Introduction to Holiday Crafts
As a parent and former elementary school teacher, I’ve seen firsthand how holiday craft activities for kids can transform an ordinary day into a magical memory. There’s something special about watching a child’s face light up when they create something with their own hands—especially when it’s tied to a holiday they’re excited about!
Holiday crafts aren’t just about keeping kids busy (though let’s be honest, that’s a nice bonus during school breaks). These creative activities help develop fine motor skills, encourage problem-solving, and boost confidence. I’ve noticed that even my most reluctant students would eagerly participate when crafting was connected to a holiday celebration.
Over the years, I’ve collected dozens of craft ideas for every major holiday. Today, I’m sharing 25 of my absolute favorites that have been kid-tested and parent-approved. These projects use simple materials you likely already have at home, and they’re adaptable for various age groups.
Christmas Craft Ideas
Christmas might be my favorite holiday for crafting with kids. The combination of winter themes, festive colors, and the spirit of giving creates endless possibilities for creative projects.
Easy Christmas Ornaments
- Salt Dough Handprints: Mix 2 cups flour, 1 cup salt, and 1 cup water. Roll out the dough, press your child’s hand in, cut around it, poke a hole for hanging, and bake at 250°F for 2 hours. Once cool, let kids paint their handprint ornaments.
- Popsicle Stick Snowflakes: Arrange 6-8 popsicle sticks in a snowflake pattern, glue at the center, then decorate with glitter, sequins, or paint.
- Cinnamon Applesauce Ornaments: Mix 1 cup applesauce and 1 cup cinnamon until dough forms. Roll out, cut with cookie cutters, poke a hole, and air dry for 24-48 hours.
- Beaded Pipe Cleaner Stars: Twist pipe cleaners into star shapes and let kids thread colorful beads onto them.
- Paper Strip Balls: Cut colorful paper into strips, form into loops, and staple together in a spherical pattern.
Pro Tip: When making salt dough ornaments, add a few drops of essential oil (cinnamon or pine work great) to make them smell festive for years to come!
Festive Holiday Cards
- Fingerprint Light Strings: Draw a simple string line and let kids add colorful fingerprint “lights” along it.
- Potato Stamp Cards: Cut a potato in half, carve a simple shape (star, tree, etc.), dip in paint, and stamp onto folded cardstock.
- Button Tree Cards: Glue green buttons in a triangle shape to create a tree, add a small yellow button “star” on top.
- Washi Tape Cards: Let kids create patterns and designs using colorful washi tape on blank cards.
- Photo Cards: Take a silly holiday photo of your kids and glue it to the front of a folded card they can decorate.
I once tried to be super ambitious with my first-grade class by attempting intricate snowflake cards. The scissors struggle was real! I learned that simpler is often better—the fingerprint light cards were much more successful and the parents treasured them just as much.
Halloween Craft Ideas
Halloween offers so many opportunities for spooky, silly craft activities for kids that unleash their imagination and creativity.
Spooky Decorations
- Paper Plate Spiders: Paint a paper plate black, attach pipe cleaner legs, and add googly eyes.
- Tissue Paper Ghosts: Crumple white tissue paper around a lollipop, tie with string, and draw ghost faces with markers.
- Handprint Bats: Trace hands on black paper, cut out, and attach to toilet paper tubes. Add googly eyes and hang from the ceiling.
- Mason Jar Mummies: Wrap mason jars with white gauze or strips of white fabric, glue on googly eyes, and place LED tea lights inside.
- Paper Chain Snakes: Create paper chains in Halloween colors, attach a construction paper head with a forked tongue.
Pro Tip: Save your empty toilet paper rolls year-round! They’re perfect for Halloween crafts—turn them into bats, monsters, or even mini pumpkins with a little orange paint.
DIY Costume Accessories
- Cardboard Wings: Cut wing shapes from cardboard, let kids decorate them, and attach elastic straps.
- Paper Bag Masks: Cut eye holes in paper bags, then decorate with paint, markers, feathers, or other embellishments.
- Wand Making Station: Provide dowels or sticks, ribbons, glitter, and star shapes for kids to create magical wands.
- Crown Crafting: Cut crown shapes from cardstock and let kids decorate with jewels, glitter, and markers.
- Superhero Cuffs: Transform toilet paper rolls into superhero cuffs with paint and decorations.
Last Halloween, I attempted to make an elaborate dragon costume with my nephew, complete with handcrafted wings. We spent hours on it only to have him decide at the last minute he wanted to be a ghost instead! Now I focus on creating mix-and-match accessories that can work with multiple costume ideas.
Easter Craft Ideas
Spring colors and symbols make Easter perfect for bright, cheerful crafts that celebrate renewal and growth.
Colorful Easter Eggs
- Natural Dye Eggs: Create dyes from beets (pink), turmeric (yellow), cabbage (blue), and onion skins (orange) for a natural approach.
- Washi Tape Eggs: Decorate hard-boiled eggs with colorful washi tape patterns.
- Watercolor Eggs: Paint white plastic eggs with watercolors for a beautiful marbled effect.
- Tissue Paper Eggs: Apply small pieces of colorful tissue paper to eggs with a water and glue mixture.
- String Art Eggs: Wrap colorful embroidery thread around eggs for unique patterns.
Pro Tip: For young children who might struggle with real eggs, use wooden or paper mache eggs from craft stores—they’re less fragile and can become keepsakes for years to come.
Easter Bunny Crafts
- Paper Plate Bunnies: Cut ear shapes from a second plate and attach to a full paper plate. Add cotton ball tails and drawn faces.
- Sock Bunnies: Fill a sock with rice, tie off to create a head and body, add ribbon, buttons, and felt features.
- Bunny Masks: Cut oval eye holes in paper plates, attach ear shapes, and add elastic bands.
- Handprint Bunnies: Trace hands on paper with fingers as ears, then decorate.
- Pom-Pom Bunnies: Glue large and small pom-poms together, add felt ears and googly eyes.
Thanksgiving Craft Ideas
Thanksgiving crafts provide a wonderful opportunity to combine creativity with gratitude, helping children understand the deeper meaning of the holiday.
Gratitude Trees
- Branch Display: Collect fallen branches, place in a vase, and hang paper leaves with written gratitudes.
- Handprint Tree: Trace a child’s arm and hand as the trunk and branches, then add fingerprint leaves with things they’re thankful for written on each.
- Family Gratitude Chain: Create paper chains where each link contains something a family member is grateful for.
- Thankful Tree Centerpiece: Create a small tree from construction paper and cardboard tubes. Add paper leaves with gratitudes written on them.
- Gratitude Garland: String paper leaves together to create a garland for your mantel or doorway.
Pro Tip: Start a gratitude tree tradition where you add a few leaves each day in November leading up to Thanksgiving. It’s a beautiful way to shift focus toward thankfulness throughout the month.
Turkey Crafts
- Handprint Turkeys: Trace hands on colored paper with the thumb as the head and fingers as feathers.
- Pinecone Turkeys: Add colorful paper feathers, googly eyes, and a felt beak to pinecones.
- Paper Bag Turkeys: Transform lunch bags into turkeys by adding construction paper features.
- Toilet Paper Roll Turkeys: Cover rolls with brown paper, then add feathers, eyes, and a beak.
- Turkey Headbands: Create paper feather strips that children can wear as festive headbands.
One Thanksgiving, I attempted an elaborate turkey craft with my nieces using real feathers. Big mistake! The feathers went everywhere, stuck to everything, and one niece had a mild allergic reaction. Now we stick to paper feathers, which are just as colorful and much less problematic!
Frequently Asked Questions
What materials are needed for holiday crafts?
Most holiday craft activities for kids require basic supplies like construction paper, child-safe scissors, glue sticks, markers, crayons, and paint. I recommend creating a craft box with these essentials, then adding holiday-specific items like googly eyes, pipe cleaners, pom-poms, and glitter. Dollar stores are great resources for affordable craft supplies!
How can I ensure safety during crafting activities?
Always supervise children, especially with scissors or hot glue guns. Choose non-toxic materials, opt for child-safe alternatives (like school glue instead of hot glue for younger kids), and be mindful of choking hazards with small items for children under 3. Having a dedicated crafting space with newspaper or a plastic tablecloth makes cleanup easier too.
What are some age-appropriate crafts for toddlers?
For toddlers, focus on sensory experiences and simple activities: finger painting holiday scenes, decorating with stickers, creating handprint art, or gluing pre-cut shapes. Avoid small pieces and complicated steps. I’ve found that toddlers enjoy the process more than the final product, so embrace the mess
