10 easy Christmas craft and activity ideas for children

Here's our pick of the best easy Christmas craft activities

Salt Dough Santa Ornaments | Beaded Candy Cane Ornaments | Pine Cone Rudolph | Glitter Glue Christmas Tree Decorations | Christmas Paper Chains | Paper Plate Baubles | Moving Penguin | Bubble Wrap Christmas tree | Paper Ball Reindeer | 3D Paper Plate Christmas Tree

1. Salt dough Santa Ornaments

What you'll need

• 300g salt
• 240g flour
• 250ml water
• A mixing bowl
• A rolling pin
• Acrylic paint (£6 for a pack of 6)
• Paintbrushes (£4.99 for a pack of 5)
• Ribbon/string, for hanging (£2.95)

How to make it

1. Combine salt and flour in a mixing bowl, then slowly add water until the dough is well mixed but not too sticky or wet
2. Knead the mixture until it's a smooth dough ball
3. Divide the dough into 4 and then use a rolling pin to roll it out
4. Use a cup or cutter to make a circle in the dough
5. Have your child press their hand into the dough to make a handprint
6. Pierce a hole near the edge of the dough (to thread the string through later)
7. Bake at 200°c for around 3 hours
8. Leave to cool for a few hours
9. Once cool, paint a Santa face onto the handprint, or any other Christmassy design that you like!

2. Beaded Candy Cane Ornaments

What you'll need

• Scissors
• Green pipe cleaners (£3.79)
• Red and white craft beads (£5.62)

How to make it

1. Cut the pipe cleaners in half (or leave them long if you prefer a longer candy cane)
2. Slide a bead to the end of the pipe cleaner, then twist the end to keep the bead in place
3. Alternate sliding red and white beads until the pipe cleaner is full
4. Twist the other end of the pipe cleaner to keep the beads in place
5. Bend the pipe cleaner into a candy cane shape

3. Pine Cone Rudolph

What you'll need

• Pine cones (£6.99)
• Craft Glue (£4)
• Googly eyes (2 per cone) (£1.25)
• Red pompoms (1 per cone) (£1)
• Scissors
• Ribbon/string, for hanging (£2.95)

How to make it

1. Glue 2 googly eyes and 1 pompon onto each pine cone
2. Cut lengths of ribbon/string and glue on to the back of each pine cone
3. Glue a pipe cleaner to the back of the pine cone, then twist to create antlers
4. Once the glue is dry, hang up on the tree

4. Glitter Glue Christmas Tree Decorations

What you'll need

• Paper
• Pen
• Plastic wallet
• Craft glue (£4)
• Glitter or sequins (£5.99 for a pack of 27 glitter tubes)
• Ribbon/string, for hanging (£1)

How to make it

1. Draw a Christmas tree shape on paper, then place the paper in a plastic wallet
2. Apply glue within the lines of the Christmas tree (we suggest adding several layers to make the decoration more stable)
3. Add glitter/sequins to the wet glue
4. Leave to dry
5. Once it's dry, remove it carefully
6. To hang, either glue your ribbon/string on the back, or use a needle to pierce a small hole in the top of the decoration and thread your ribbon/string through

5. Christmas paper chains

What you'll need

• Paper or card in a range of colours (£4.95)
• Scissors
• Stapler
• Felt tip pens
• Stickers

How to make it

1. Cut the paper into lots of long, thin strips
2. Bend the strips into a loop and staple/glue together
3. Repeat, looping another strip of paper through the first loop
4. Continue until you have a chain at your desired length
5. Use stickers and felt tip pens to decorate the paper chains

6. Paper Plate Baubles

What you'll need

• Paper plates
• Paper (£4.95) or tissue paper (£4.99) in a range of colours
• Felt stickers (optional) (£3.95)
• Pipe cleaners (£5.99)
• Craft glue (£4)
• Scissors

How to make it

1. Cut around the rim of the paper plates
2. Cut the card/tissue paper into small squares/rectangles
3. Glue the coloured card/tissue paper onto the paper plates until it's completely covered
4. Optional: attach some festive-themed stickers
5. Leave to dry
6. Pierce a small hole near the edge of the paper plate, then thread a pipe cleaner through to create a loop
7. Optional: cover the hole with another piece of card/tissue paper

7. Moving Penguin

What you'll need

• Paper/card in the following colours: black, white, orange and red (£7.99)
• A Santa hat sticker (or you can make your own Santa hat) (£3)
• Googly eyes (£1.25)
• Craft glue (£4)
• Scissors
• Paper fasteners/spilt pins (£3.59)

How to make it

1. Cut out the black paper/card into a penguin body shape and 2 ovals for the wings
2. Cut out the white paper/card into a smaller oval for the penguin's stomach
3. Cut out the orange paper/card into a triangle for the beak and 2 penguin feet
4. Cut the red paper/card into 2 strips to make the penguin's scarf
5. Optional: cut the red and white paper/card into a Santa hat, or if this is too fiddly, draw and colour one in on paper, or use a Santa hat sticker
6. Stick the parts together to make the penguin shape (as shown above)
7. Stick the googly eyes on
8. Add the paper fasteners to the penguin's wings so they can move up and down

8. Bubble wrap Christmas tree

What you'll need

• Scissors
• Bubble wrap (£5.39)
• Green paint (£1.59)
• Star sticker (£1.50 for 45 Christmas foam stickers)
• Optional: glitter, small pom poms or sequins

How to make it

1. Cut the bubble wrap into a triangle to resemble a Christmas tree shape
2. Cover one side of the bubble wrap in green paint
3. Press the paint-covered side down onto the paper
4. Slowly remove the bubble wrap
5. Decorate with a gold star sticker at the top and glitter, pom poms or sequins on the 'tree'

9. Paper Ball Reindeer

What you'll need

• Scissors
• Light and dark brown paper (£5.99)
• Craft glue (£4)
• Googly eyes (£1.25)
• Red pompoms (£1)

How to make it

1. Cut the lighter brown paper into 4 long strips (we recommend a finger-width wide but any width is fine)
2. Fold the paper strips in half
3. Apply glue in the middle of the paper strip (on the fold)
4. Place another strip on top at a 90° angle to make a cross
5. Apply glue in the middle of the paper again, then add the other strips of paper at a diagonal angle to make a star shape
6. Take one end of a paper strip and apply glue, then take the other end of the same strip and glue it together, making a loop
7. Continue with all the other strips until you have a paper ball
8. Cut out reindeer antlers out of the darker brown paper, leaving a longer segment at the bottom
9. Fold at the bottom end and apply glue
10. Stick the antlers to the paper ball
11. Stick the googly eyes and the red pom pom onto the ball to make a reindeer face

10. 3D Paper Plate Christmas tree

What you'll need

• Paper plates
• Scissors
• Clear tape
• Green paint (£1.59)
• Craft glue (£4)
• Decorations, such as multi-coloured pom poms (£4.09), sequins, beads, stickers or gems

How to make it

1. Cut a quarter out of the paper plate
2. Roll the paper plate into a cone and seal the cone with tape on the inside
3. Paint the paper plate green (alternatively, you can paint the paper plate before rolling into a cone)
4. Once the paint has dried, decorate with pom poms, glitter, sequins or beads

Read more:

• How to make magical eco-friendly reindeer food
• 10 magical ways to bring Santa to your house
• 50 Christmas Eve traditions to start with your family