Kids are home from day care over the holiday break, and parents are looking for fun ways to keep them occupied. Our team at Watch Me Shine has found some easy holiday-themed crafts that you can make with your preschoolers while they’re taking a break from day care over the holidays.
Keep your preschoolers occupied while they’re home from day care over the holiday break with these easy crafts.
Paper Plate Snowman
This craft is a classic for a reason, and perfect for little hands. Even better, you almost certainly already have everything you need.
Materials:
- Paper plates
- Paints, markers, or crayons
- Glue
- Orange paper
- Buttons
- Yarn or ribbon
- Scissors (for the grown-ups)
Instructions:
Start with two or three paper plates. Leave one as it is, and cut the other one or two to be slightly smaller to make the head and middle section of the snowman’s body. Glue the edges together to form the snowman and let it dry. If you use basic craft glue, it will take only a few minutes. Now you can decorate your snowman! Cut triangles of orange paper for the carrot nose (or color white paper orange), use buttons for the eyes, and yarn or ribbon for the scarf. Get creative and draw additional features or make your snowman unique and colorful.
Handprint Christmas Tree
Another classic holiday craft, a handprint Christmas tree doubles as a keepsake and holiday décor.
Materials:
- Green paint
- Light-colored paper (heavier stock is best if you want it to last)
- Brown marker or crayon
- Stickers, beads, pom-poms, buttons, or other craft supplies for ornaments
Instructions:
Paint your child’s hand green and press it onto the paper. The heel of their hand (near the wrist) will be the top of the tree, and their fingers will be the branches. Pivot their hand, keeping the heel in the same place, to fill in the branches. After the paint dries, use a brown marker or crayon to draw the tree trunk. Use stickers, pom-poms, buttons, or whatever you can find to make the ornaments on the tree. You can also use ribbons or string to create garlands or light strands. Write your child’s name and age at the bottom of the paper, and make another next year to see how much they’ve grown.
Popsicle Stick Winter Window Picture Frame
Make a Christmas-y keepsake with popsicle sticks and a photo. Turn it into a magnet or a Christmas tree ornament.
Materials:
- Popsicle sticks, small (5 per frame) and jumbo (1 per frame)
- Paints, white for snow, plus whatever colors you like
- Hot glue gun (grown-up use only)
- String or magnets (or both)
- Mini Christmas-themed decorations (optional)
- Photos
Instructions:
Take one jumbo popsicle stick and 5 small ones. Hot glue three small popsicle sticks, evenly spaced, along the jumbo stick. Flip it over and glue another small stick at the top and the last small stick in the middle, parallel to the jumbo stick. Your six popsicle sticks will form a four-pane window, with the jumbo stick at the bottom. Repeat for as many window picture frames as you want to make. Let your children paint the window frames whatever colors they like. When the first coat of paint is dry, add a little white paint along the top edges of the horizontal sticks to look like snow buildup on the window frame. Once the paint is dry, attach your photo to the back of the frame so you can see the picture through the window. Add a loop of string to make it a tree ornament or put magnets on the back. Decorate the frame with mini Christmas-themed decorations, such as bows, wreaths, or Santa hats, if you want to up the Christmas factor.
