Have fun decorating your house or classroom this fall with this free printable bat template. Available in two different sizes, they will be perfect for tons of creative projects this Halloween season.
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Before we had children, I was really never too into decorating our house for holidays other than Christmas.
For whatever reason, the Christmas season basically starts the day after Thanksgiving, and seems to last even through the New Year. And for that reason I have no problem decorating!
For other holidays though, St. Patricks Day, Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving etc. I feel like I can’t really keep those decorations up for too long or start decorating too early. And for that reason, I almost feel like once I put the decorations up, it’s a few days later and already time for them to come around.
But there is something about Christmas lights, Christmas trees and stockings hanging on the mantle that I could just look at all year long!
Anyway! Ever since my first child was born I started getting more into decorating the house for holidays. Seeing him get so excited about new fun things in our home made decorating a lot more special.
And so this year, I decided it was time to start branching out into various other holidays instead of keeping the house neutral until Christmas time.
In my opinion, some of the very best decorations are the ones that you make yourself. And if your kids can help put them together, even better!
And so today, I’m excited to share with you this super fun and super simple DIY Halloween decoration idea. To go along with it, I have created a free printable bat template, in different sizes.
This bat template would be perfect for not only the DIY door decoration idea that I will be sharing today, but also for a wide variety of other fun creative projects all throughout the Halloween season.
No matter what project you are choosing to use these templates for, the first step is to print out the templates. The download links for the bat templates are located at the bottom of this post.
Once download, you can print the templates out onto standard 8.5×11 inch printer paper or cardstock. For the best quality and most durable stencil, I would definitely recommend using white cardstock. Since you will most likely be cutting out more than one bat, the cardstock will hold up a lot better to repeated tracing.
After the cardstock stencil has been cut out, you can now start tracing the bat onto black construction paper.
I was able to use a regular pencil and see the lines on the construction paper, but if you are having trouble, you may wish to use a light colored or white colored pencil, or possibly even chalk to make sure the lines stand out enough to be visible.
Depending on your craft project, you could also trace the pattern onto black felt for a unique look and texture.
Free Printable Bat Template – Large
The large bat template measures 10 inches wide when cut out. It is designed to be printed onto a standard 8.5×11 inch piece of paper or cardstock.
Feel free to download as many copies of the template as you would like. However, please do not edit or redistribute the files in any way. This template was created for personal use only.
Download link is located at the bottom of this post.
Free Printable Bat Template – Small
The small bat template measures 5 inches wide when cut out. 4 bats will print per page. It is designed to be printed onto a standard 8.5×11 inch piece of paper or cardstock.
Feel free to download as many copies of the template as you would like. However, please do not edit or redistribute the files in any way. This template was created for personal use only.
Download link is located at the bottom of this post.
DIY Halloween Door Decoration
I decided that the coat closet door in my entry way needed some spooky holiday decorations! And it was so simple to throw this tougher and I think it turned out really great!
All I did was use both the large and small templates to cut out a bunch of construction paper bats.
Once cut out, I used masking tape to arrange them onto my door. Feel free to get creative and set them up however you would like!
The great thing about the masking tape was that I could easily move a bat around and it didn’t damage the paint at all.
You can use the bat templates to decorate doors, walls, cabinets etc. Any area in your home, classroom or workplace that you would like to add a little spooky touch to!
Here are a few alternative ways you can use the free printable bat templates:
Coloring page:
If you are throwing a Halloween or fall themed party this year, having fun coloring pages would be a great way to keep kids entertained. You could leave a stack of the bat templates out on a table along with markers, crayons, colored pencils and other fun craft supplies. Encourage the kids to create their own spooky bat!
Place cards:
Another fun idea is to use the small bat template to create place cards. Whether you would like to tell your guests where to sit or have cards letting everyone know what type of food is being served, this template would be a great creative way to do so.
All you would have to do is trace the template onto black construction paper and then in a white or other light colored pencil or marker, write down your guests names, or the types of dishes being served. You could either place them on plates, or in front of a serving tray directly, or use place card holders.
If you enjoyed this craft idea, you may also like to check out some of our other fun Halloween tutorials below:
Make Your Own Monster Kit
Whether you are planning a Halloween party or just want to give out something other than candy to trick or treaters this year, this make your own monster kit will be a huge hit with the kids!
4 Fun Halloween Toilet Paper Roll Crafts
These fun Halloween toilet paper roll crafts would make great, decorations to get the whole family in the Halloween spirit. I’ve created easy step by step tutorials on how to make toilet paper roll monsters, pumpkins, bats and mummies!. Pick your favorite or make them all!
Download Links:
Click here to download the free large bat template.
Click here to download the free small bat template.
