Time to break out the Christmas crafts for kids! These ideas will keep you and your little ones in the holiday crafting mood for quite some time. Most of these are perfect for preschoolers and even the littlest of holiday crafters!
Christmas crafts for preschoolers are not too hard to find, however, TRUE preschool crafts for Christmas ARE! These are crafts that 3-year-olds can truly make on their own. They are meaningful to create—not just cute (though they are stinking cute as well!).
Just before we get started, you’ll also want to grab this FREE Christmas Countdown Calendar & Activity Pack! The calendar has one simple holiday-themed activity to enjoy with your little one each day leading up to Christmas—and the activity pages are perfect to pull out a Christmas get-together or during quiet time! Get yours right here:
And since I know the holidays are a busy time of year, I won’t keep you with my joyful holiday banter. But only for today friends, tomorrow you shall hear pointless stories galore before I share with you my playful learning idea!
So enjoy these ideas mamas, but come back tomorrow at your own discretion…
Ornament Crafts
Christmas Ornaments made with Salt Dough and Cloves– My kids ALL loved making these Christmas ornaments, and with a 10-year age gap between them, that isn’t always easy to accomplish!
Invitation to Create Christmas Ornaments for Preschoolers – This isn’t a defined craft, per se, but an invitation to creative play that results in some uniquely beautiful ornaments. Older kids will enjoy this, too!
Washer Snowman Craft for Kids – Grab some spare hardware to put together this snowman ornament. It’s one of the super easy Christmas crafts for kids that’s perfect for even the youngest of preschoolers.
Paper Straw Christmas Ornaments from Simple as That – What colorful trees! And I love how kids can practice sequencing with this activity. This Christmas craft for preschoolers is full of learning.
Pine Cone Reindeer from Fireflies and Mud Pies – Pick up some pine cones on a nature walk, then transform them into beautiful Christmas crafts for kids to hang on the tree.
Walnut Babies from Red Ted Art – Another adorable keepsake to treasure each year, how sweet are these walnut babies? You could make a whole family set to hang on your Christmas tree.
Washi Tape Christmas Ornaments from And Next Comes L – Let the kids use the tape they love to make Christmas decorations. This craft seems nice and easy, and it is, but it is also excellent for strengthening a pincer grip in preschoolers. Tearing tape is a great activity!
Gingerbread Man Ornament from Teaching 2 and 3 Year Olds – Kids love retelling the story of the gingerbread man, and I know they’ll love making their own version!
CD Snowman Ornament from Happy Hooligans – These are some seriously cute snowmen! I think we all have old CDs laying around – this is a great opportunity to craft them to good use.
Easy Bubble Wrap Christmas Tree from LalyMom – Bubble wrap and markers! The kids will have such fun with this one! If only the bubble wrap lasts for this Christmas ornament!
Christmas Tree Crafts
Preschool Christmas Tree Name Puzzle – A fun and seasonal craft for helping kids learn their names! The glitter is the perfect added touch.
Paper Plate Laced Christmas Tree Craft from I Heart Crafty Things – Children lace up their trees with fun ribbon, then decorate to their hearts’ content.
Paper Shape Christmas Tree from Buggy and Buddy – Preschoolers can use basic shapes as they assemble a Christmas tree. This is the perfect Christmas craft for 3 year olds.
Fine Motor Christmas Tree Sewing Activity from Craftulate – Encourage early sewers to decorate their trees with string and such. How fabulously festive for practising fine motor skills.
Salt Sculpture Trees from LalyMom – What a cool combination of science and art! This craft is perfect for the whole family to enjoy together.
Tin Foil Christmas Tree Sculptures from Reading Confetti – Kids love to scrunch up tin foil, so I’m sure these Christmas tree crafts will be a huge hit.
Ribbon Christmas Tree Craft from Fantastic Fun and Learning – This easy Christmas craft for kids could be done with all kinds of festive ribbons!
Christmas Tree Hats from Kids Play Box – What a creative idea for Christmas hats! I bet the kids love decorating themselves like trees. And let’s be honest, preschoolers are ALL about the hats.
Christmas Tree Craft from Meet the Dubiens (link no longer available)– An open-ended Christmas tree craft the kids can really delve into, creating just how they want to.
Hand Print Christmas Tree from Fun Handprint Art – Turn a child’s handprint into a beautiful work of art for Christmas! This is the perfect keepsake Christmas project or even a gift for Grandma!
Christmas Art Projects
Creative Christmas Cards– I just love these cards! You can tell so much love and hard work went into them. Who wouldn’t love to receive one of these beautiful handmade Christmas cards from kids?
Nativity Craft for Kids from No Time for Flash Cards – Using simple shapes and glitter, kids can create a Nativity scene for the window.
Winter Wonderland Tape Resist Painting from Meri Cherry – Explore resist painting while creating a beautiful winter scene for the holidays.
Christmas Light Chalk Stencil Art from Buggy and Buddy – Explore negative space while making a beautiful string of lights.
Reindeer Craft Frame from The Educators’ Spin On It – What an amazing keepsake for the family, especially once you add a child’s photo! This reindeer Christmas craft for preschoolers might just be my favourite.
Stacking Shapes Reindeer Craft from Housing a Forest – How can you look at these shape reindeer and not smile? This art project is another one that is full of learning.
Gingerbread House Cards from Hands-On: As We Grow – Let the kids create their own gingerbread houses out of paper!
Christmas Decorations
Pipe Cleaner Garlands from Powerful Mothering – A simple and sparkly idea for the kids using fun pipe cleaners! This one will make a fabulous Quiet Time bin.
Paper Plate Christmas Wreath from Crafts on Sea – Use construction paper to recreate holly and berries for a door decoration.
Yarn Wrapped Ornaments for the Window from Hands-On As We Grow – Just two materials are needed to make these window ornaments.
Scented Wreath Craft for Kids from My Nearest and Dearest (link no longer available) – Beautifully scented spices are combined when making a mini wreath for Christmas.
Stringing Pompoms from 3 Dinosaurs – Teach children how to string pompoms together to make a garland! It sounds tricky, but it is not so. And it is great for strengthening fine motor skills too.
Stained Glass Window Ornaments from ABC Creative Learning – Add some color to the windows with these “ornaments.”
Fusible Bead Christmas Decorations from Picklebums – Just one “ingredient” for these decorations, but they turn out a little differently each time.
Christmas Tree Sun Catchers from Where Imagination Grows – Love the technique used to make these sun catchers! A great way to brighter a window that is otherwise white, white, white with snow!
Kids Stocking Craft from In the Playroom – I love how this kids’ Christmas craft is inspired by a children’s book!
Christmas Nature Wreath from Mama.Papa.Bubba – What a beautiful way to decorate for the holidays! I absolutely love when art that is meaningful for preschoolers to make turns out so beautiful.
Snowglobe Snowman Craft from No Time for Flash Cards – What a great idea to include a snow globe as part of the snowman!
Candy Cane Crafts
Christmas-y Playdough Candy Cane– I covered the paper with contact paper, so this craft can be repeated over and over again as inspiration strikes!
Burlap Candy Cane Decoration– This is a great Christmas craft for kids to make because it is simple, messy, and they can do it on their own!
Name Candy Cane Ornament from Fun-A-Day – Beading, names, and Christmas—a super fun combination for the kids! Love the addition of the letter beads.
Candy Cane Egg Carton Craft from Meaningful Mama – What a clever way to turn egg cartons into a candy cane! This one would ALSO make a great quiet time activity.
Scrunched Paper Candy Cane from Crafty Journal – I think these would make a fun wreath alternative on the front door! Tissue paper is such a fun crafting material.
Recycled Christmas Crafts
Fuzzy Santa Mason Jars– These little guys were very easy to make, and filled with good sensory exploration, too! They are great as gifts or just adorable around your house.
Simple Paper Plate Christmas Craft– Another easy Christmas craft that will be a hit for the whole family. Adjust it to use whatever you have on hand!
A STEM Snowman Craft – This little guy is fun to make, and tons of fun for pretend play afterwards. Not to mention he is also an awesome STEM challenge for kids to create!
Cardboard Tube Christmas Tree from Mess for Less – A perfect Christmas craft for kids! A 3D Christmas tree that uses basic craft items like pom poms and yields a spiral result.
Colorful Popsicle Stick Snowflakes from Fun-A-Day – Add some sparkle to the winter months with these colorful snowflakes.
Button Snowflakesfrom Red Ted Art – Or check out this adorable version of button snowflakes! Think of all the varieties that could be made and hung around the house to decorate for Christmas.
Button Snowman Ornament from One Artsy Mama – Grab some spare buttons to make a dapper snowman for the tree! It’s another of the Christmas crafts for kids that your little ones can help with or make themselves.
Christmas Angel Craft for Kids from NurtureStore – Kids will have way too much fun making angelic versions of themselves!
Reindeer Cupcake Liner Craft from Love and Marriage – How fun is this cupcake liner Christmas activity!? It would be great for little ones to create while waiting for some Christmas cupcakes to come out of the oven!
Paper Plate Santa Craft from Craftulate – The materials for Santa are perfect, especially his beard! Paper plate Christmas crafts are so much fun! In fact, I have a WHOLE Post on Paper Plate Christmas Crafts:
15 Paper Plate Christmas Crafts – This post is filled with every Christmas-themed paper plate craft you can think of!
Cardboard Tube Grinch and Max from Cutting Tiny Bites – These would be great for retelling the story of the Grinch!
Cotton Ball Santa from Love Play Learn (link no longer available)– There’s just something about the traditional cotton ball Santa that children always seem to enjoy.
Fine Motor Christmas Crafts
Snip Santa’s Beard – Kids love using scissors, so let them give Santa’s beard a trim with this Christmas craft. This one is always a huge hit with the 3 year olds in my life!
Fine Motor Skills Christmas Garland from A Little Pinch of Perfect (link no longer available)– This is a wonderful idea for younger children who might have a harder time stringing a garland.
There you have it—loads of ideas to get you and your little ones crafting away the holidays! Christmas crafts for kids are such a joyous thing. These are the crafts that memories are made of friends.
I hope you have a lovely start to your week. Thank you for reading!
xo
Sarah
P.S. Don’t forget to grab your FREE Construction Paper Holiday Crafting guide!
