Easy Christmas Decorations to Make with Kids
Deck the halls with boughs of holly, tralalalala, lala lala. Or deck them with Christmas crafts made by your kids! If you’re precious about your Christmas decorating, the latter option might not be that appealing. But, no matter if the decor is in their rooms or all over your tree, your little ones will love getting creative.
Here are some of my favourite Christmas craft ideas for little hands to try out!
Paper Baubles
This is one of the easiest Christmas crafts for kids and you can create some really pretty decorations.
You’ll need:
- A2/A4/A5 glittery card
- Pencils
- Pritt-Stick or similar
- A plastic cup
- Small child scissors (you can always do this part)
- Hole punch
- Thin coloured ribbon
Step 1 - Take a piece of glittery card and fold it in half so that the glitter sides are facing each other, and the plain side is facing out. On one side of the folded card, draw a bauble shape. For a round bauble, children can simply draw around the top of a plastic or melamine type cup. If you want to create some more shaped stencils out of thick card beforehand, go for it!
Step 2 - If your little ones are too young for using small scissors, you should do this part. Carefully cut around the shape drawn on the card so that you end up with two identical shapes. Smear some glue on the plain side of one of the cutout shapes and stick the plain side of its twin down on top of it. The glitter sides should both be facing out.
Step 3 - Use a hole punch to pop a hole close to the top of the shape, making sure that it doesn’t overlap the edge! Then, thread a coloured ribbon through the hole (you may have to fold it to get it in), tying the ends of the ribbon in a knot or bow.
If your children are a little older and want to try something more complicated, check out this YouTube video tutorial here:
Glitter bulb baubles
This one takes no time at all, but be warned, it involves loose glitter!
You’ll need:
- Light bulbs (oval bulbs with a slightly tapered end look best)
- PVA glue and a brush for the glue
- Loose glitter
- A bowl or plate
- Hairspray
- Thin ribbon or coloured string
Step 1 - Holding the metal head of the bulb, paint the glass evenly with PVA glue.
Step 2 - Pour glitter over the bulb until all the glass is covered.
Step 3 - When the glitter is dried to the bulb, spray the bulb with a coating of a strong hairspray to help the glitter set in place.
Step 4 - Now for the tie so you can hang up your bulb on the tree! Cut approximately 16cm length of ribbon. Place the ends of the ribbon on opposite sides of the metal base of the bulb. Try to make sure you have 3cm of ribbon extending down each glittery side of the bulb.
Now, to secure this loop, tie another loop of ribbon around the metal base of the bulb so it secures the first ribbon. Using the remaining 3cm of length from the first ribbon to tie back around the original loop to make it extra secure.
Paper Angels
There are all kinds of ways to make paper angels, so you can choose the version that’s age-appropriate for your kids. The method I’ve chosen is one of the easiest and safest as it involves no scissors or sharp implements.
You’ll need:
- A piece of paper (origami paper is ideal), 15cm by 15cm
- Some thin ribbon
- Pritt-Stick glue or similar
- Pencil
- Ruler
This tutorial on YouTube takes you through all the steps:
Paper Snow Men
These cute snow men are easy to make and perfect for toddlers or young children.
You’ll need:
- Peach coloured paper plates (you can paint them peach)
- Red non-toxic paint
- PVA glue
- Round cotton wool balls
- Black washable felt tip pen or googly eye stickers
Step 1 - In the middle of a paper plate, draw two eyes using the black felt tip (or stickers) and a large round, red nose.
Step 2 - Paint the top quarter of the plate in red OR cut a hat out of plain paper, paint it red and stick to the top quarter of the plate.
Step 3 - Cover the bottom quarter of the plate in PVA glue and stick cotton wool balls to it to make Santa’s beard.
Step 3 - Paint some PVA glue along the inner edge of the red paint, leaving out around 1 ½ inch on one side where you can extend the red paint down an inch or so until it tapers off the edge of the plate. Finish with a pom pom for the hat!
You don’t just have to stick with Santas, try reindeer and snowmen too!
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