As we start to get excited for Halloween around here — as in, endless costume discussions considering my girls have a new idea every 17 minutes or so — I’ve been distracting them with Halloween crafts projects, front door decor request, and coloring pages. In other words, I’ve spent a whole lot of time scouring the web lately for free Halloween printables that can keep them busy.

While we’ve covered plenty over the years, there’s so much great new stuff I’m coming across that I figured I’d put together some of my favorite new Halloween printables, all thanks to some generous designers and bloggers who create free goodies for our enjoyment.

Or maybe they’re just trying to distract their own kids too?

Related: 15 more of the best free Halloween printables for kids. Even better than candy.

Free printable Halloween lunchbox notes

I am a big fan of lunchbox notes because it kind of lets me be “That Mom” without very much effort. The free printable Halloween lunchbox notes at Skip to My Lou are just adorable and my pun-happy kids would love them. Plus, if you feel like the one mom not stuffing candy into your kids’ lunch boxes this month, it kind of gives them something else to get excited about.

More printable Halloween lunch box jokes, here via Craft Create Love. I love the simplicity. I might even get the kids to color in the white backgrounds themselves.

At Tried and  True, she created cute printable Halloween lunch note wrappers that I could easily stick around my kids’ granola bars or KIND bars. I like that they’re designed with the joke on the front and the answer on the back. Of course, you could always just print on heavier stock and insert them as-is, or hey, tape them over a little box of carrots or cut fruit.

From Sarah at Somewhat Simple, trick or treat, smell my feet labels you could easily turn into lunchbox notes. I love this more than you can imagine.

Free printable Halloween bottle and treat labels

Ghost poop, witches warts, jack o’ lantern seeds, vampire vitamins…yum. Print the super clever free printable Halloween Tic Tac labels from Somewhat Simple for a really fun little treat for the kids. I think they’re just awesome.

While these are great for Halloween parties, I think they’d also be fun for dressing up a lunchbox. Wrap a juice box or reusable water bottle with either set of these free printable Halloween bottle labels  from Two Crafty Paws. I know my kids would love telling their friends that their water bottle is actually filled with a fine mix of bone dust, gnomes, toes and dragon saliva.

Related: The ultimate guide to 150+  Halloween recipes, from creepy to cute to…cocktails

At Print Your Party, I found this entire set of cute free printable Halloween treat labels. Like the ones above, you can use them for parties, or just tape them to whatever you normally tuck into your kids’ lunch boxes — boxes of raisins, a box of apple slices, a bag of Pirate’s Booty.

Free printable Halloween coloring pages

This is such a cute little free Halloween coloring page designed by Etsy’s Lady Lucas, and while she has lots of cute printables in her shop for a nominal charge — great to bookmark if you’re a class parent or throwing a party — it’s nice that she created this freebie for Skip to My Lou.

Last year we found lots of great printable Halloween coloring pages for kids, and one of my faves is still this pumpkin mandala at Don’t Eat the Paste. I think both little and big fingers will find it keeps them plenty busy, plus it makes great door decor when they’re done.

I love this Frankenweenie coloring page I found at Disney’s site. I keep forgetting they own like every property ever, including this cool Tim Burton animated flick. Check the site for plenty more coloring pages, but I think this one is the coolest I found.

Related: 9 fun free printable Halloween coloring pages to help keep little fingers out of the candy stash

Free printable Halloween games for kids

Word searches, crosswords, connect-the dots, mazes…there’s no shortage of Halloween themed ones all over the web. But here were a couple I just thought were a cut above the rest.

It’s not like it’s hard to just make four lines on a paper and hand it over to the kids for tic tac toe, when you print this free printable Halloween tic tac toe board on fun colorful paper, then pass out candy corns for game pieces, it just somehow seems more fun. Use it to distract the kids while they wait for dinner.

I’ve seen a lot of BINGO cards out there, but these free printable Halloween BINGO cards from Crafty in Crosby are not only cute, she actually took the time to make 30 different versions! Keep that in mind when you go to download some printable BINGO template you’ve found and realize there are only four of them. That means any more than four kids, and you’re doubling (or tripling) up on winners.

For young kids, this printable Halloween games worksheet for preschoolers is really clever. Check out Laly Mom where she suggests a whole bunch of great ways for kids to use it, from working on beginning writing skills to fine motor skills.

Free printable Halloween decor

These 5 simple printable Halloween silhouettes at No Biggie are probably something you could cobble together yourself if you’re handy with Google image search and PicMonkey. But eh why bother when No Biggie has taken the time to do them for you, along with some fun tips for turning them into easy Halloween decor.

Also check out Alexis from Persia Lou who’s given me a serious case of mantle envy thanks in part to her free printable Halloween skull cameo art.  You can gild the bows in gold like she did or just go for basic black. (And check this post of hers for more cool DIY Halloween decor ideas. )

Free printable Halloween masks

Check out our roundup of free printable Halloween masks where you’ll find lots of cool ideas, like these free printable color-your-own Day of the Dead masks from My Very Educated Mother. Kids get to go nuts making them their own, whether they’re decorating with crayons, paints or glitter glue. (Bless you, if you are still letting the kids use that stuff because honestly, it kills me.)

I am smiling ear to ear at these free printable luchadores wrestler masks from the UK’s Happy Thought. They’re in 3D so it takes a few more folds and cuts than other masks, but great results. You just need to subscribe to her email list to get the PDF. I think it’s worth it considering she also has templates for a puppy dog mask, tiger mask, panda mask, and more.

I’ve always liked these free printable Halloween masks we shared years ago from Mr. Printables because they’re a fun modern twist on traditional characters like pumpkins, spiders, skeletons and black cats. There’s something fun about letting kids come up with their own creative identities instead of just going for whatever character they know from TV.

How retro hip are these free printable Disney Haunted Mansion masks featuring the hitchhiking ghosts. I’m not kidding, I may have just found my own costume for answering the door on Halloween night.