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Create Your Day of the Dead Altar

Making your Day of the Dead altar is a perfect opportunity to strengthen Hispanic culture by making your own altar at home with your children.

This is not supposed to be a scary tradition of witches and ghosts. Instead, this holiday celebrates our love for family members and friends who departed.

A perfect way to so so is by creating our Day of the Dead altar which serves to show the deceased ones our love and respect once they find their way home on November 1st and 2nd when they come visit us.

Day of the Dead is today a fusion of the Aztec traditions and the Catholic evangelization that started when the Spaniards came to America.

Hispanic Americans, mainly from Mexican heritage celebrate this traditional holiday in the U.S. The main objective of the festivity is to enjoy the company of the difunct who come from the dead world to visit us. If you want to learn more about the history of this celebration read my Day of the Dead History article.

How to Make an Altar

Think about the person you love and remember and what he liked when he was on this earth. Candy and fruits accompany the famous Pan de Muerto or bread of the dead, also think about music and activities that you can represent through objects you can place in the altar.

Most altars have three levels or tiers. Each one serves a purpose. The top tier commonly has the picture of the person. The middle tier has the objects that represent what he loved like music, instruments, activities, etc., and the bottom tier carries food offerings like candy, bread, and fruit along with water.

Typical Items for Your Altar

Start by using cut tissue paper or papel picado to cover the base of the altar. You can also use a black cloth or a mantilla.

Place a picture of the loved one on the top or bottom of the altar.

On the second tier place some objects that represent the activities and things he enjoyed. Music Cds, small soccer ball, an instrument, etc.

On the lower tier place water or holy water to help him travel the road to eternity. Day of the Dead bread that represents his soul and fruit, candy and other foods to help him in the journey.

Use incense. Many Mexicans burn White copal incense (made from the resin of the pitch pine or Pinus pseudostrobus) or other fragrant one to guide the dead to the altar.

Place candles throughout the altar. Candles represent light or lumbre to light the path of the dead. Purple candles mean pain, pink celebration and white hope.

Place yellow marigolds or "the flower of the dead" throughout the altar. You can also use other fragrant flowers to communicate to the spirits the richness of the offering.

Place a small container with salt for the souls who visit. They can use the salt in case they can't taste the flavor of foods.

Place some skeleton dolls at the bottom, Mexicans use them a lot as death is a festive occasion not a sad one.

Use skulls to hold candles if you wish or to decorate the bottom tier of the altar.

Celebrate With Day of the Dead Skull Coloring and Sugar Skull Making!

Many people ask me about this holiday, so I included a complete background of the holiday, and a separate section for the meaning of calacas and skulls in Day of the Dead and their purpose in the altars.

This is not only for teachers! I created this eBook because I knew many moms like me, love to create projects at home like we do. This is for parents and teachers (complete lesson plans for children K+).

This is my favorite part of the book: 26 UNIQUE Day of the Dead black and white friendly printable skull designs that you won't find anywhere. They are standard 8.5" x 11" paper, but you can print them ANY size you want!

Step-by-step guide of how-to make sugar skulls WITH original pictures and tips to follow the process easily.

Create this project with your family and specially with your children. They will love decorating the skulls and after that you can place the skulls in the altar.

Children have a blast gathering the offerings, cutting the paper, and arranging the altar. It is about passing Hispanic traditions while sharing family time.

If you are still craving more Dia de Los Muertos information visit my Day of the Dead Mexico page where I explain the holiday in detail along beautiful pictures of the celebration.

Interested in offering this product to your audience at a 30% commission? Join our Affiliate Program!

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Hispanic Facts
in the U.S.

One in seven people in the United States is of Hispanic origin.

Hispanics are a mix of European, African and Native American people.

In 204 B.C. Romans created the term Hispanic to identify inhabitants from the Iberian Peninsula which encompass Spain and Portugal today.

The term Hispanic was adopted in the U.S. in the 1970s by the federal government in its census questionnaires.

The U.S. is the fifth largest Hispanic country in the world.

St. Augustine and Santa Fe were Hispanic cities founded before Plymouth.

Spanish is the fourth most frequently spoken language in the world.

Twenty countries speak Spanish as their first language.

70% of the Hispanic population lives in five states: California, Texas, New York, Florida and Illinois.

Hispanics are the largest minority in the U.S.

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