Making things and the Holidays have always gone hand in hand. From my elementary school days of making salt dough ornaments to my most recent endeavor (a chess board for my oldest), I’ve always tried to make decorations or gifts for my friends and family wherever possible to ensure that they knew I cared enough to create something unique for them instead of just socks (not that socks are bad, we all need to keep our toes warm).
Now that I’m a Dad, I’ve tried to instill this in my kids, helping them make holiday decor and gifts that we can treasure for years to come as snapshots of that year’s Holidays and build on in the coming years. That’s led to all kinds of fun at the family table, making decorations, gifts, toys, and more that are merry and fun, but also uniquely theirs—a place to contribute to family tradition and express themselves each year.
Relatedly, an unexpected side effect of the world’s current malaise is a massive increase in DIY and handmade crafts and decor. Be it for economic reasons, to find some joy in things, or to create a connection between two humans through making something, there are thousands of amazing and inspiring ideas out there.
With that said, here’s a list of a few of my favourite holiday crafts and creations from around the internet that we’ve tried out, or are looking to make this year. There are simple things that Grandparents will love, some more in-depth items that could become heirlooms, and most importantly, limitless potential to spend time together and create, which is just about the best thing I can think of to find in my stocking this year.
Wood Slice Christmas Tree
What It is: We begin with my first love: wood. A bag of small wood slices is a cheap date at any hobby or dollar store, and since each shape is unique, no two will be alike. If you’re feeling adventurous, get some small LED lights and fit them between the slices for a warm holiday glow!
Why Kids Will Have Fun With It: Kids love decorating Christmas trees. One way they can personalize the tree for themselves or a loved one is to make a small decoration for each slice. If your youngster is a little too young for that, pictures from throughout the year or even different-colored finger or toe prints will make it a treasured timber decoration for years to come.
How to make your own Wood Slice Christmas Tree
Experience Level: Intermediate
Toilet Paper Roll Santa Pants
What It is: It’s Santa’s pants, but made out of toilet paper rolls. Because let’s be honest, Saint Nick’s waistline stretches over the course of the year, given the fact his diet consists mainly of Mrs. Claus’ cookies and cakes.
Why Kids Will Have Fun With It: Kids will love this because it’s a supremely silly holiday decoration. If you have multiple kids, different styles of pants for Santa would be a blast. Bell bottoms, coveralls, maybe even some formal wear. Make up the reasons Santa needs the new outfits, and your littles will be in holiday giggles for hours.
Experience Level: Beginner
Holiday Bath Bombs
What it is: The first item on our list that can easily double as a gift for a family member or friend. While the kids might not be involved in all steps of the process, their input can be valuable and save you some money when it comes to gifts for people like teachers or family friends.
Why Kids Will Have Fun With It: Making bath bombs is awesome, messy fun, and the ways that they can be customized are endless. Get the kids involved in choosing scents, packaging and surprises contained within and they’ll have hours of fun creating new combinations and unique presents!
How To Create Holiday Bath Bombs
Experience Level: Advanced
Mini Touque Ornaments
What It is: First, for those of you south of the border, this proud Canadian is here to tell you that a “Touque” (pronounced “two-k”) is in fact a woolen, often knitted hat with a legally mandated pom-pom on the top. You may hear it called other things, but they would be wrong. We have made dozens of these over the years, and one even sits atop the star on our Christmas tree.
Why Kids Will Have Fun With It: Aside from their ridiculous cuteness, these mini headwarmers are great as ornaments or as accessories for dolls or stuffed animals. They are entirely customizable, and the only limit is the imagination. And what colors of yarn do you have?
Experience Level: Intermediate
Winter Wonderland Terrarium
What It is: The holiday season is one of my favourites because of how gorgeous the world looks covered in snow. This simple craft uses pieces from your own yard and a little imagination to capture the scenery right outside your front door. Reuse and upcycle jars, and it costs next to nothing.
Why Kids Will Have Fun With It: Kids love world-building, and these compact holiday scenes are literally small worlds they can build. Add a string of LED lights or a battery-powered tea light, and the cozy scene becomes a bright night light. Toss in a small figurine or animal and watch their wintery world take shape.
How To Create a Winter Wonderland
Experience Level: Beginner
Mini-Pot Gnome (or Santa) Ornament
What It is: Ok, I’ll admit it. These mini-pot ornaments weren’t exactly intended to be holiday fare, but with a bit of red paint, you’ve got yourself a pretty cute Santa! Color a few green and you’ve got elves-a-plenty! These pots are usually very cheap, and the noses can be found at pretty much any craft store, or even substituted with a pompom.
Why Kids Will Have Fun With It: Kids will love not only the simplicity of this craft, but also the chance to mix up the yarn colors and let them go crazy with the colors on the pot, creating their very own holiday character. Yearly new additions could become a family tradition that expands over the years.
Instructions For Making a Mini-Pot Gnome Santa
Experience Level: Beginner
No-Sew Sock Snowman
What It is: This charming little fellow will serve two purposes. First, it will give a home to all the single socks littering the house, and second, it will give your kids a frosty friend to share the holiday season with. These snowmen are really easy to make, and if you add a little weight to the bottom, they make great stocking holders!
Why Kids Will Have Fun With It: Kids will love creating their own Frosty the Snowman, who will never, ever melt. With no sewing needed, kids can be in complete control and add things like top hats and scarves to make their snowpersons unique. Plus, given that they are made of stuffed socks, they can even be cuddle buddies as the sugarplum dreams begin!
Experience Level: Beginner
Snowy Window Ornament
What It is: This one is a great one for Grandparents and close friends. The snowy window frame is easy to put together with a bit of hot glue, and there’s lots of room to add extra touches like tiny wreaths or lights. Insert a favourite picture of your family each year, and it’s a window into everlasting memories.
Why Kids Will Have Fun With It: Once the glue is dry, kids will love decorating and painting these window frames for their loved ones. Make it even more fun by letting them choose a super silly or cute picture of themselves and it can be a yearly reminder of some of the good times they’ve had at Christmas over the years.
How To Put Together a Snowy Window Ornament
Experience Level: Beginner
Santa Slime
What It is: Slime. Red slime. That’s it. Simple, easy, put it in a mason jar with a little belt around it, and it’s Santa slime. Brown slime? Reindeer. Green slime? Elves. White slime? Snowman. Rainbow slime? … I don’t know what that would be. But you get the idea. The only downside to this decoration is that your kids will want to play with it rather than look at it. Also, it makes a great stocking stuffer for the kid of that other parent who bought your kid all that kinetic sand for their birthday.
Why Kids Will Have Fun With It: Because it’s slime, kids love slime. It’s a universally known fact. They love making it, playing with it, and (presumably) dreaming of making it and playing with it. In all honesty, though, the tactile sensory aspect of slime is pretty good for kids, and if you can make “special” holiday slime, you’ll be a hero in their gooey little eyes.
How To Get Slimy In The Holiday Sense and a Bonus Slime Idea
Experience Level: Intermediate. Unless you’ve made a lot of slime as I have.
Binary Coding STEM Candy Canes
What It is: Who doesn’t like a little STEM with their holiday cheer? Just because the holidays are, well, a holiday, doesn’t mean they can’t be educational. Who knew that picking up some pipe cleaners and colored beads to make simple ornaments could be turned into a lesson in Binary code? Have the kids sell their names or the names of friends or loved ones, and you’ll have a great little stocking stuffer as well.
Why Kids Will Have Fun With It: Learning things like coding and the binary language is something that kids think is so neat, they won’t even know they are learning. Not only do they get to create fun ornaments for the tree or family members, but they are also being introduced to a critical STEM concept and a fun coded language that you can share with them all year round.
Experience Level: Beginner
Upcycled Tin Can Lanterns
What it is: A simple craft that will bring the holiday light to your living room, windows, or even outside in the snowy evening. These simple lanterns are great because you can use cans you’ve already got, and with the addition of LED tealights and a weather-proof clear coat, they create a warm holiday glow for everyone to enjoy for years to come.
Why Kids Will Have Fun With It: Your kids will love this easy, low-cost craft because they can make as many of them as they want. They can come up with unique designs, have fun painting, and create something warm and cozy for cold nights. In our house, these have become something of a holiday tradition in terms of we make one or two for Halloween, Easter, and even a birthday or two. They have become treasured night lights and fondly remembered decorations.
Create Your Own Tin Can Lanterns
Experience Level: Intermediate
Christmas Light Fingerprint Frames
What It is: Customized photo frames decorated with the fingers and toes of your adorable offspring. Grandparents everywhere are excited for this unique gift, and they don’t even know it yet. As your kid gets older, new frames with updated pictures and finger (or toe) prints will create a lasting holiday gallery. Unpainted frames are available at just about any craft store, and if you want to get really fancy, upcycle or repaint some vintage ones.
Why Kids Will Have Fun With It: Really, little kids will have no idea why you’re slathering their fingers and toes with paint, but they will love the sensory aspect of it! As the kids get older, the bigger prints will mark yearly growth along with the pictures inside. Giving kids the autonomy to choose which crazy picture goes in the frame is an added bit of fun. Instill this tradition in them and eventually, maybe you’ll start getting these back as your kids go off into the world with families of their own.
How to Make Fingerprint Frames
Experience Level: Beginner
Drawstring Advent Calendar
What It is: It’s a traditional countdown to Christmas, but instead of an expensive branded calendar, it’s one that you can completely customize and control. Small drawstring bags are easy to find at any craft or dollar store, and once they’re made, they can be used year after year. This is a great way to create something for your kids that they can show their kids in the future.
Why Kids Will Have Fun With It: Kids love the daily surprise of an advent calendar, and this one can be totally tailored to their interests. Whether they love a particular kind of candy or cartoon, it’s easy to find little trinkets to fill the bags and give them a unique surprise as they count down to the big day. Give them a chance to decorate the bags, and they’ll be occupied creating this unique calendar that will quickly become a tradition.
How To Make Your Christmas Calendar and a Bonus Countdown Idea
Experience Level: Beginner
