Chica)

• Day of the Dead information for teachers and students (AZCentral.com)

• 5 Day of the Dead Crafts for Kids (DIYLife.com)

• Day of the Dead crafts projects (About.com)

• Smithsonian Latino Center Day of the Dead: Día de los Muertos

• The Short LIst: A Bilingual Day of the Dead (NPR)

Another great read is this post we published last year:  How to Celebrate Dia de los Muertos.

Make sure you stop by tomorrow for a very special treat from performance artist and educator, Maya Escobar, as she teaches us how to make some very unique papel picado!

Do you have any links regarding Día de los Muertos that you´d like to share?  Please do so below. We appreciate it immensely.