How to Make a Cardboard Haunted House

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Make the house base

   This all depends on the shape of your cardboard box.  We started with a medium-sized rectangular box, so we taped all sides together except for one end.  On this end, we cut off the flaps and left it completely open for easy play.
   
   Pro tip: Box cutters make cutting cardboard SO MUCH EASIER. I highly recommend it. Just be extra careful to keep it away from little ones! You can also give older kids more independence with a cardboard construction kit like this one.

2. Cut out windows and doors

   My six-year-old had fun planning out the specifics.  I let her go to town with a sharpie on the house, deciding where to put windows and the door.  Then I took over and carefully cut out her designs with the box cutter. 
   
   If you want a door that opens and closes, just cut around ¾ of it and leave one side attached.
   
   

3. Create the roof and accessories

   Using a box cutter or scissors, cut 2 long rectangular pieces from your extra cardboard for the roof.  Hot glue or tape roof pieces to the main box. 
   
   My daughter kept thinking of things to add at this point.  A chimney! A front yard! A second story!  The possibilities are really endless, and you can do just about anything with cardboard and hot glue.

4. Decorate!

   Of course this is the most fun part!  We used tempera paint sticks for fast drying time, but any kind of paint would work. 
   
   
   
   My daughter thought a haunted house isn’t complete without a witch, so she drew one on sturdy paper, and I helped cut her out. 
   
   Our house is VERY spooky, so we added lots of tissue paper ghosts as well!
   
   
   
   

5. Play, play, play!

   It’s extra fun to play with something that you helped create.
   
   My daughter immediately gathered all her tiny toys to come live in the haunted house, and she spent all afternoon in her own imaginative world.