The holiday season is such a special time of the year, but having toddlers to celebrate it with makes it all the more magical. Watching them experience the wonder of the season with boundless curiosity is super significant and memorable. 

One of the best ways to help your little ones enjoy the season even more is by providing fun and captivating Christmas crafts! Crafting isn't just beneficial for child development, it’s also an easy way to fully immerse them in the holiday.

As many of us moms’ know, when your little one is engaged in something creative, it makes teaching (and learning) fun! That’s why I’m thrilled to share a round-up of DIY Christmas crafts for kids that will add a little hands-on cheer to your holiday season. 

Hands-On Holiday Magic: 11 DIY Christmas Crafts for Toddlers

Small Christmas Tree

As your toddlers begin to grasp the idea of decorating the tree, it’s exciting! But… it can also be stressful (fragile keepsake ornaments, right?!). With this activity, you get an inexpensive DIY that allows your little one to decorate their own tree!

This Christmas tree craft is easier to explain visually, so click the link for a better idea of how to make it. Essentially, all you need is green pipe cleaners, gold pipe cleaners, and some fun little “decorations”. Think along the lines of glitter, pom poms, sequins anything texturally and visually engaging.

Bending the pipe cleaners and placing the decorations helps with fine motor skills and creativity all at the same time. It’s a win-win!

Popsicle Stick Christmas Tree

If your kids loved the idea of making a Christmas tree with pipe cleaners, why stop there? We can also have some holiday-filled fun with popsicle sticks!

To make this popsicle stick Christmas tree, you’ll just want to grab a few popsicle sticks, hot glue, and engaging decorative materials. Start by painting the sticks green, and then organize them into the shape of a tree.

Next, glue them together so the craft sticks are secure to each other, and allow your kids to decorate it however they wish! You can use pom poms and sequins for ornaments, sparkly pipe cleaners to represent garland, and even a foam star sticker to act as the tree topper.

The crafting aspect is beneficial for executive function, and the decorative elements are good for enhancing creativity! 

Plastic Cup Ornaments

So we’ve got the tree crafting done, now what about some actual ornaments? One way I like to do this is by using plastic cups I’m all about recycled crafts and DIY projects!

Taking disposable clear plastic cups, let your little ones draw all over them with permanent markers. Once they’re done drawing and you’ve let the cups melt in the oven until they’re completely flat, take them out and back over to the creation station! Let your children add extra decorations, like glitter glue, stickers, tiny snowflakes the options are endless. Once they’re done, punch a hole and string a cord, ribbon, or pipe cleaner to act as the “hook”.

This is another activity that’s fantastic for encouraging creativity and the use of imagination. You also get a keepsake that will last a lifetime, and a bonding experience you’ll remember forever.

Salt Dough Ornaments

Another exciting way to make keepsake ornaments is by using salt dough! It’s also non-toxic, inexpensive, and easy to make three of my favorite things!

Follow along with the salt dough recipe, and use Christmas cookie cutters to create your shapes. Allow your little ones a sense of self-determination by picking out their favorite shape, and have them texturize the dough by using their fingers for an added sensory experience. You could even have them use things like recycled cap stamps to add in letters, or toothpicks to create fun designs. Once they’re finished, place it in the oven until it hardens.

When they’re out of the oven, you can spread a thin layer of white paint over them for even better results, or just let your kids go straight to decorating! They can use paint, glitter, glitter glue, or even sprinkles. It’s sensory-friendly, and your kids will be so proud of themself for making something of their own.

Salt Painted Christmas Tree

We’re taking the salt painted flower activity that we know and love, and we’re putting a little holiday spin on it. Instead of forming flowers, we’re going to form candy canes!

Start by using a permanent marker to draw your candy canes on watercolor paper, then outline them with glue. On top of your glue, add some salt (the more the better), and have your toddler use a dropper to drop a little bit of colored water on the drawing I recommend one drop at a time!

The use of the dropper promotes the development of fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and creative expression. Plus, it’s always a fantastic experience when your little one gets to watch these shapes magically become colorful.

If you want to get a little more visually creative, create different shapes! Or, you can use different colors for the candy canes who said they have to be red and white, anyways?

Snow Globe Without Glycerin

Are your toddlers and preschoolers just as enamored with the enchantment of snowglobes as mine are? This year, we’re saving our money on overly expensive store-bought snow globes, and we’re making our own.

For this craft, we’re gonna lay down a mason jar lid top down on the table, and glue on plastic toys and other fun decorations like woodland figures, penguins, or Christmas figures. Next, fill your jar with corn syrup, and add some water and a little bit of glitter. Screw your lid on, shake the globe, and flip it over! It’s that easy.

This is a craft your little one can be hands-on with in the creation process, because we’re skipping out on the glycerin which means we’re also skipping out on the possibility of them ingesting it and getting any yucky digestive issues. 

Toilet Paper Roll Snowman

Before you throw those toilet paper rolls out, let’s use them for some fun recycled play! This holiday craft activity is fun, engaging, and super inexpensive.

Let me be the first to say, there are tons of things you can make out of a toilet paper roll a snowman being one! By painting your toilet paper roll white, you can use pipe cleaner and pom poms to make “earmuffs”, orange construction paper for the carrot nose, red pipe cleaner for the scarf, and buttons to finish it off..

You can add some personality into the snowman by gluing on googly eyes and drawing on a mouth with marker! Your kid will love watching this craft come to life. You can also make different characters using similar materials like Santa, reindeer, the elves it’s effortless and exciting either way!

Cotton Ball Ornament Activity

This activity is super similar to the salt paint activity, but we’re just switching out the salt for cotton balls! I decided to make cotton ball ornaments, because it seemed to be the most enjoyable for toddler-age kiddos.

You’re gonna follow those same exact steps from earlier, but rather than placing salt on your glue, you’ll be placing cotton balls. Making ornaments with this activity was fun, because your kid can decorate it however they’d like!

For some extra decorative elements, you can give them some glitter glue, sequins, googly eyes, pom poms, buttons anything sensory-friendly and visually engaging. Let their imagination run wild!

Finger Painted Christmas Cards

One of my kids favorite activities to do on the holidays is send out Christmas cards it’s SO special and personable. But, why buy a card from the store when you can make one at home?

Even though this activity is messy, we’re gonna make up for that by ensuring that it’s simple and taste-safe. Just get a piece of paper and fold it in half. Draw a “string” with permanent marker, and set out a plate with small dots of taste-safe paint on it. Encourage your kid to gently dip their finger in the paint, placing it down on the paper to make a “light bulb” illusion!

This activity is great for achieving a sense of accomplishment, exploring an intriguing new texture, and having some creative fun. 

Christmas Paper Plate Shapes

This paper plate Christmas activity is SO fun, and it’s incredibly easy to make. You can make reindeers, Christmas trees, snowmen, Santa Clause wherever your imagination takes you. For the sake of keeping it toddler-friendly and sensory-friendly, I decided to go with a Christmas tree. 

Get some paper plates, and paint the entire plate green. Once that’s dried, hand over decorative materials to your toddler. Pom poms, taste-safe paint, glitter glue, Christmas stickers, sequins, maybe even pipe cleaners. Ask your little one to “decorate” the tree however they’d like, allowing total creative freedom. Once they’re done and their project has dried, either staple it or glue it together (wrap it around so it forms that tree shape), and you’re done!

It’s a quick and easy way to allow your little one to manipulate different small objects and experience tons of textures. 

Christmas Activity Pack

Activity packs are great tools for aiding in developmental milestones, all while keeping your little ones excited and interested. In the Mothercould in your Pocket resource, I have printable activity packs full of Christmas crafts for toddlers, providing hours of entertainment.

The Christmas activity pack consists of engaging activities like decorating a gingerbread house, writing letters to Santa, finger puppet activities, and more! Not only do you receive access to this activity pack, you get tons of other themed activity packs, helpful parenting hacks, and fun play recipes. 

How To Make Christmas Crafts Easy For Toddlers

Keep the activities simple. 

Picking crafts with minimal steps and easy-to-follow instructions is best when creating Christmas crafts for toddlers. Avoid super intricate details, or over-the-top explanations. This prevents frustration and allows them to focus on mastering important developmental skills. 

Use toddler-friendly materials. 

One of the reasons I’m huge about using taste-safe alternatives, is because our toddlers are always wanting to bring those curious little hands to their mouths! Opting for taste-safe, non-toxic, and washable supplies is the way to go. Toddler-friendly objects tend to be easier to manipulate, and more enjoyable to play with. 

Set up a toddler-friendly craft area. 

When you create a kids craft room, you’re creating a designated play boundary for them to essentially get “messy”. This allows them to understand where their crafting should happen, and where all of those materials should remain.

Plan ahead for messes. 

Spills, leaks, and accidents are bound to happen it’s just the way it is! When you prepare for these things in advance, you’re less likely to get overwhelmed with trying to come up with a plan on the spot. Using things like tablecloths and smocks is a fantastic way to ensure that you can get ahead of the mess which means less clean-up!

Let your toddlers take the lead. 

Giving toddlers the creative freedom is super important during craft time even if this means that the activity doesn’t particularly look the way it’s “supposed” to when they’re done. This is why I recommended googly eyes on the cotton ball ornaments! It doesn’t have to make sense. Giving your toddler the lead allows them to better express their creativity, which inevitably fosters independence and pride in their work. 

Celebrate the Christmas holiday with fun and engaging DIY Christmas Crafts! 

Christmas is about spending time with loved ones, bonding through experiences, and fully immersing your toddlers in everything the season has to offer. These craft ideas for kids are engaging, fulfilling, and overall super fun. There’s a Christmas craft for every kid to enjoy! 

For plenty more holiday-themed fun, visit the Mothercould blog! For engaging activity packs, in-depth play recipes, and helpful parenting hacks, download the Mothercould in your Pocket resource!

Before you go, let me know which activity from this list you’re excited to try out with your toddler. Also, let me know which tips and tricks you’re using to make Christmas crafts easy this holiday season I can’t wait to read all about it!