This monster craft invitation is the perfect monster birthday party activity – or make them for Halloween! Find the rest of our monster birthday party ideas to see what else we did at Y’s birthday party! Disclosure: this post contains affiliate links.

We made these monster magnets at Y’s third birthday party and to call it a success would be an understatement.

Not only did the kids have fun with it – they were asking to make doubles and triples!

First of all, I LOVE having craft invitations at birthday parties. They are a relatively inexpensive way to entertain and they are child-led (although smaller kids will require assistance.)

I call it in “invitation” because it’s more of an invitation to create rather than an actual craft tutorial.

Also, kids can really get creative and come up with their own designs, which tends to prompt discussions and interaction as they compare their work.

And finally, it’s a great take-home prize/souvenir from the party!

This monster craft requires a bit of advance prep if you want it as a quick party activity. You’ll need to prepare the clay base (it took me about half an hour to do) and allow a few days for it to thoroughly dry. But that’s it.

And of course, this is a great monster craft to do in a classroom, or just because. It’s open-ended allowing you to really design your own!

So what’s the trick to making this monster craft “party ready?”

The answer: paint sticks!

For those of you who are unfamiliar with paint sticks, they are basically glue-stick style solid paint. They dry within minutes and don’t make a big mess. And they give the smooth, rich coverage that paint gifts.

But the best part? It’s a novel approach for kids! They almost feel like they’re coloring with lipstick, and because it’s a relatively undiscovered art supply so many of them won’t have used it before.

They are not the cheapest to stock up on, however within the context of party entertainment they are totally budget-friendly. They also last a while. We’ve put the same 24-pack out for two party activities, used them to make these robots, used them in countless after-school art projects, and we’re not close to done.

And if you’re on a really tight budget, you can simply start with the smaller 12-pack – it’s got plenty (just not the neons and metallics). But if you’ll have more than 4-6 crafting at once you’ll want the 24 pack anyway (keep in mind that coloring these is only a small part of the project – kids spend time on decorating it too.)

The age range for this monster craft is huge!

I wish I’d photographed what everyone did but I was too busy hosting a party… so all the photos are of my own samples. Whoops!

I’d say that 2 year olds can do it with help.

My just-3-year-old did it with a little help and had fun with it. His didn’t look quite like these photos – it had a scribble of paint, and an eye stuck on.

M, age five then, did it totally by himself and made a second. He’s not so artsy but he had lots of fun! The hands were basically at the top of the monster, but hey, it’s a monster!

My ten-year-old niece really got into it – as did her sisters ages 3 and up.

And my 11 year old brother also had fun with it although he didn’t get as involved with the process.

Tip: Want to keep this activity even neater? Instead of offering a variety of materials to glue on, stick to faces only. Glue the magnets on in advance. Allow them to paint the magnets on-scene. And offer a variety of facial features stickers instead of giving different materials to decorate with.

What you need to make DIY monster magnets:

Air dry clay such as this one (note – you need a good balance of clay weight vs. magnet weight so if you’re not getting exactly what I link to – which is what we used – test it out first.)
Paint sticks
A flower/ruffle edge circle shaped cookie cutter
Magnets
Eyes – we put out googly eyes and stickers
Chenille stems – I put out some black ones cut into small pieces for mouths, as well as different colors cut in half for arms, legs, etc
Any other decorations you can think of. I put out white sticker sheet trimmings cut into small rectangles for teeth.
Tacky glue

How to create this monster party craft:

Prepare the monster craft base before the party:

1. Work your clay a little to soften it.

2. Roll it out to the suggested thickness on your clay package (probably 1/4 of an inch)

3. Cut out your monster templates!

4. Lay them out on a cookie sheet to dry. Drying times depend on humidity conditions and other factors. I’d recommend leaving them to dry a few days.

Making the monster craft at the birthday party:

1. Spread out your supplies on a table. I made a dedicated crafting station. I wrapped a separate (away from the food) plastic folding table with wrapping paper, and spread out the supplies on paper plates that matched the paper goods I bought for the party. I set up four chairs around it so that four children at a time could do it. You can obviously do more if you want it as a scheduled activity, not as a station.

2. Color your magnet. You might want to do two layers, but don’t need to. While it’s drying, plan your monster and choose your supplies.

3.After a few minutes it should be pretty much dry. Glue or stick on an eye or three.

4. Glue on a mouth. The trick to getting the chenille stems to stick is to be generous with your glue. Don’t worry – it dries clear!

5. Carefully flip him over and add any arms or legs you’d like. Once again, be generous but try not to get glue on the outside of the chenille stem since you’ll need to be able to let it dry (and you don’t want to stick it to the table….)

6. Glue magnets to the back. Even if your magnets are sticky-backed, you’ll probably want to glue them on since the clay is heavy and the included adhesive isn’t quite strong enough. It’s also designed to stick to smoother surfaces. A nice puddle of tacky glue will hold it much better.

Make sure you wait until your craft is completely dry before attempting to use it – otherwise it’ll break!

Are you using this monster craft at a birthday party? How are you doing it? Comment below!

And don’t forget to check out another favorite party craft such as these flower cupcake topper templates or my monster party food ideas!

Monster Craft Invitation - Decorate Magnets!

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Active Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Estimated Cost: $1

This easy monster magnet craft is perfect for a monster-themed party activity, or to make in a classroom. It's also a great everyday craft to make just for fun! You may want to prep the clay bases in advance if you're doing this at a party, but it'll take a short amount of time to prepare a whole batch!

Materials

Air dry clay such as this one (note - you need a good balance of clay weight vs. magnet weight so if you're not getting exactly what I link to - which is what we used - test it out first.)
Paint sticks
A flower/ruffle edge circle shaped cookie cutter
Magnets
Eyes - we put out googly eyes and stickers
Chenille stems - I put out some black ones cut into small pieces for mouths, as well as different colors cut in half for arms, legs, etc
Any other decorations you can think of. I put out white sticker sheet trimmings cut into small rectangles for teeth.
Tacky glue

Instructions

Prepare the monster craft base before the party:

Work your clay a little to soften it.
Roll it out to the suggested thickness on your clay package (probably 1/4 of an inch)
Cut out your monster templates!
Lay them out on a cookie sheet to dry. Drying times depend on humidity conditions and other factors. I'd recommend leaving them to dry a few days.

Making the monster craft at the birthday party:

Spread out your supplies on a table. I made a dedicated crafting station. I wrapped a separate (away from the food) plastic folding table with wrapping paper, and spread out the supplies on paper plates that matched the paper goods I bought for the party. I set up four chairs around it so that four children at a time could do it. You can obviously do more if you want it as a scheduled activity, not as a station.
Color your magnet. You might want to do two layers, but don't need to. While it's drying, plan your monster and choose your supplies.
After a few minutes it should be pretty much dry. Glue or stick on an eye or three.
Glue on a mouth. The trick to getting the chenille stems to stick is to be generous with your glue. Don't worry - it dries clear!
Carefully flip him over and add any arms or legs you'd like. Once again, be generous but try not to get glue on the outside of the chenille stem since you'll need to be able to let it dry (and you don't want to stick it to the table....)
Glue magnets to the back. Even if your magnets are sticky-backed, you'll probably want to glue them on since the clay is heavy and the included adhesive isn't quite strong enough. It's also designed to stick to smoother surfaces. A nice puddle of tacky glue will hold it much better.Allow your magnets to dry completely before attempting to use them!