Christmas arts and crafts fit seamlessly into the holiday season as you slow down and take time to make memories. OK, maybe not seamlessly, but it’s the time of year that we focus on making memories. Seasonal arts and crafts like salt dough ornaments, paper snowflakes, and gingerbread houses can turn into holiday family traditions that everyone will look forward to each year. Other Christmas arts and crafts might be done to make gifts for neighbors, friends, and family.
If you have young children, you can do Christmas arts and crafts during regular activity time each day. For those of you with kiddos in elementary school, middle school, and high school, Christmas arts and crafts can still be a possibility, it just takes a bit more planning. You might be surprised that your tweens and teens will actually enjoy a Christmas arts and crafts night, but they will. Everyone needs to take a night off from their regular busy schedules.
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Put your older children in the driver’s seat of Christmas arts and crafts night. First agree on a time and day so they are ready for it. And, then give them a theme – for example – making ornaments for the neighbors, or making a decoration for your home. Have your teens and tweens research ideas for the Christmas arts and crafts night. It’s all about putting them in the driver’s seat so they want to participate. Here are a few suggestions to get you started this holiday season.
Ornament Making – A Perfect Activity for Christmas Arts and Crafts Night at Home
Adding a new homemade ornament each year to your Christmas tree is a great family tradition. Be sure to write the year on the back and the name of who made each one. Homemade ornaments also make great gifts for neighbors, family, friends, and family. Give a set of four or six – one made by each family member; or use them as gift tags. Any way you slice it, ornament making is one of the best ideas for Christmas arts and crafts.
Salt Dough Ornaments
Salt Dough Ornaments can be an annual family tradition. You make the simple, inexpensive recipe. Break out the holiday cookie cutters and use a straw to poke a hole for the string. After the dough is dry or baked at a very low temperature, the ornaments can be painted. You can glue on adornments and more. It truly is a Christmas arts and crafts activity that family members of all ages will enjoy.
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A variety of recipes can be found for Salt Dough Ornaments. They all vary just a little bit. Wholefully has a tried and true recipe that works for Christmas ornaments, baby hand and foot keepsakes, and more. You can seal your ornaments with ModPodge to keep them from year to year.
Popsicle Stick Christmas Tree
It doesn’t get any more iconic than simple Christmas tree arts and crafts ideas. Popsicle Stick Christmas Tree Ornaments are a classic homemade ornament to make. Crafts by Courtney provides you tips and tricks for making this adorable ornament with preschoolers to big kids. The ornaments can be buttons, pompons, or even sequins. Popsicle ornaments are fun to make because you can paint the sticks and then glue them together. Everyone loves a project with both paint and glue.
Candy Cane Reindeer Ornaments
Take a sweet trip down memory lane with Candy Cane Reindeer Ornaments. A brown pipe-cleaner twists to become the antlers, a red pompon for the nose and, don’t forget, the googly eyes. You can make Candy Cane Reindeer Ornaments out of one candy cane or two. The Keeper of the Cheerios provides the instructions for the two-candy cane reindeer, and The Spruce Eats gives the easy how-to for the one candy cane reindeer ornament. These ornaments make great treats to send into your children’s classroom for treats or to decorate holiday packages.
Make Decorations for Your Home, and Gifts for Friends and Family
Making holiday decorations for the home and as gifts for loved ones gives Christmas arts and crafts new meaning. You can make wreaths, centerpieces for tables, stockings, and more. It’s so fun to create Christmas decorations out of upcycled materials, as well as new crafting supplies.
Wreaths
Team Flower Education gives step-by-step instructions to make a holiday wreath. It’s so rewarding to make a wreath for your front door, and surprisingly, much easier than you think it would be to make a wreath. The best wreaths are made from fresh evergreen clippings, but they can be made from artificial greens, too. Be sure you have permission to clip. Sometimes, when you visit a Christmas tree lot they will let you have some extra clippings to make a wreath, too.
Gnomes and Snowmen
Gnomes are so trendy. Autumn with It’s Always Autumn teaches you how to make Sock Gnomes! You can use holiday socks to make the fun little Christmas gnomes. It’s such a fun craft that makes a great keepsake for a holiday party or a gift for a loved one.
The crafty Keeper of the Cheerios shows you how to make the most adorable snowman decoration from painted mason jar lids. Everyone can help paint the mason jar lids. Then you can spend a quiet afternoon creating the two “snowball snowman.” It’s so cute.
Christmas Arts and Crafts Can Become Fun Family Traditions
Christmas arts and crafts can become everyone’s favorite nights of the season. Of course, edible Christmas-themed crafts are fun and delicious. Christmas arts and crafts become treasured family time because everyone enjoys the moment, to be present. It’s time to turn off the cell phones and get messy.
Gingerbread Houses
Gingerbread houses top almost everyone’s list of favorite Christmas arts and crafts. Perhaps, because it is so simple. Gingerbread house kits can be purchased anywhere from Amazon to your local grocery stores. Many families have annual gingerbread decorating contests with each family member decorating his/her own house.
Homemade Garland
Sometimes the most basic Christmas arts and crafts are the most fun. Have you made popcorn and cranberry garland for your Christmas tree? You just need a needle and thread, air-popped popcorn, and fresh cranberries.
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You simply thread the popcorn and berries on the garland in whatever pattern you choose — two berries, one popcorn; or one cranberry, one piece of popcorn. The result is beautiful. Stringing popcorn and cranberry garland can be done sitting at a table chatting and listening to Christmas carols, or sitting in front of the TV watching your favorite holiday movie.
Snowflakes
Paper snowflakes are a timeless tradition. It can be done with the whole family from grandparents to little children (with some help of course). You just need a stack of white paper and some scissors. There are countless tutorials from articles to videos on how to make paper snowflakes. Debbie Chapman from One Little Project offers a great refresher on how to beautiful paper snowflakes. She shows you how to fold the paper and where to cut. The snowflakes can be used as decorations, to decorate homemade Christmas cards, or as ornaments.
Easy Christmas arts and crafts are the perfect way to enjoy holiday traditions with your children from preschool to teens. And, perhaps, you’ll have so much fun with the kiddos, they will bring their friends home to participate in salt dough ornament night, Christmas wreath-making day, or gingerbread decorating. Stop and enjoy the moment. ‘Tis the season for making memories. Don’t get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the season for just Christmas Day. Christmas is a season – make every moment count. And, enjoy.
Sources: Crafts by Courtney, It’s Always Autumn, One Little Project, The Keeper of the Cheerios, Team Flower, The Spruce Eats, and Wholefully.
Photo Credits: Pexels, Unsplash, and Pixabay.
WANT TO READ MORE?
Check out Daily Mom’s article Top 3 Places for Ugly Christmas Sweater Ideas on a Budget for more advice, tips, and tricks.
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