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Easy Christmas Crafts for Kids

My kids are 11 and 8 and over the years, we’ve tried to find a simple project or two that we can make at Christmas. What I’ve learned is if it’s too complicated, we all get frustrated and it’s not exactly the “family fun day” I envisioned. But, I’ve got a few for you today that won’t make you curse the day Pinterest came into existence! Check out these easy Christmas crafts for kids you can make this year!

First things first. If you’re a perfectionist and everything has to be “just right”, this might not be for you. You’ve got to take a step back and realize that kids are kids. Most of the time, they’re happy to be doing a project with you.  They don’t care if it matches everything or looks Pinterest worthy. It can’t take hours or you’ll lose them. Make it fun and enjoy it!

Easy Christmas Crafts for Kids

Mason Jar Snowglobes

Some of our favorites are the DIY snow globes we made a few years ago. This one took a little more time, but they love them. We found all our supplies at Michael’s. (except for fishing line – we stole that from the hubs)  Here’s what you need:

  • mason jars
  • fake snow of some sort
  • tiny Christmas decorations – think wreaths, stars, snowmen, toy soldiers, whatever they like
  • fishing line or other clear wire
  • needle (this part is for the parents only)
  • tape or glue
  • small white pompoms for “snowballs”

We used fishing line to string up our “snowballs” and make it look like a real snowfall. Thread fishing line through a needle and carefully poke through the center of a few tiny white snowballs. Use tape to attach your lines to the inside lid of the jar. Or if you don’t want to do snowballs, you can use fake gumdrops or candy or anything else you like. I used glittery stars in one of mine.

Use hot glue on the bottom of your Christmas decorations and set them in the bottom of the jar. Or you can use tape, but it may not hold as well.

Fill the jars with fake snow, glitter (if you’re braver than me and actually craft with glitter!), or whatever else you can find that resembles snow.

Screw the top on with your snowballs attached and you’re done! They don’t have to be perfect!

DIY Snowglobes - an easy Christmas craft for kids #createandfind #christmascrafts #easychristmascrafts
Homemade Christmas snow globe made from mason jars - an easy craft for kids
A DIY snow globe made from a mason jar with cotton ball snowmen and snowflakes.
A homemade mason jar snow globe with a mini Christmas tree farm inside.
Toy solders and a cotton ball snowman in a homemade mason jar snow globe.

This was one of the most fun projects we did because the kids got to choose what they wanted. I really liked seeing what they would pick and we look forward to getting them out every year. They’ve already asked me if we’re making new ones this year!

DIY Cardboard Christmas Tree

  • cardboard tree
  • acrylic craft paint and brush
  • pompoms
  • stickers
  • hot glue

This is an easy craft for kids!  My daughter picked out a cardboard (or some cardboard like material) tree from Hobby Lobby for about $3. She painted the entire tree green except for the base which she left brown like a tree trunk. Since she’s 8, I figured it was time to let her learn how to use the hot glue gun.

A tall, pointed cone made out of cardstock paper sitting on a table.
Progress shot of a green cone Christmas tree craft with colorful cotton ball \"ornaments\".
A child glues colorful cotton balls onto a green Christmas tree cone.
A green Christmas tree cone decorated with cotton ball garland and silver snowflakes.
A cone Christmas tree craft sitting in front of a white Christmas tree with presents under it.

I stayed with her of course, but I let her do it all. She picked out a rainbow pattern that she liked for her pompoms and she carefully used hot glue to attach every single one of those suckers! Then she added a few snowflake stickers and a shiny pompom at the top for a star. And that’s all. This is certainly one for older kids. I wouldn’t hand a glue gun to a 5-year-old. Or you can always handle the gluing and let them tell you where everything goes.

Popsicle Stick Ornaments

These are super simple, super cheap, and really cute! We made these DIY Popsicle Stick ornaments in about 30 minutes.

  • popsicle sticks
  • glue
  • stickers, ribbon, glitter, confetti or any other fun decor you like
  • embroidery thread for hanging

Arrange your popsicle sticks in whatever tree or snowflake shape you like. We did a typical tree shape and a plain triangle shape and then two different snowflake variations.

Easy DIY Christmas ornament from popsicle sticks

Glue them in place. Then add whatever stickers you want. Tie them with embroidery thread and use them as ornaments, stocking tags, or gift tags. You can see all the details of how we made ours here!

Easy DIY Christmas ornament - a triangle made from popsicle sticks
A snowflake made out of popsicles sticks and glitter hanging on a Christmas tree.
Popsicle stick snowflake ornament hanging on a Christmas tree with twine.
Green stick Christmas tree craft with read ornaments and a gold star.

DIY Unicorn Ornaments

This one is a little more detailed with the prep, but it comes together easily. Let me start this one by saying this was not our idea. We were searching Pinterest one day and my daughter is obsessed with unicorns – like most 8-year-old girls. Luckily, we found this awesome idea from The Best Ideas For Kids.  We actually just watched the video tutorial and headed to Hobby Lobby for supplies.

  • clay
  • glitter ornaments
  • embroidery thread
  • small flowers (you can find these at any craft store – we found ours in the scrapbooking section or somewhere near there)
  • marker
  • felt/ribbon
  • hot glue and glue gun

My daughter made all the horns first out of gold clay. I baked them at 275 for about 20 minutes. They weren’t hard yet (I know zero about clay) so I left them in there. Bad choice. They looked like charred unicorn horns at this point. So round two of horn making. This time it was 20 minutes tops in the oven and we called it good.

An image collage with a child gluing felt flowers onto paper and DIY unicorn ornaments.

While the horns are baking, make your ears. We had white felt but forgot to buy pink. So we found an old pink ribbon and cut ear shapes from it. We hot glued them together, then onto the ornaments. Again – it doesn’t have to be perfect.

She drew eyes – the video uses a template, but we just free-handed. And we used a plain black marker/sharpie. If you can get a better marker that will write on the ornaments better, I’d opt for that.

Then I removed the tiny hanger from the ornament and we hot glued the top silver part of the ornament back down. Next, hot glue the horn on top. Add however many flowers you want.

Then I cut a small loop of embroidery thread (because that’s what we had on hand) and hot glued it to the back of the ornament to hang on the tree.

a homemade unicorn ornament made from a Styrofoam ball and other craft supplies.
A unicorn ornament hanging from a Christmas tree with a gold horn and pink flowers.
Close-up of a homemade unicorn ornament with a flower crown hanging from a Christmas tree.

They turned out adorable! They aren’t perfect by any means, but my sweet girl loves them. She made 8 of them to give as gifts to her friends. I made one myself, but she did everything else.

More Popsicle Stick Trees

Are you seeing a pattern here? Popsicle sticks are cheap, easy to find, and you can make so many crafts with them! Here’s another blast from Christmas pasts that we made with a huge group of kids! We hosted a few kids Christmas parties and this was one of our crafts. If you’re curious about what on earth we were thinking – check out this post for hosting your own party It’s actually very fun and manageable if you know what you’re getting into!

An image collage with a Christmas tree filled with homemade ornaments and crafts.

We crafted the trees before the party and then let all the kids decorate them how they liked. You can see all the details here!
Hopefully, you’ve found some ideas for creating some easy Christmas crafts with the kids this year.
Just remember:

  • It doesn’t have to be perfect
  • Most of the time, the kids are just happy to be spending time with you
  • Don’t let Pinterest make you feel like it’s not good enough. Just enjoy creating something with your peeps. They’ll remember it as a happy memory. But if you get all caught up in perfection and get upset or frustrated, it takes away from those happy memories.
  • Have fun! That’s the most important. Let them do what they want and enjoy watching them create.

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