27 Holiday Crafts for Kids

The holiday season is the perfect time to gather supplies, roll up little sleeves, and dive into fun, festive crafts with kids.

No matter if it’s for decorating the house, creating heartfelt gifts, or just enjoying creative time together, holiday crafts bring joy and spark imagination.

From adorable Santa creations to glowing lanterns and gratitude-inspired projects, these activities combine fun, learning, and creativity—making the holidays extra special for kids of all ages.

Holiday Crafts for Kids

1. Santa Plate Craft

Using paper plates and a mix of craft supplies, this activity transforms simple materials into an adorable Santa face.

Kids can decorate with paint, glitter, or colorful embellishments to add their unique touch.

Perfect for classrooms or home, it’s a fun, easy way to celebrate the holidays while fostering creativity and fine motor skills. Plus, it’s ideal for little hands to showcase their festive spirit.

2. Pancake Holiday Stack

This stacked pancake cake is a perfect mix of festivity and fun. Topped with a Santa decoration and mini Christmas trees, it’s dusted with powdered sugar to resemble snow.

A creative holiday treat, it’s ideal for kids to enjoy making and eating. Whether for breakfast or decoration, this edible craft brings joy to both the kitchen and the table.

3. Lantern Magic

These colorful jar lanterns make for a magical holiday craft. Kids use tissue paper, glue, and small LED lights to create glowing masterpieces.

With bright colors and personal touches, the lanterns are both functional and decorative, perfect for evening displays or winter walks.

This craft teaches color layering and encourages kids to explore their creativity while adding a festive glow.

4. Gratitude Rainbows

This heartwarming craft helps kids reflect on the things they’re thankful for. Using rainbow-shaped cutouts, children write positive thoughts or wishes on each colored stripe.

The design includes playful clouds labeled “I wish” and “I am lucky,” making it visually appealing.

It’s a perfect mix of art and mindfulness, encouraging kids to celebrate gratitude in a fun and meaningful way.

5. Paper Snowflakes

Nothing says winter like a classic paper snowflake craft. Kids can fold and cut paper into unique shapes, experimenting with patterns and designs.

This simple activity fosters fine motor skills and creativity, while allowing kids to explore symmetry.

Perfect for decorating classrooms, windows, or tables, these snowflakes are a timeless and budget-friendly winter project.

6. Cardboard Christmas Trees

These cardboard trees bring the holiday spirit to life using painted cardboard, tape, and pom-poms.

Kids can decorate their own festive trees, adding unique designs and colors. This eco-friendly craft encourages creativity and is simple enough for younger kids.

Whether for classrooms or home, these cardboard trees offer a sustainable, hands-on way to celebrate the holidays.

7. Colorful Candles

These bright and playful candle decorations use painted paper tubes, pipe cleaners, and tissue flames.

Kids can design their candles with rainbow colors or festive holiday themes. It’s perfect for building holiday table displays or cheerful decor.

This craft is mess-friendly and encourages kids to unleash their imagination while creating something colorful and vibrant.

8. Gnome Friends

These adorable paper gnome crafts use colorful cutouts for hats, beards, and accessories like candy canes.

Kids can mix and match colors to create unique little gnomes. This craft fosters creativity, cutting practice, and assembly skills.

Perfect for winter classroom displays or at-home art projects, these charming gnomes add a playful and festive touch to any setting.

9. Gingerbread Fun

This activity brings gingerbread men to life using paper cutouts. Kids decorate their gingerbread designs with glitter glue, buttons, and sprinkles.

It’s a great way to develop fine motor skills while encouraging imaginative play.

The result is adorable, festive artwork that can be displayed in classrooms or at home as a cheerful holiday keepsake.

10. Santa Handprints

Turn little hands into festive keepsakes with this Santa handprint craft. Kids use clay or salt dough to create hand-shaped bases, then decorate with Santa hats, beards, and painted stars.

This fun and personal craft is perfect for creating holiday ornaments or gifts.

It’s a creative way to preserve special memories while celebrating the season with joy and color.

11. Santa Koala

This adorable craft combines recycling with creativity. A cute koala face is made from newspaper clippings, giving the project a unique texture.

The addition of a red Santa hat made of felt and cotton fluff gives the craft its festive flair.

It’s an ideal blend of holiday cheer and hands-on art, making it perfect for kids learning about animals or celebrating Christmas with an Australian twist.

12. Paper Turkey Fans

These colorful turkey crafts bring Thanksgiving fun to the table. Kids create turkey bodies using construction paper and accordion-folded fans for the feathers.

The polka dots add charm, while googly eyes bring the turkeys to life.

It’s an excellent activity to teach about patterns and folding techniques, combining art with simple motor skills for a festive fall project.

13. Painted Ornaments

These wooden ornaments turn into vibrant, personalized decorations with just paint and creativity. Kids can use bright colors, patterns, and dots to create unique designs.

String them with beads or twine, and you’ve got the perfect DIY ornaments for gifting or tree-decorating. This craft is simple, yet it brings endless room for artistic expression.

14. Yarn Tree Decor

This 3D Christmas tree craft uses cardboard, yarn, and pom-poms for a tactile masterpiece.

Kids wrap green yarn around a triangle-shaped frame, adding colorful pom-poms and snowflakes as decorations.

A wooden base helps the tree stand tall. It’s an engaging way to introduce kids to texture and spatial creativity while creating a festive holiday decoration.

15. Snowman Plates

These paper plate snowmen bring winter cheer to craft time. Using washable paint and colorful paper hats, kids create smiling snowman faces with adorable details like painted eyes, noses, and rosy cheeks.

This low-cost craft is great for all ages and works well in classrooms or at home, celebrating the magic of wintertime snow.

16. Reindeer Face

Made with recyclable cardboard, this reindeer craft is simple and fun. Kids use leaves as antlers, bottle caps for eyes, and a red lid as the nose to bring the reindeer’s face to life.

This eco-friendly project encourages creativity while reusing materials. The festive red background makes the craft stand out and teaches kids about sustainability in art.

17. Word Reindeer

Combining language learning with crafting, this reindeer idea features words on paper lights attached to its antlers.

Kids craft a reindeer face from construction paper and cut out light bulbs for vocabulary practice.

It’s a perfect educational activity to enhance spelling or sight word recognition while keeping the holiday spirit alive.

18. Number Snowman

This snowman doubles as a math practice tool. Kids create the snowman shape and customize it with numbers, addition, or subtraction equations.

The snowman’s hat includes prompts like “+1” or “-1” for quick mental math practice.

It’s a fantastic way to mix learning with creativity, helping kids improve their math skills while having fun with a festive craft.

19. Paper Plate Turkey

This Thanksgiving craft uses a paper plate as the base, painted in warm fall colors. Kids add a construction paper turkey body with googly eyes and a bright beak.

The mix of painting and gluing makes it easy for even younger children, and the vibrant colors create an eye-catching display for Thanksgiving decorations.

20. Photo Train Ornament

This train-shaped ornament adds a personal touch to the holiday season. Kids use craft sticks, a small wreath, and a photo of themselves to create a keepsake.

Painted in bright colors and finished with a twine loop, it makes for a fun classroom or home activity.

It’s a thoughtful gift idea for parents and a beautiful way to capture childhood memories.

21. Ribbon Trees

These colorful trees are made using cardboard triangles wrapped in ribbons and lace, adding texture and sparkle.

Kids can choose from pastel, gold, or vibrant shades to make their trees unique. Attach a small rectangular base for stability, and you’ve got a display-ready craft.

This activity is perfect for improving fine motor skills and allowing kids to explore colors and patterns while creating a festive decorative tree.

22. Paper Snowman Collage

Using white paper squares, googly eyes, and black cutouts for a hat, this snowman collage is simple yet adorable.

Kids can layer the paper to build a textured snowman face on a blue background. Add an orange carrot nose and black circles for a smile to complete the look.

This activity encourages kids to practice cutting and gluing skills, resulting in a charming snowman masterpiece.

23. Snowman Clock

This craft combines creativity with learning. Kids create a snowman-shaped clock on blue paper, complete with movable clock hands labeled “hour” and “minute.”

The snowman’s belly doubles as the clock face, helping children learn to tell time in a fun and hands-on way.

This activity promotes math skills and reinforces basic time concepts while keeping things festive and engaging.

24. Felt Cat Angels

These adorable cat angel ornaments are made of soft felt with embroidered details, perfect for a gentle crafting session.

Each cat features colorful wings and a matching hanging ribbon. Kids can personalize their ornaments with unique thread designs and colors.

Whether for the tree or as a gift, this cozy craft will bring a touch of whimsy to any holiday décor.

25. Snowman Name Wall

This collaborative craft is perfect for classrooms. Kids create stacked snowman cutouts, each with their names written on the snowman’s circles. Hats, scarves, and decorations make each snowman unique.

Displaying all the creations on a bulletin board adds a sense of community and showcases every child’s creativity. It’s a fun way to practice spelling names while embracing winter themes.

26. Button Christmas Trees

Crafted from green cardboard triangles, these Christmas trees come to life with colorful buttons, pom-poms, and stars.

Kids can glue different materials to decorate their trees, adding a 3D effect. This project encourages creativity, helps develop fine motor skills, and results in festive decorations that can brighten any holiday space.

27. Ladybug Bugs

These quirky ladybug-themed crafts bring insects to the winter season with materials like bubble wrap wings, pom-poms, and pipe cleaners.

Kids can mix and match colors and shapes to create unique bugs while exploring textures.

This craft promotes imaginative play and fine motor skills as children assemble their colorful critters. A fun, unexpected addition to the holiday craft lineup!