Easy Christmas Crafts for Kids

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As I get ready for the holidays, I love to start with some new crafts that I can make with my kids at home.  These Christmas crafts for kids are super cute and really easy to make!  They can simply be a decoration, or they can be used for an ornament.

Since I’m a teacher I’m also always looking for new, hopefully inexpensive, craft ideas. I made these wooden cube crafts a few years ago, and they were such a hit, that we have made them again every year since.

If you happen to be a teacher and wondering if these Christmas crafts for kids would work in the classroom – absolutely! I had over 100 children in kindergarten each create one. It was busy, but it was an absolute success!

Plus they were all so proud that they had created the decoration. They turned out so well that they each used it as a special gift to take home for the holidays.

The decorations are sturdy and so simple that my kids were able to make them largely independently.  At home, my own kids ended up playing with them and using them to make a small display. 

Christmas Crafts for Kids: The Materials

You don’t need a lot to create these decorations. All you need is:

  • 3-5 wooden cubes
  • Paint
  • Cotton balls, Puffy Paint and googly eyes (Santa)
  • String and Puffy Paint (Tree)
  • Twigs and Puffy Paint (Snowman)
  • Pipe Cleaner, Puffy Paint and Googly Eyes (Reindeer)
  • Hot Glue
4 designs to choose from… or create them all!

The Steps:

I started with wooden cubes.  They are roughly 1″ cubes, but you could easily use larger cubes.  Old wooden alphabet blocks also work well.  The snowman decoration requires 3 cubes, the Santa and the tree need 4 and the reindeer requires 5.

Start by painting each of the sides of the cubes a solid color. For the Santa, paint 3 cubes red, and one black (or black, depending what color you want Santa’s hat)

For the tree, paint 3 cubes green and one cube brown. I used different shades of green, but you can use whatever greens you like.

For the snowman, paint all three cubes white and the reindeer needs all four pieces brown.

Christmas crafts for kids

Once the paint is dry, use hot glue to glue the cubes together. (Make sure it is an adult who is using the hot glue gun and not a child).

Once you have glued your critters together, use puffy paint to add details.  Markers, or regular paint would also work; I just personally like the 3-d look of the puffy paint. 

We also used some yarn, pipe cleaners and sparkles to add to the different figures.

The Snowman

christmas crafts for kids

For the snowman we used puffy paint for the details. We also used a piece of string to create a little scarf for him. My kids went outside and found a few twigs that they wanted to use for their snowman’s arms.

When I did this craft in the classroom, children had the option to use googly eyes for their snowmen. It added a cute effect, but you choose which you prefer.

The Santa

christmas crafts for kids

For the Santa, we added sparkles for his hat. We used puffy paint for the details on this belt, face and for his buttons. We then added some pulled apart cotton balls and glued them on to make the beard.

The Christmas Tree

chrismas crafts for kids

There are lots of options for the Christmas tree. We simply used puffy paint and a bit of yarn. You could use shiny tinsel instead of the yarn. Also, small beads to gems are cute to create the ornament.

In later years, I had a few students who added an extra cube to the top of the tree and painted it yellow for a star. It turned out well and I love their creativity.

The Reindeer

christmas crafts for kids

This was by far the most popular decoration when I did these in with my kindergarten students. We attached googly eyes and painted on the details with puffy paint.

You can create the antlers by twisting the pipe cleaner around your finger, or a pencil, to get it to curl. Once curled, put a dab of hot glue on your reindeer’s head and attach your antlers.

Other Ideas for These Christmas Crafts for Kids

You can change up the materials that you use to decorate each piece depending what you have on hand. Construction paper cut out to create different shapes, such as a carrot nose, would also work well. Use what you have.

Even young children can be successful with this easy Christmas craft. The painting is very simple for little hands and the details can be easily added with a little bit of glue or paint.

I decided to glue all of the blocks on slightly crooked because I felt that it gave them a bit of character.  However, they look just as adorable with the blocks lined up! 

Christmas Crafts for Kids

I am so happy with how well they turned out.  The wooden blocks give them a special, natural look that I love.  They are so simple, but turn out so beautifully and make a nice homemade keepsake. 

They would be great as a present or even as an ornament.

When I make them again, I would love to try them with larger blocks.  These figures are perfect for little hands, and larger pieces would look great for decoration.  Christmas crafts for kids can be inexpensive, easy and beautiful!

In our kindergarten classes, we ended up with over 100 Christmas block characters. Each child was able to choose which character they wanted to make.

They were also given choice on how they wanted to put them together and the details they wanted to add.

Each character was a little bit different from the others, but they were all adorable. They made wonderful Christmas presents that the children were excited to take home.

Click links below to view/purchase any of the materials you need. Happy creating!

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