19 Easy Christmas Crafts for Toddlers and Preschoolers
Think your toddler’s too little to get in on the Christmas crafting? Think again! Toddlers love a good craft project, and for the most part they’re willing helpers. And of course, they love Christmas too! Need some inspiration? We’ve rounded up some of our favorite Christmas crafts for toddlers here, along with links to step-by-step instructions to eliminate the guesswork. Plus, we’ve also thrown in some fun preschool Christmas crafts for slightly older kiddos. Whether you’re simply looking to have fun together or hoping to come away with some DIY Christmas gifts, we’ve got you covered. (While you may not end up with exactly what you were going for, your little ones—and gift recipients—will probably be super proud of their creation.) Happy holiday crafting!
Our favorite Christmas craft ideas for toddlers and preschoolers are the ones you just know you’ll still be using and displaying proudly long after your kiddos have left the nest. And this ceramic “cookies for Santa” plate takes the cake (or maybe the cookie?). Using handprints from all family members along with your kiddo’s, this Santa plate from the Party Wowzy blog is sure to impress.
Why opt for one handprint when you can make a craft featuring a whole bunch? This popular preschool Christmas craft idea from Fox Farm Home will totally work for toddlers too. Of course, you’ll have to help them make the handprints, but they’ll have a blast decorating the tree they made with their own hands—literally.
Looking for easy Christmas crafts for toddlers—even the youngest ones in the bunch? We’ve got it right here. This sweet craft from the A Dab of Glue Will Do blog lets your little one get their hands dirty by dotting fingerprints all over a sheet of paper. Remove the construction paper tree to reveal a negative space Christmas tree, and a masterpiece your toddler accomplished all by themselves!
Christmas tree crafts for toddlers are a great way to get your little ones psyched for the upcoming holiday. Here’s one they’re sure to love, since no toddler can resist playing with paper. Crafts on Sea makes one person’s trash another person’s treasure by transforming scrunched up tissue paper into beautiful ornaments on your construction paper trees.
If you’re the parent of a little one, then creating salt dough Christmas crafts with your toddler are probably near the top of your to-do list this Christmas. There’s nothing better than immortalizing those tiny fingers on your tree for years to come. We love this elegant one from You’re So Martha. It’s festive without being overdone—the perfect choice for your tree, and a great gift too!
No list of toddler Christmas crafts is complete without a wreath, and we love this super-simple one from Fun Littles. A paper plate serves as the wreath; once you cut it out, you can let your toddler’s imagination run wild as they decorate it however they’d like.
This iconic Christmas craft for toddlers has been around forever. Chances are, your parents still have a similar one you made in preschool! So grab those popsicle sticks and sit down with your tot to make this easy Christmas craft, courtesy of the One Little Project blog.
Sometimes you want craft ideas that toddlers can do, without the final product looking like, well, a toddler made them. This beautiful reindeer fingerprint ornament from The Country Chic Cottage is for you. It still makes a fun Christmas craft for toddlers (or even older babies), since your little one can definitely help. But with a few simple finishing touches, you can create an elegant ornament that serves as a reminder of how little those fingers were. Bonus: This ornament makes an amazing gift!
If you’re in search of Christmas crafts for toddlers that are totally frame-worthy, this one, from The Chirping Moms, should be right up your alley. The word JOY is jubilantly written out with shiny Christmas-colored pom-poms affixed by your toddler. Your child learns about tracing, you end up with a beautiful sign to display—we’ll call that a Christmas miracle!
The Grinch, with all his crazy antics, is completely captivating for most toddlers. So if your little one would get a real kick out of doing a Grinch Christmas craft, head over to the Simply Today Life blog for this simple but cute option. A paper plate and construction paper make the infamous face of the green crafty character.
What makes this one of the best toddler Christmas crafts? They can do most of the work themselves! The Creative Family Fun blog shows you how to help your budding artist create a super-cute Christmas tree using a paper plate and some pom-poms. If you’re searching for Christmas tree crafts for toddlers and preschoolers, this is a perfect pick.
There’s nothing like a cup of hot chocolate on a cold day. If you and your little one have had enough Santa and Christmas tree crafts, it’s time to whip up this fun hot cocoa craft from the Crafty Morning blog. She incorporates red and green bows for a festive touch on this Christmas craft for toddlers.
There’s a lot to be said for easy Christmas crafts for toddlers, and this one is deliciously simple. Kiddos with good fine motor skills can slip beads and a bell onto a cord to create this fun jingle bell necklace from the PreKinders site. They’ll be decking the halls all day long! Just be sure to use a bell large enough to avoid a choking hazard and remove it come naptime.
What to do when your little one is bored but your craft bin is dangerously low? No worries—one of the great things about Christmas crafts for toddlers is that you can easily source your materials from the great outdoors! Mel at Adventures of Mel shows you how to make adorable Christmas trees with pinecones, and even has a toddler-friendly tip so your kiddo can do it all by themselves. If Christmas tree crafts are on your to-do list this holiday season, definitely give this one a try!
The best Christmas craft ideas for toddlers are the ones that keep things as simple as possible. That’s why we love this Santa craft from The Best Ideas for Kids blog. With a construction paper face and sparkly red cap, Santa is primed for your little one to glue on cotton balls to make his hair and big beard. It’s a fun introduction to the man in the red suit.
This sweet little Christmas tree is a fun spin on salt dough Christmas crafts for toddlers. Courtesy of Mum in the Madhouse, this tree is actually made of air-drying clay, and features your toddler’s multi-colored fingerprints as festive Christmas lights. Super simple, and super adorable too.
This Christmas tree suncatcher craft from the Everyday Fun and Learning blog is simple enough for your toddler to help with, but it’s totally display-worthy too! Once you’ve done the prep work, your little one will have a blast pasting on the colorful paper and shiny baubles. If you choose to use beads, be sure to supervise closely.
Toddler Christmas crafts that double as gifts are a great way to check two things off your list at once. This sweet snowman handprint ornament from the 1-2-3 Homeschool 4 Me blog is one of our favorites. Here, your toddler’s handprint takes center stage as their fingerprints turn into five little snowmen.
Another cute, easy preschool Christmas craft you can display on your tree is this one from the Parenting Chaos blog. It’s better for preschoolers and older kiddos who won’t be tempted to put the beads into their mouths. All your little one will need to do is knot the end of the pipe cleaner (they’ll likely need your help here), string alternating white and red beads onto the pipe cleaner and then gently bend it into the candy cane shape. Voila: You have a beautiful and festive ornament for your family tree.
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