20+ of THE BEST Christmas Crafts for Kids

Holidays are the perfect time for crafting with kids, and today I'm sharing some of my favourite Christmas crafts (broken down by category: paper, popsicle stick, and textile crafts). I have crafts that can be used as decor and super-fun ornaments that can be gifted or hung on the tree. There is something for all ages and skills on this list!

PAPER CRAFTS

Paper Crafts are wonderful for all ages... but especially younger kids. The materials are easy to find, and the crafts they make are easy, inexpensive, and fun.

1) Reindeer art - This simple reindeer painting is easy to make, and it is a sweet piece of holiday artwork. Draw a reindeer head, antlers, and nose on a piece of white paper. Colour the reindeer parts, cut them out, and glue them onto a piece of heavy coloured paper. Add a googly eye (with white glue), and cover the paper with snowflakes made from dipping a Q-tip in white paint.

2) Cheerios Tree - This Cheerios tree is another simple way to craft and work on fine motor skills with kids. Draw a tree, have the kids colour the tree, and decorate the tree with glue and Cheerios. If you didn't want to use Cheerios, stickers would work well too.

3) Photo ornament - Personalized ornaments are always special, and this simple reindeer photo ornament is absolutely adorable! Cut a circle from a piece of card stock, glue on a photo of a child, draw reindeer antlers, and add a red sticker nose. Attach a string, and give it as a gift or hang it on the tree. Cute, right?

4) Paper Santa - Start with a red triangular piece of construction paper. Cut the top from a white cupcake liner, and glue it to the triangle with white glue. Cut a circle from card-stock for the face, and use glue to attach it. Cut a belt and gloves from black paper, and attach with glue. Finish by adding googly eyes, a paper moustache, buttons, and cotton.

5) Paper Strip Tree - Start with a sturdy piece of paper. (I used yellow cardstock.) Cut strips of paper in various colors and lengths. Glue the strips to the card-stock. Add a glittery star sticker to the top of the tree.

6)  Toilet roll tree - This little tree is totally adorable, and the toilet roll allows it to stand on its own.  Draw a simple tree shape onto cardstock, cut it out, color it, and add sparkly stickers.  Then, cut a piece of toilet roll for the tree trunk, cut a couple of slits halfway down the sides, and insert the decorated tree into the trunk.

7) Santa beard - This Santa beard is just as fun to play with as it is to make.  Download the template here.  Then, cut out the beard, add a popsicle stick, and have the child cover the beard with cotton balls.

8) Gingerbread Man - This little ornament is adorable and easy to make.  Download the template here.  Then, have your little crafter decorate it with crayons, googly eyes, yarn scrapes, and buttons.

9) Tissue paper wreath - I love this simple tissue paper wreath, and it's a wonderful craft for the kids to do on their own (while you wrap some presents).  Cut a circle out of the centre of a paper plate, and then have the kids crumple tissue paper squares, dip the tissue paper in glue, and attach them to the wreath.

10) Santa going down the chimney - This craft is nothing short of adorable. I started by drawing a chimney on a piece of card stock. Then, I drew a pair of Santa pants on cardstock, cut them out, and taped them to a craft stick.

The secret is a slit (made with an X-acto knife) across the top of the chimney. The kids will delight in watching Santa disappear inside the chimney.

11) DIY gift bags - I love a practical craft, and these DIY gift bags are fantastic.  The kids can add a tree or reindeer to a plain brown bag (from the dollar store), and then use it to wrap a special Christmas gift.  

POPSICLE STICK CRAFTS

Popsicle sticks are inexpensive, and they are the perfect material for crafting adorable ornaments.

12) Elf popsicle stick ornament - Paint a stick green (except for the face). Decorate with markers, paper ears, googly eyes a sticker buckle, a felt color and hat, and a green pom pom. Finish by hot gluing a twine hanger to the back.

13) Santa popsicle stick ornament - Paint a stick red (except for the face). Decorate with markers, yarn, googly eyes, a button buckle, and a pom pom. Finish by hot gluing a yarn hanger to the back.

14) Santa hat popsicle stick ornament - Paint three sticks red. Glue the sticks into the shape of a hat. Glue cotton balls to the bottom and top of the sticks. Finish by hot gluing a yarn hanger to the back.

15) Tree popsicle stick ornament - Paint two long sticks and one short stick green. Glue into a tree shape. Add a paper truck. Decorate with gem stickers. Finish by tying a piece of yarn through the top of the tree.

16) Gingerbread man popsicle stick ornament - Paint a popsicle stick brown, add googly eyes, buttons, yarn, and a bow. Finish by adding a twine hanger to the back.

17) Snowman popsicle stick ornament - Paint a stick white. Add a paper hat and paper nose, glue on buttons, tie on a felt scarf, and add details with a Sharpie. Finish by hot gluing a twine hanger to the back.

YARN & TEXTILE CRAFTS

Yarn and textiles are great materials for all ages... but especially for older kids. Even tweens and teens will enjoy these simple (more mature) Christmas crafts.

18) Yarn hats - This is one of my favourite holiday crafts. I've made these little ornaments with all my boys' classmates, and everyone loved them. All you need is some yarn and old paper towel rolls. Find the full step by step tutorial here.

19) Yarn wrapped reindeer - Start with a piece of heavy cardboard, cover it with white glue, and wrap the cardboard with yarn. Add googly eyes, a red pom pom nose, clothespin antlers, and a yarn hanger.

20) Felt ornaments - Felt is a wonderful, easy, and inexpensive material to use for making Christmas ornaments. It lays flat, it is easy to cut, and you don't need to worry about fraying edges. Kids that are "beginners" when it comes to sewing, will love these simple felt Christmas ornaments. Find some of my favourite felt ornament ideas here.

21) Spare sock snowman - This is one of the most popular posts on this blog. People LOVE making these adorable sock snowpeople. To make your own, you'll need: a single white sock, some peas or rice, felt, a pom pom, googly eyes, elastics, cotton, buttons, and the step-by-step tutorial that you can find here.

Aren't these Christmas crafts fun? Do you have a favourite? I've made all these crafts with my boys, and I really don't think I could pick just one!

♥ 
Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

You might also enjoy the great Christmas ideas here.

Planning a Christmas Fundraiser with Kids

My boys have been hosting a "Letter Writing to Santa" Fundraiser annually since 2011. In the past, we have hosted a party, but the last couple of years, we have sold "kits" instead of hosting an event. It's a great way for people to take part in on fundraiser at a time that is convenient for them. This year my three boys raised $250 for Cystic Fibrosis in honour of their 6 year old cousin that has the disease.

I'm pretty proud of my boys, and I think teaching the to give back during the holiday season is really important. Here's how we organized our fundraiser:

1) I posted the details on Facebook.

2) My boys put together supplies to write a letter to Santa. e.g. They folded letterhead and put labels on envelopes.

3) My boys baked cookies and put special labels on packets of hot chocolate.

4) My boys made magic reindeer food. 

5) My boys assembled tree ornament craft kits. (See below.)

Note: If you are interested in making one of these ornaments, you can download a PDF version of the Santa ornament instructions here.

6) My boys sold complete kits for $10 and donated the profits to charity.

I'm super-proud of my boys and their hard work on this Christmas fundraiser, and I'm extremely grateful to all our friends and family that supported us this year. Merry Christmas!

♥ 
Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

Simple Santa Crafts (that kids will love)

The Christmas season is always super-busy for parents and caregivers, so it can be very helpful to have a few SIMPLE holiday crafts to keep the kids entertained. Today, I am sharing FOUR Santa crafts that are perfect for Preschoolers and older kids too. These crafts are simple to make, the supplies are easy to find, and the children will be delighted with the finished products.

This simple Santa beard craft is one of my favorite holiday crafts. Download the beard template here, attach a craft stick to the back with white duct tape, and cover the surface of the beard with glue and cotton balls. Easy peasy!

This "Santa going down the chimney" craft is nothing short of adorable. I started by drawing a chimney on a piece of card stock. Then, I drew a pair of Santa pants on cardstock, cut them out, and taped them to a craft stick.

The secret is a slit (made with an X-acto knife) across the top of the chimney. The kids will delight in watching Santa disappear inside the chimney.

This simple paper Santa with a cupcake liner beard is another fun and easy craft for kids. Start with a red triangular piece of construction paper. Then flatten a white cupcake liner, cut it in half, and glue it to the triangle with white glue. Cut a circle from card stock for the face, and attach it with white glue. Cut a belt and gloves from black paper, and attach with glue. Finish by adding googly eyes, a paper moustache, buttons, and cotton.

This popsicle Santa hat ornament is simple to make, and the kids will be proud to craft it and hang it on the tree. Paint popsicle sticks red, and allow them to dry completely. Then, glue the sticks into a triangle shape, and attach a yarn hanger. Finish by gluing cotton balls to the top and bottom of Santa's hat. Cute, right?

Making Christmas crafts with kids is a fabulous tradition, and these simple Santa crafts are guaranteed to be a lot of fun for little ones. You can use the finished crafts for gifts, you can use them to decorate, or you can simply take them out each year as treasured keepsakes. I hope you take the time to make a simple Santa craft with your children this holiday season. If you try one of mine, leave a comment below, and let me know which one was a favourite in your house. Happy Crafting!

♥
Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)