40+ Christmas Crafts for Kids + Free Printable Crafts

When Christmas is around the corner, entertaining the kids can get a lot trickier. ‘Tis the season for fresh evergreens, family time, warm cookies, and Christmas crafts to keep the kids occupied and in the holiday spirit. We’ve created a set of unique printable Christmas crafts for kids and collected even more great craft ideas to check out. While you’re busy shopping, sending Christmas cards, or hanging ornaments from our Christmas Store, your little ones will be happily entertained with these great Christmas crafts for kids.

Easy Christmas Crafts With Printables + Instructions

These printable crafts are perfect for busy parents because they require minimal supplies that can usually be found in the house. Click the download button below each craft to print off the instructions and printables for an easy and fun activity for your kids. Plus, they double as a great last-minute Christmas gift from the kids. Most of the crafts will work best with thicker, cardstock paper.

1. Rudolph Mask

paper Reindeer mask

Source: Shutterfly

This Rudolph mask is the perfect way for kids to play make-believe. It can be secured with string or ribbon or you can attach the mask to a stick for a masquerade style mask. If you want to recreate Santa’s team of reindeer — use the red nose as a stencil and cut out eight additional noses from black construction paper to use instead of the red Rudolph nose.

2. Holiday Joke Teller

folded joke teller

Source: Shutterfly

Joke tellers, also known as “cootie catchers” or “fortune tellers” are a fun and easy foldable craft. Children can fill them with holiday riddles, jokes and other amusing messages that they can use on their own or with a friend.

3. Gingerbread Family Paper Dolls

paper gingerbread family

Source: Shutterfly

This sweet family is complete with a gingerbread cat and dog — color and cut out the family and their accessories, then put it all together to bring them to life. To display your child’s art after they have created it, have your child arrange their gingerbread family and glue them down to a large piece of decorated construction paper. This craft perfectly compliments any gingerbread house decorations.

4. Elf Party Hat

paper elf hat with elf ears

Source: Shutterfly

Every household has a Santa hat during the holiday season, so why not mix it up and have your kids create these cute elf party hats? If you have a large group of kids, try having them put on a skit using elf hats, reindeer masks, and the classic Santa hat.

5. Letter to Santa

letter to santa with cookies and milk

Source: Shutterfly

This “Letter to Santa” printable is a great template for your child to write their message to Santa, draw him a picture and jot down their wishlist. Do this craft in late November or early December so you can display their work before sending it off to the North Pole. Try having your child help you address the letter and attach the stamp as well.

6. Santa’s Workshop Foldable

a foldable workshop

Source: Shutterfly

This petite Santa’s workshop craft will fit right into Santa’s village. Have your children color in their foldable workshops before folding and gluing it together for a fun 3D craft that’s easily displayed.

7. Holiday Bingo

holiday bingo cards

Source: Shutterfly

This classic game with a holiday twist is perfect for kids’ Christmas parties or a cozy night in with the family. Everything that you need to play is there with 10 different versions of the board and the calling cards too, all you need are coins to mark off the bingo spaces.

8. Santa and Rudolph Puppets

finger puppets of Santa and Rudolph

Source: Shutterfly

Your kids will have a blast playing with these two adorable Christmas characters. Challenge your kids to get even more creative by giving them construction paper and having them create more characters to go with Santa and Rudolph.

Additional Christmas Arts And Crafts For Kids

This additional selection of creative Christmas crafts is sure to keep your kids happy and engaged. These crafts are also great for teachers to include in their holiday lessons!

9. Olaf Sock Snowman

Does your child love to sing “Let it Go?” If so, your little Frozen fan will surely love this Olaf sock snowman. We think the cute little tuft of hair is a great touch.

10. Paper Plate Santa

This Santa paper plate is a great painting or coloring project, the cotton ball beard and hat accents add a fun texture. This project is also very easy to attach to a wall or refrigerator to show off your artist’s work.

11. Pipe Cleaner Tree

green Christmas tree made of pipe cleaners

Source: Play Trains

These pretty little trees are the perfect addition to a Santa’s village set up. We love the variety of pipe cleaner color and textures that add dimension and sparkle.

12. Cardboard Tube Elf

These toilet paper roll elves are absolutely adorable. With so many different design choices, your kids can make a whole workshop of unique elves.

13. Paper Chain Advent Tree

This paper chain advent calendar is a great interactive craft. Your kids will love putting it together almost as much as they will also love taking it apart. Every chain removed signifies that we are one day closer to Christmas.

14. Clothespin Snowman

These little snowmen are a great craft because they require very little cleanup and can be easily pinned onto the Christmas tree for display. These are also a great way to display your Christmas cards or holiday photos.

15. Sesame Street Ornaments

These Sesame Street ornaments are a great addition to your holiday crafting list. Try having your kids watch an episode and then craft, they will love recreating their favorite cartoon characters.

16. Paper Christmas Tree

wrapping paper christmas tree

This craft is perfect for children, tweens and teens. Select paper that matches your child’s room so they can create their own holiday bedroom decor. It’s also a great way to repurpose wrapping paper scraps after all of that Christmas gift wrapping.

17. No-sew Sock Snowman

This colorful sock snowman is a great holiday craft for the kids. Try breaking away from the typical snowman look and let your kids create a unique style using their favorite colors. We also love how this snowman gets a colorful sock beanie — so cute!

18. Nordic Felt Gnome

 Nordic felt gnome with grey hat

Source: DIY Candy

Parents and kids will love these Nordic style Christmas gnomes. They are equal parts cute and classy, their neutral design makes them very easy to display with a variety of other holiday decorations.

19. Yarn Wrapped Christmas Tree

Get your kids all wrapped up in this cute Christmas tree ornament craft. This yarn ornament is simple,super fun and would work really well with other holiday-themed shapes, like a candy cane.

20. Blue Reindeer Ornament

Everyone loves a thumbprint craft, this ornament will be a great keepsake to remind you of how much your kids have grown. Try this craft with the whole family to get a variety of different sized reindeer.

21. Paper Christmas Tree

 variety of paper Christmas trees

Source: Ikat Bag

What kid doesn’t love a colorful or jeweled project? Let your kids’ imagination run wild with this colorful tree craft. They are sure to produce some wildly creative designs and interesting patterns.

22. Perler Bead Ornaments

Kids love Perler beads because they provide an opportunity to create whatever shape they please using whatever colors they want. As an added bonus, they are very light and perfect to hang on branches that can’t support other heavier ornaments.

23. Button Christmas Tree

These button Christmas trees are adorable — we love the idea of buttons for ornaments! This craft is also very sturdy and easy to create which makes them perfect for heavy-handed kids.

25. Paper Plate Christmas Elf

These cute little elf plates make a perfect pairing with the Santa plates. You could even have your kids create “s-elf” portraits of themselves for a personalized touch!

24. Winter Tree Finger Painting

This simple craft is sure to bring out the artist in your child and yield great results. Due to their subject and color scheme, these pretty paintings can stay up past the New Year and into January.

26. Hand Print Wreath

This wreath is so adorable and the handprints are great at replicating the look of a wreath. We love the alternating use of wreath colors to give the project more dimension and the holly berries are a perfect touch.

27. Paper Fan Christmas Tree

These trees are a cool and unique approach to the typical tree craft. Kids will love decking these out in stars and other paper ornaments.

28. Christmas Star Ornaments

These ornaments are great for older kids and teens as the intricate weaving requires more attention and skill. They are definitely worth the time as they are sure to look gorgeous on your tree.

29. Felt Christmas Tree

This cute tree craft is a great beginners’ project for sewing. It may require more involvement from the parents but sewing is a great life skill for kids to learn, not to mention it’s super fun too!

30. Make A Christmas Tree Out Of Christmas Cards 

Christmas card craft showing how to recycle old greeting cards with christmas decor

Save your favorite holiday cards from friends and family with this unique craft. Simply cut decorative shapes from the cards and stack them on a base to make a standing Christmas tree decoration. 

31. Ornaments Made From Christmas Cards 

Christmas bauble with New Year message on Christmas tree branches.

Whether you make them as a tree decoration or gift for loved ones, DIY ornaments make an excellent Christmas craft. For this idea, simply cut unique shapes and designs from old greeting cards. Then, tie or glue them to an ornament base as a commemorative Christmas bulb. For more details, visit our resource on Christmas card crafts.

32. Recycle Christmas Cards Into New Cards 

Little girl making Christmas cards on wooden background.

Help prevent old greeting cards from going to waste by turning them into new, refurbished holiday cards. Just cut out all your favorite elements and designs and glue or tape them to new cardstock and construction paper. Then have fun with add ons like ribbon, buttons, glitter, and more. 

33. Christmas Kids Terrarium 

Hanging glass terrariums for crafts.

Terrariums are fun, interactive crafts that kids love to get creative with. Simply buy a terrarium container and give your kids all the festive supplies they need to build their mini display. 

34. Repurposed Art Christmas Gifts

kids artwork in photo book for mothers day gift

Running out of space for your kids’ gifts? Looking for some cute gift ideas from the kids for your loved ones? If so, consider uploading their artwork and using it to create new Christmas gifts like a photo book or holiday card

35. Gingerbread House Decorating

A mother and daughter are decorating a gingerbread house at home in their kitchen.

Honestly, who doesn’t love gingerbread houses? They’re cute, festive, and best of all, delicious. Turn this fun holiday decoration into a kids craft by setting up stations for candy, frosting, and other decorations. 

36. Mason Jar Snow Globe

Snow globe without water

Everyone likes snowglobes, so why not turn them into a fun Christmas craft idea? Plus, these finished crafts make great gifts for friends and family in addition to holiday decorations. 

37. Popsicle Stick Craft

Santa and Reindeer stick Christmas craft on wooden table.

These popsicle stick puppets are festive and easy to make. All you need is glue, popsicle sticks, construction paper, and scissors. Help your kids cut out the shapes, glue them together, and then put on the ultimate puppet show.

38. Christmas Paper Town

Houses from paper and a color cardboard as a Christmas craft idea.

Build a mini Christmas town in your own home using construction paper. Outline the sides to each building on the paper and help the kids cut out the shapes, then tape them from the inside so they stand up. For an added touch, include small battery-powered lights to light up the houses.

39. Gift Tag Craft

Father and son cutting paper stars gift tags.

Create custom gift tags that the kids will love to show off. Use construction paper, old greeting cards, and other special decorations like ribbon or buttons. Cut out the shapes and layer them together for a set of special tags to add to the gifts under the tree.

39. Popsicle Stick Ornaments

A child is holding Christmas craft of wooden sticks.

This craft idea is similar to the popsicle stick puppets, but you get to hang them on the tree. All you’ll need are popsicle sticks, paint, decorations, string, and glue. The way the kids can proudly display their unique crafts all season long.

40. Unique Advent Calendar

Advent calendar with small gifts.

Looking for an advent calendar that doubles as a Christmas craft idea? If so, consider creating this unique advent calendar. All you need is a long, stable stick or pole, string, paper lunch bags, gift tags, and Christmas wrapping paper. Fill each baggie with a surprise for the kids and have them help you hang them up and label them randomly. And make sure to check out our personalized advent calendars for more inspiration.

41. Painting Ornaments

Boy showing self-painted Christmas ornament to Dad.

Buy a set of plain ornaments and ask the kids to break out their paint sets. Just make sure you’re painting in a mess approved area. And for the little ones who are prone to breaking things, consider buying a set of styrofoam balls and looping a string through the top for shatterproof ornaments. 

Resources Related to Christmas Craft Ideas

The holidays are a great time to indulge in quality time with family and crafting together is a great way to make memories and pass the time. Unfortunately, we usually can’t hold onto every great craft that our kids make. So, instead of just throwing it out, snap a picture of it and create custom greeting cards or a photo book of your kids’ most memorable art. And if you’re looking for more great ideas to keep the kids entertained, make sure to visit our resource on art projects for kids.