21 Christmas crafts for kids to get them in the holiday spirit
<p><span>There’s nothing quite like crafting for getting into the holiday spirit – it’s a fun Christmas tradition, especially when you get your kids involved! </span></p>
<p><span>Christmas crafts for kids ensure hours of family fun, laughter, and creativity – and, not to mention, some pretty awesome DIY Christmas decorations to hang around your house. Remember to always supervise younger children with scissors, paint and glue.</span></p>
<p><strong>Paper plate angel </strong></p>
<p>Hark, the paper plate angels sing! For this Christmas decoration idea, paint a paper plate blue and cut it into three pieces to form the dress and wings.</p>
<p>Attach yellow construction paper to the plastic spoon as hair and glue together. It’s just about the easiest Christmas craft for kids you can find.</p>
<p><strong>Christmas cards</strong></p>
<p><span>There’s no Christmas craft for kids quite as special as a handmade holiday card. Help your kids spruce up their card-making game this year by using construction paper and buttons to create fun paper card cut-outs in the shapes of Christmas trees, reindeer, wreaths, ornaments and more. </span></p>
<p><span>Not sure your crew is up to the task? Try one of these free printable cards instead.</span></p>
<p><strong>Orange peel garland</strong></p>
<p>After peeling (and eating) an orange, lay out the skin and use Christmas-themed cookie cutters to cut out shapes.</p>
<p>From there, thread a string or twine to form the garland. Oranges aren’t the only fruit fit for Christmas – did you know that it’s a Chinese tradition to eat an apple on Christmas?</p>
<p><strong>Pasta Christmas trees</strong></p>
<p><span>Help your kids spray paint uncooked pasta shapes in green and silver and hot glue the pasta together to form tree shapes. </span></p>
<p><span>Don’t forget the bowtie noodle on top!</span></p>
<p><strong>Pinecone Christmas trees</strong></p>
<p><span>A Christmas craft for kids that’s both eco-friendly and adorable? Sign us up! Have your kids scavenge pinecones in the backyard. </span></p>
<p><span>Then, use hot glue to attach the pinecones to corks to act as the stump. Dip in green paint to complete.</span></p>
<p><strong>Pasta wreath</strong></p>
<p><span>Kids will love this fun twist on the classic Christmas wreath idea. Use craft glue to adhere bowtie pasta to a foam wreath form or paper plate. </span></p>
<p><span>Spray paint to apply colour and for an extra special holiday surprise, attach red bows and roses.</span></p>
<p><strong>Chimney Santa Claus</strong></p>
<p><span>This Christmas craft for kids transforms recycled toilet paper rolls into chimneys with red construction paper and a black marker. Use the same tools to create Santa’s hat and feet.</span></p>
<p><strong>Swirly paper snowman</strong></p>
<p><span>Help your child cut white paper into a spiral to form the snowman’s swirly body. From there, draw eyes, a mouth, and a carrot nose at the top. </span></p>
<p><span>Don’t forget to cut out a construction paper hat to complete the craft.</span></p>
<p><strong>Circle snowmen</strong></p>
<p><span>What’s round, white, and absolutely adorable? This Christmas craft for kids! All your kid will need is coloured construction paper, scissors and glue, making it absolutely kid-friendly. </span></p>
<p><span>And talk about creative – your child can craft and decorate these little bundles of snowy joy as they see fit.</span></p>
<p><strong>Paper snowflakes</strong></p>
<p><span>We’d be remiss if we didn’t include the most classic of all Christmas crafts for kids – the paper snowflake. </span></p>
<p><span>No matter how simple this craft is, the magic of unfurling the paper to see the incredible patterns created will always be a Christmas miracle.</span></p>
<p><strong>Tissue paper Christmas tree</strong></p>
<p><span>Cut green pieces of tissue paper into squares and have your child crumple and glue them together to form the shape of a Christmas tree. </span></p>
<p><span>For an extra special touch, cut up a white cotton pad and use it as snow.</span></p>
<p><strong>Toilet paper toys</strong></p>
<p><span>What do Frosty, Santa, and a Christmas tree all have in common? They’re made out of toilet paper rolls!</span></p>
<p><span> For this craft, all your child will need is glue, construction paper, and paint.</span></p>
<p><strong>Snowmen greeting cards</strong></p>
<p><span>All your child will need for this Christmas craft are white buttons, blue cardstock, a white pen, and some creativity. </span></p>
<p><span>Have your child glue three buttons in a row to create the shape of the snowman. Draw stick arms, hair, snow and more using the white pen.</span></p>
<p><strong>Christmas tree snow globes</strong></p>
<p><span>What’s the only thing better than a holiday-themed snow globe? A DIY holiday-themed snow globe, of course! To create the Christmas tree, paint a pine cone green and decorate it with sequins and glitter and attach to the bottom of a Mason jar lid. </span></p>
<p><span>Then, fill the Mason jar with glitter and add glycerine (that secret snow globe ingredient!). Screw on the lid, flip over, and watch the holiday magic commence.</span></p>
<p><strong>Toilet paper roll Christmas tree calendar</strong><span></span></p>
<p><span>To make this fun, upcycled Christmas craft, first, tape recycled toilet paper rolls in a pyramid shape. Then, cover in green construction paper. </span></p>
<p><span>Finally, decorate each of the rolls with numbers 1 to 25 to finish the advent calendar.</span></p>
<p><strong>Santa puppets</strong></p>
<p><span>First, cut out a triangle using red construction paper and glue to a Popsicle stick. </span></p>
<p><span>Then glue half a cupcake wrapper to make Santa’s beard, a white circle to form his head, and add a small white circle on top to complete his hat.</span></p>
<p><strong>Going green wrapping paper</strong></p>
<p><span>To take your child’s Christmas crafting to a whole new level…have them custom DIY wrapping paper! </span></p>
<p><span>Cut a Christmas tree stamp out of a sponge then stamp green paint onto a repurposed brown bag to create a pattern.</span></p>
<p><strong>Wooden stick holiday characters</strong></p>
<p><span>To make the paddlepop stick snowman, glue together six wooden sticks with one lying diagonally. </span></p>
<p><span>Paint the top half and diagonal stick black for the hat, and the bottom half white. Draw on eyes, a carrot nose, and a smile.</span></p>
<p><strong>Santa Claus lollipop package</strong></p>
<p><span>This is an adorable way for kids to give their friends treats on Christmas. First, fold red cardstock into a freestanding triangle shape. Decorate one side with Santa’s face, made out of construction paper and pieces of a doily. </span></p>
<p><span>Slide a lollipop face down into the triangle and staple on either side to secure. Bonus: have your child add in one of these funny Christmas quotes to complete the present.</span></p>
<p><strong>Angel garland</strong></p>
<p><span>Use patterned paper for a fun twist on this classic kids’ Christmas craft.</span></p>
<p><strong>Christmas masks</strong></p>
<p><span>Decorate your masks this year for the ultimate holiday cheer. Glue on pom-poms and cotton fluff for a bona fide Santa’s beard.</span></p>
<p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p>
<p><em>This article originally appeared in <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.readersdigest.com.au/food-home-garden/home-tips/21-christmas-crafts-for-kids-to-get-them-in-the-holiday-spirit?pages=1" target="_blank">Reader's Digest</a>.</em></p>
