Day of the Dead Halloween Bats

Halloween is just around the corner! This is my favorite time for holiday arts and crafts. For this project, we are going to incorporate these Halloween Bats printouts into an art lesson on symmetry.

Bypass the traditional Halloween orange and black with these colorful Day of the Dead Bats. Known for its vibrant colors, Dia de los Muertos is always celebrated on November 2nd. This coincidently is the same as the Christian holiday of All Souls Day.

Designs for Halloween Bats

Start by using the provided Halloween Bat Template PDF.

I’ve put together two different styles for completely different looks. One example uses colorful florescent printer paper and decorating with black markers. You can also or print on white and trace on to other paper. While the other is printed on white paper and the designs are made with bright markers.

These examples utilize some of the images often found in Sugar Skull or Day of the Dead images. The bright colors most commonly used have specific meanings in the Mexican culture. These colors are; purple, pink, red, yellow and orange. Designs usually include flowers, hearts, squiggles and curls.

Most designs you’ll find online show symmetrical patterns. As an art project, you can teach children about Symmetrical Balance. Arrange the designs on either side of the center of the bat in an equally weighted manner. Symmetrical balance is where one side is a mirror image of the other.

Decorating Ideas

Create a little holiday swag by attaching the wings of your Halloween Bats together for a front door wreath or banner.

Another option is to attach a small magnet to the back of the bats and let them swarm your refrigerator for some Halloween cheer.

To make this an easier craft for younger children, print out the Halloween Bat Template PDF but only cut out the oval shape instead of the bat itself.

Did you give these Halloween Bats a try? Share your creations on my Pinterest Post. For more ideas, be sure to follow my posts on Facebook.