Where did the last year go?!
Yes, it’s already time to get ahead of the game and begin planning for this year’s Festive Season already.
Kids love the preparations for the Christmas holiday almost as much as the big day itself. With that in mind, we’ve compiled this list of super-simple, fun Christmas crafting ideas for all your family to enjoy creating.
Teachers can use these projects to form part of pre-Christmas art lessons, while parents can keep their kids busy at home during those dark winter evenings.
Table of Contents
Project #1: Sparkling Snowflake Mobile
Everyone loves a white Christmas, but even if the snow doesn’t come for you on Christmas Eve, you can still create some sparkling magic snowflakes with this beautiful mobile decoration.
This glitzy snowflake mobile is easy to make and makes a highly effective festive ornament. Why not hang the mobile in a window so that the sparkles catch the light and throw pretty colored reflections all around your room?
Project #2: Hand-painted Baubles
What could look prettier on your Christmas tree than a selection of glittering hand-painted baubles that your kids have made for you?
This project is simple to do and allows your children to get creative. All you’ll need are some plastic safety baubles, craft paint, and a paintbrush. Preschoolers might prefer to use their fingers to create freestyle designs!
Project #3: Christmas Tree Ornament
This pretty Christmas Tree ornament is really simple to make and can be created on a tight budget too, which is an important consideration when Christmas expenditure is looming.
All you need for this project are a few old emery boards, Popsicle sticks, or craft sticks, some multicolored pompoms, craft glue, and a child with lots of imagination and creative flair!
Project #3: Christmas Tree Ornament
This Christmas handprint wreath is really simple to make, yet so effective!
Your kids will love creating this handprint wreath, which can be given as a gift or simply put up in your own home.
You’ll need some green colored card, red pompoms, some festive ribbon, and craft glue. Your kids can use their own hands to create the handprints.
If you have kids of different ages, be sure to get everyone involved, and you’ll finish up with lots of various handprint sizes for a really interesting effect!
Project #4: Ripped Paper Christmas Trees
This project is ideally suited to preschoolers and kindergarten kids.
All you need to create these pretty ripped paper Christmas trees are some colored scraps of paper and some craft glue. There’s no tricky cutting or shaping to be done with this crafty Christmas creation! Simply choose your colors, rip up strips of paper, and affix them to a piece of card to create an abstract Christmas tree image.
Project #5: Pine Cone Decorations
These pretty pine cones look great on any Christmas tree or hanging up in your fireplace.
Why not spend an afternoon collecting cones at your local park or take the family on a trip to the forest on a foraging expedition.
When you bring the cones home, be sure to dry them thoroughly. Then, place the cones in sealed plastic bags and leave them in your freezer overnight to kill off any bugs that might be lurking inside.
Remove the cones from the bags and allow them to return to room temperature. Now, decorate the cones, using colored pompoms, glitter, and spray-on snow.
Project #6: Jumping Elf Puppets
Older kids will love creating these spectacular jumping paper cup elf puppets! Pull the string, and see the elves leap up and down!
This super-cute interactive Christmas craft is an ideal choice of creative project for older children to take on with a little help from mom, dad, or their art teacher.
Project #7: Gingerbread Men Ornaments
Everyone loves gingerbread men at Christmastime!
So, why not create these simple, effective gingerbread men ornaments from basic craft sticks and a few simple trimmings. This festive decoration idea is also very cheap to make, so it’s perfect for parents working on a tight budget.
Project #8: Gingerbread House Ornaments
This project is perfect for older kids and is the ideal way to while away a drab winter’s afternoon.
Transform mini terra cotta pots into super-cute gingerbread houses with some paint, spangles, and ribbons. Hang these adorable Christmas craft items on your tree or wrap them and present them as a special Christmas gift for teachers, friends, and family.
Project #9: Footprint Reindeer Christmas Cards
If you have toddlers or preschoolers in your household, you might enjoy incorporating their footprints into these sweet, footprint Christmas cards.
All you need for this effective craft project are some blank cards, non-toxic paints, and plastic toy-eyes from your local craft shop.
Hand-made cards such as these make wonderful keepsakes for family members that they will treasure for years!
Project #10: Origami Christmas Trees
If you’re looking for a Christmas craft project that needs no glue or messy glitter, you might like to try making these origami Christmas Trees.
You can choose festive paper with different designs, textures, and colors to create a whole forest of eye-catching trees with which to decorate your home.
Project #11: Paper Plate Santa
This project is perfect for little kids who are old enough to try independent crafting with a little supervision from you.
All you need to make these adorable paper plate Santas are some plain white paper plates, cotton wool, poster paints, and craft glue.
Project #12: Accordion Paper Reindeer
If you have a home printer and your kids are older, you might like to let them have a go at making these accordion paper reindeer.
When complete, the reindeer can be walked along on their bouncy bottoms! Your kids will love these funny, cute Christmas creatures, and they make great decorations that will come out year after year.
Project #13: Fingerprint Christmas Card
This project is perfect for preschoolers to get busy with.
You’ll need some plain black card and a selection of colored paints to make these fingerprint Christmas cards. And you’ll need to recruit some little kids to provide you with plenty of fingerprints to create the foliage and baubles on the trees!
Be sure to use water-based paints and equip your artists with aprons – things could get messy!
Project #14: Paper Plate and Wool Christmas Trees
This inventive project is perfect for slightly older kids who want to join in the Christmas decoration preparation process.
You’ll need some plain, white paper plates, a hole punch, some green wool or yarn, a pack of mini colored pompoms, and miniature stars, all of which you’ll find in good craft shops. For a truly authentic look of a tree on a frosty morning, add a spritz of snow spray to your finished tree.
These paper plate and wool Christmas trees will look wonderful when dotted around your home during the festive season.
Project #15: Salt Dough Handprints
This project is a super-fun creative craft idea that’s perfect for younger kids to have a go at under your supervision.
You’ll need to make salt dough hearts for your little helpers, and then let them decorate the hearts with their own handprints and fingerprints.
Add glitter and sparkles for a festive finish, punch a hole in the top of each heart, and add a string so that you can hang the hearts on your Christmas tree or in your windows.
Project #16: Clothes Peg Snowmen
These cute, clothes peg snowmen are easy to make and look so sweet!
You can use the snowmen to add a splash of festive color to your Christmas tree or any other part of your home. These decorations can also be used to hang your greetings cards from green twine washing lines across your windows!
Project #17: Candy Cane Reindeer
Candy canes are something every kid looks forward to hanging on the tree every year at Christmas time.
Why not give these traditional, sweet decorations a novel twist this year by creating candy cane reindeer?
Simple to make and so effective, candy cane reindeer can add a classy touch to any tree or table decoration. Even better; you can eat them too!
Project #18: 3D Noodle Christmas Trees
Using bow tie and shell dried pasta shapes, your kids can create these unusual and attractive 3D Christmas Trees.
You’ll need some craft glue and metallic spray paints too. To save mess and for safety reasons, have your kids undertake this project in a well-ventilated room, and remember to put down some old newspapers or sheets to catch any stray squirts of paint!
Project #19: Fingerprint Christmas Lights
Your kids will most likely be invited to lots of parties in the run-up to Christmas and over the New Year.
These fingerprint Christmas lights thank you cards make the perfect way of saying “Thanks!” to all those party hosts. You can use the cards to say thank you for Christmas gifts too.
All you’ll need to make these cards are some poster paints, a Sharpie pen, and some plain white cards. And, of course, some willing volunteers with tiny fingers!
Project #20: Paper Straw Wreath Ornaments
Your kids will have great fun, making these colorful mini Christmas wreath ornaments from paper straws, beads, and string. Add some pretty ribbons to complete the party look!
You can make these decorations into strings to hang around your mantelpiece or use them as individual tree ornaments.
Project #21: Christmas Tree Mason Jars
Older children will love the challenge of creating these attractive Christmas Tree Mason Jars.
Each jar is decorated with a cut-out Christmas tree motif and filled with “snow.” A tea light nestling in the snow will twinkles through the glass, lighting up the Christmas tree with a cozy festive glow.
Place the jars around your fireplace or on your mantelpiece to add a lovely, Christmas Eve ambiance to the room.
Project #22: Wrapped Yarn Christmas Ornaments
If you have older kids who enjoy taking time to create detailed crafts, they’ll love the challenge of making these wrapped yarn Christmas ornaments.
All you need is some yarn, a few basic crafting supplies from your local dollar store, and the patience to make stars, snowmen, Christmas trees, hearts, and elves from the brightly colored yarn.
Project #23: Icy Cold Snow Paint
Snow paint is the perfect medium for your kids to use to create some stunning Christmas art this year!
Best of all, this simple recipe only requires two ingredients, so it’s perfect for parents on a budget.
Project #24: Cotton Ball Snowman
Preschoolers and kindergarten kids will have hours of fun creating these fluffy, white cotton ball snowmen.
These snowmen can be used to decorate cards, or you could cut them out and hang them from your Christmas tree. All you’ll need for this easy craft project is some cotton balls, card, craft glue, and perhaps some pretty snowflake motif beads to complete your decoration.
A free downloadable template comes with this link.
Project #25: Button Star Ornament
This colorful, DIY button star ornament is an easy, yet very effective holiday craft for kids that can be used at home or in school.
You’ll need a wooden star, craft glue, and some pretty yellow or gold buttons to create this decoration. Hang the stars on your Christmas tree, from the door handles around your home, or from picture corners.
Wrapping it up
Christmastime is just made for crafting!
As you can see from all the fun projects we’ve found for you and included in this listicle, you and your family can have hours of festive fun creating these cute decorations that will add a touch of homespun tradition to your décor this season.
There’s no need to spend a fortune on decorations at this expensive time of year. All you need for these projects is a few basic supplies from a good craft store and some items you can collect for free on a winter’s afternoon walk.
Happy Holidays!
