With temperatures getting colder it can sometimes be challenging to think of things to do to keep the kids occupied. Especially Christmas school holidays in full swing it can sometimes be difficult to think of a variety of options. But, if you need a hand here is a list of arts and crafts activities to get stuck into with the kids over the Christmas period.
1. Christmas Tree Art
All you need for this is a cardboard box, some scissors, paints and any other added decoration that you can think of. All you have to do is cut out a triangle from the cardboard and let your kids use any of the decorations you have collected to decorate it.
With many presents purchased online, this can be a great way to use up and recycle cardboard boxes you have laying around the house. Similarly, just about anything can be used to decorate these trees so you could recycle all sorts of items. Old Christmas tinsel you want to replace? Spare gift tags or bows? All of these can be used to make some great tree designs. You could even cut out some stars or other shapes from the rest of the cardboard to paint and stick on.
If you want to have a look at a full set of instructions for this craft have a look at this link.
2. Printable Reindeer Antlers
This is an excellent find if you want to get everyone in the Christmas spirit. Or even if you do not want to go to the expense of a Christmas Jumper that your child may grow out of.
There are many other options like this online that you can dig up if you go looking. To start you off here is the link to the reindeer antler template.
3. DIY Baubles
This craft might be more suitable for slightly older children as this requires a bit of persistence and care to get the pieces together.
You can create the baubles by cutting out circles from old cards. The instructions (see the link below) suggest using a ‘circle punch’, but a glass or bottle of some kind will work just as well. Simply trace the circle onto the card, cut it out and fold it in half. Then you just glue the backsides of each of the cutouts together. It might also be worth thinking carefully about what order you want to stick them together to make sure you can see the colours as much as possible.
This is a great way to recycle any cards you have received over the year and make some colourful, bespoke baubles. Thinking you want to have a go? Just click this link to have a look.
4. Handprint Christmas Tree
For this tree much like the one earlier in this list you will need cardboard and paper. Some instructions use a paper plate as a base for this. But, if you already have cardboard to make the main body of the tree, you may wish to use that as a base. All you would need to do is to cut out a square from the left-over pieces. You could even jazz it up by painting it or digging out some craft glitter.
For the trunk of the tree, you can use either a paper towel or toilet paper roll. But make sure that you paint it before you try and attach anything to it. Otherwise, this could get a bit too messy. All you have to do from this point is cut about four slits into the trunk and attach it to the base. Once connected, you make two slits into the top of the trunk and slide a triangle of cardboard between them.
To make the leaves for the tree, you simply trace your hands and cut them out. This is the part of the craft that you could involve younger children with. Particularly as if you do this part with the plain paper, you can let them paint and decorate the leaves to their heart’s content.
As always, if you want to see a full and detailed version of instructions have a look at this link.
5. Snowflakes from popsicle sticks
As this craft involves hot glue, it may be reasonable to suggest that this will require a parent for the assembly part of this craft. Essentially all it requires is using the hot glue to join four popsicle sticks in the shape of a snowflake. It can then be up to the child to decorate with anything they choose.
Typically you can use things like craft glitter and stickers to decorate. But to get the snowflake effect you could also pull apart cotton wool balls and glue them on instead of using pom-poms as this may work out cheaper.
Have a look at this link to find out more about how to construct these charming little decorations.
6. DIY Toilet Roll Snowmen
This is probably one of the easiest crafts on this list in terms of construction. All you need to do is paint toilet rolls white and then draw on the snowman features. Or, you can always attach googly eyes and pom-poms to increase the effect.
If you look back at our earlier Halloween blogs, you could also use these snowmen to do a Christmas version of ghost/pumpkin bowling.
To have a look at some inspiration for these snowmen click this link.
7. Sparkling Icicles
All you need for this fun craft is some string, aluminium foil, glue and glitter. To make icicles, it merely involves rolling sections of the aluminium foil into the desired shape. The string to hang them can be folded and glued into the sheet before rolling, making this a quick and easy craft to do.
Of course, if you want to have the fully sparkling effect, this may get rather messy. So it will be worth putting some paper down on the table before you start. Another top tip with these icicles is to make sure you rip or cut the end of the foil before you roll it to ensure you get a blunt edge. This should help avoid any accidents if you have young children.
For in-depth photos and a tutorial on how to make these icicles click this link.
