Keeping the kids entertained indoors during the colder months can be quite a challenge – trust us, we know. So, we’ve gathered a bunch of fun, colorful and entertaining Christmas-themed crafts for you and your kids!
Let’s start off with a fun Advent Calendar!
Now, this DIY is probably more for you, as it is meant as a surprise for your children. With this DIY your kids will get a sweet surprise or small gift every day until Christmas.
To make this DIY Advent Calendar you will need:
- 24 toilet paper rolls (or 12 if you decide to cut them in half)
- Gift wrapping paper of your choice
- A glue stick
- A stapler
- A pair of scissors
- A pencil
- Filling for the calendar
Start by stapling the paper rolls together (if you do not have a stapler, you could use a glue gun). You can choose any shape you want, but we went with a Christmas tree.
When you have your shape ready, place it on top of your wrapping paper of choice, front down. You’ll want to draw out and cut two pieces to cover the front and back of the calendar; that way your child can poke holes in a new roll every day to find their gift.
You could choose to paint the sides of your calendar, cover it with crêpe paper or do it like us: we cut strips of wrapping paper the same width of the paper roll and wrapped the sides of the calendar to match. Use your glue stick to attach the wrapping paper on the sides and back of the calendar. Before you attach the front with the glue stick, fill the calendar with your treats and gifts of choice.
Happy creating!
DIY Cardboard hand puppets
These little cardboard hand puppets are adorable and perfect for bedtime stories!
To make these adorable little forest friends, you’ll need:
- Leftover cardboard (We used one of our Bambo Nature diaper boxes)
- Popsicle sticks
- Googly eyes
- Pom-poms
- Markers in different colors
- Scissors
- A glue gun
- Different small bowls or plates
Start by laying out your piece of cardboard. Use the bowls or plates to figure out what shapes you would like to use and draw the shapes onto the cardboard. From here, you will probably need to freestyle the ears.
Use scissors to cut out the figures and let the kids go crazy with the markers. Glue googly eyes and pom-poms on the puppets to give a 3D effect and really make them come alive.
To finish the puppets, use the glue gun to attach a popsicle stick on the back. Now, the puppets are all ready for playtime or bedtime!
Tip: you could also make reindeer puppets and use chenille stems to make antlers – perfect for a Christmas themed bedtime story.
DIY popsicle snowflakes to make Elsa proud
This craft is super easy and the kids will love playing with the glitter glue! (We’re sorry about the mess). But when you’re done, you’ll have these adorable snowflakes to hang in the windows or on your tree.
You’ll need:
- Popsicle sticks
- Glitter glue
- A glue gun
- String
Start by spreading glitter glue onto the popsicle sticks. You can let the kids run amok with all the colors of the rainbow, but we went with a nice, icy blue. Also, we recommend using some sort of protective underlayer for the kids to contain the mess just a little bit.
When the glitter glue is dry, use the glue gun to put 4 popsicle sticks together to make the snowflake shape. Then you can either glue a long piece of string to the back of the snowflake to hang it in the window, or make a small noose by gluing the ends of a shorter piece of string together. Now you have a Christmas tree ornament!
DIY Christmas trees from straws
This is a fun little afternoon activity for you and the kids. These miniature Christmas trees are super fun to make and you can either hang them on the big tree afterwards, or maybe on a decorative branch in the house.
To make these colorful decorations you’ll need:
- Popsicle sticks
- Straws
- Pom-poms
- String
- A glue gun
- Scissors
Start by cutting your chosen straw into gradually smaller pieces to make the Christmas tree shape (line the pieces up against each other to see the shape clearly). Use the glue gun to glue each piece of straw to the popsicle stick in the right order, leaving a small free space at the top. We used pom-poms to decorate our trees, but you could use any kind of lightweight confetti or large glitter; glue your chosen decorations to the straws with the glue gun.
Cut a piece of string and glue it to the free space at the top of the tree, end to end to make a noose. We used a final pom-pom on top to disguise the string a bit better. There, you’re all done!
DIY Napkin Christmas Wreath
If you’re anything like us, you probably have a few stray, lonely Christmas napkins lying around. Why not make something fun with them?
This DIY wreath is a fun and kid-friendly project for some leftover cardboard and those lonesome napkins. You’ll need:
- Cardboard (We used one of our Bambo Nature diaper boxes)
- Napkins
- String or ribbon
- A glue gun
- Scissors
- A marker
- Two different size plates or bowls
To make the base for the wreath you need to find your chosen piece of cardboard. Then use the plates or bowls to draw a large outer circle and a smaller inner circle. Using scissors, cut the base of the wreath from the cardboard.
Tear the napkins into smaller pieces (we tore every napkin into 8 smaller pieces) and start rolling them into balls. Use a glue gun to glue the napkin-balls onto the cardboard base.
Secure your ribbon or string on the back of the wreath with the glue gun and start wrapping it around your wreath – we used a gold string for a little extra sparkle. When you reach the start of your ribbon again, cut the ribbon with an extra 15 centimeters to spare. Use the excess to form a noose and secure with glue. Now you can hang the wreath on a door or a wall.
DIY Salt Dough ornaments
A really easy and kid-friendly crafts is making things out of salt dough. The imagination is the only limit for what you can make with salt dough, and since it’s made using only edible ingredients, it’s safe for curious children.
To make these ornaments you’ll need:
For the dough:
- 250 grams of plain flour
- 125 grams of table salt
- 125 milliliters of water
Making the dough is super easy; You simply mix the flour and salt in a large bowl and then mix it with the water until it comes together to form a smooth dough.
For decorating:
- Ribbon
- Cookie cutters
- Rolling pin
- Toothpick or something like it
We decided to make these lovely hanging ornaments for the Christmas tree by rolling the dough with the rolling pin until we were satisfied with the thickness. We then used cookie cutters to make the shapes, and used a toothpick to make the hole for the ribbon.
When your ornaments are done, you can either leave them out to dry on their own (this can take up to 4 days) or you can place them on a piece of parchment and bake them on the lowest setting in the oven for about 3 hours. In our experience, few kids can wait 4 days for the finished result. When the ornaments are dry, you can leave them as they are, or the kids can paint them using normal acrylic paint.
Tip: you could also use the salt dough to make hand and feet impressions of your baby; this will give you a lasting keepsake from this Christmas.
DIY Rudolph and friends
This easy and fun craft should keep the kids entertained for a couple of hours, and who knows, you might end up with a whole army of little reindeer.
To make these adorable little Rudolph-look-alikes you’ll need:
- Toilet paper rolls or kitchen towel paper rolls
- Pom-poms
- Ribbon or string
- Googly eyes
- Chenille stems or tinsel stems
- A marker
- A glue gun
- A stapler
- Scissors to cut the ribbon
Start by shaping the chenille stems into antlers and staple them onto the paper rolls (if you don’t have a stapler, you can use the glue gun).
Then decide where the eyes will go and what expression to draw on your reindeer. Should it look surprised? Have eyelashes? Or maybe two different sized eyes to look a little kooky? Glue the eyes in place using the glue gun and draw eyebrows on your reindeer.
Next step is your pom-poms. Pick where you want to place them and glue them onto the roll with the glue gun.
Finally, let’s give them a little scarf! You can either use more chenille stems, or you can give them a lovely red satin ribbon. Use the glue gun to secure the ribbon and you’re all done!
Do you want even more of that Holiday magic? Visit our other Christmas blogs with recipes for Holiday sweets and answers to all your questions about Christmas.