Christmas crafts for kids: 6 step-by-step ideas to make at home

Christmas crafts with children are simple activities to do at home in December: tree decorations, biscuits, garlands or touches for the Christmas dinner table. What matters is not that they turn out perfect, but that they are hung on the tree afterwards and kept for the following year. Here are six crafts arranged from easiest to hardest, with the suggested age, how long they take and the exact materials.

Summary of the crafts

1. Handprint reindeer

Materials: white card, brown and red finger paint, a black marker pen.

Paint the child's palm and fingers brown and press the hand onto the card with the fingers spread. The palm is the head and the fingers are the antlers. Once dry, add the eyes with the marker and a red nose with a fingertip.

Tip: write the name and year on the back. In five years' time, comparing the size of the hands is the best part of this craft.

2. Decorated pine cones

Materials: dry pine cones, white or gold paint, a brush, thin string.

Paint just the tips of the scales to look like snow, or the whole pine cone in gold. Leave it to dry on newspaper and tie a string around the base to hang it on the tree.

Tip: if the pine cones come from the countryside, bake them for 30 minutes at 100 °C before painting. They open up more and are cleared of any bugs.

3. Paper chain

Materials: strips of coloured paper about 2 x 15 cm, a glue stick.

Close the first strip into a ring. Thread the next one through it and close it. Keep alternating colours until it is as long as you want. A 2-metre paper chain takes about 60 strips.

Tip: use it as a calendar. One ring for each day left until Christmas: every night the child removes one.

4. Salt dough decorations

Materials: 2 cups of flour, 1 cup of fine salt, 1 cup of warm water, cookie cutters, a straw, acrylic paint and ribbon for hanging.

Mix the flour and salt, add the water a little at a time and knead until you have a smooth dough. Roll it out to about 5 mm thick and cut out the shapes with the cutters. Make a hole with the straw for the ribbon. Dry in the oven at 100 °C for about 2 or 3 hours, or in the air for two days. Once cool, they can be painted.

Tip: use a cocktail stick to write the child's name and the year on the back before drying. They become decorations that come out every Christmas.

If you need Christmas shapes, see our collection of cookie cutters. They work just as well for salt dough as for biscuits.

5. Decorated Christmas biscuits

Materials: butter biscuit dough, Christmas cutters, royal icing or icing sugar with a few drops of lemon, coloured sprinkles.

Roll out the dough to about 5 mm thick and let the child cut out the shapes. The adult takes care of the oven: about 10 or 12 minutes at 180 °C, until the edges turn golden. Once the biscuits are cool, comes the children's favourite part: decorating.

Tip: chill the cut dough in the fridge for 15 minutes before baking. The shapes do not lose their form and the edges stay clean.

There are more shape ideas in 12 Christmas cookie cutters.

6. Place cards for Christmas dinner

Materials: card, marker pens, stickers, a small pine cone or a sprig per guest.

Cut rectangles of card about 9 x 5 cm and fold them in half so they stand up. The child writes or copies each guest's name and decorates it. If they cannot write yet, an adult writes the name and the child decorates around it. Place them next to each plate or tucked into a pine cone.

Tip: let the child decide where each guest sits. They take it as an important mission and dinner starts with conversation.

For more ideas, see our article on Christmas place cards for the table, with a printable template, and the personalised place cards if you would rather keep them as a memento.

Common mistakes

1. Wanting it to be perfect. If the adult corrects every step, the child loses interest. The craft is theirs.
2. Choosing something too long. Under the age of 5, 30 minutes in a row is already a lot. Split longer crafts over two days.
3. Not preparing the table. An oilcloth and the materials to hand avoid interruptions.
4. Forgetting drying time. Salt dough and paint need hours. Plan so the result is ready the next day.
5. Not keeping them. A box with each year's crafts, with name and date, becomes a family tradition.

Frequently asked questions

Which Christmas crafts can 2-year-olds do?

Those based on painting and printing: a handprint reindeer or painted pine cones. They need no scissors or precision, and the result takes about 20 or 30 minutes, the usual attention span at that age.

How do you make salt dough for Christmas decorations?

With 2 cups of flour, 1 of fine salt and 1 of warm water. Knead until smooth, roll out to about 5 mm thick and cut with cutters. Dry in the oven at 100 °C for 2 or 3 hours, or in the air for two days.

Can you use the same cutters for biscuits and salt dough?

Yes, but wash them well between uses. If you use them often for both, the most practical option is to keep one set for baking and another for crafts.

How do you keep Christmas crafts from one year to the next?

Let them dry completely and store them wrapped in tissue paper inside a rigid box, in a dry place. Write the child's name and the year on each piece: getting them out every December becomes part of the tradition.