“Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree, how lovely are your…” crafts? But seriously, nothing beats a holiday-themed craft when trying to come up with Christmas activities to keep your kids entertained while they’re home for winter break.
And if you’re looking for Christmas tree craft ideas to get everyone in the holiday spirit — and keep your kids entertained for longer than five minutes — you’ve come to the right place.
And get this, you don’t necessarily even need a screen to keep your kids entertained, so you can save all of your holiday movie viewing for a fun family activity on Christmas break to do together.
Why do Christmas tree crafts?
The Christmas tree is one of the universal symbols for the Christmas holiday season — at least here in the United States — and there’s something so special about hanging your decorations on the tree to be admired for the entirety of the holidays. (Here’s a good read on the History of Christmas trees)
After your kids help you decorate the real thing, they may be itching to create and decorate their own Christmas tree.
We may not be able to hang our favorite ornaments on the bottom half of the tree, but we can make fun crafts to decorate the house and keep the kids entertained as we try to get some holiday prep done.
Related: Need some wintery ideas? Here you will find indoor activities for toddlers and preschoolers.
Whether you’re looking for Christmas tree decoration crafts or creative and fun ways to get rid of those leftover toilet paper rolls and cardboard boxes from Amazon, there are certainly Christmas tree crafts for kids of every age in this list. You can easily find them in each section labeled for each age group.
Related: Need a few toddler toy ideas? I put this list together after watching my three boys grow up. It is a great toy list!
Christmas Tree Crafts for Toddlers
A great Christmas tree craft for toddlers requires minimal setup and help from you and plenty of opportunities for them to practice their fine motor skills. And, of course, they should be having a blast and not get discouraged in the process. One of these Christmas tree activities will definitely be a great fit for your toddler.
- Christmas Tree Thumbprint Art (A Dab of Glue Will Do) – With minimal prep from you (like cutting out a Christmas tree and taping it to paper) your toddler will love using their thumbs to make dots around the tree.
- Christmas Tree Farm (Days with Grey) – This idea is more of an invitation to play than a craft, but needed a place on our list. Grab the wooden tracks and get the kids moving!
- Easy Toddler Christmas Tree Ornament (Toddler Approved) – This bead stringing activity is perfect for practicing those fine motor skills and the pincer grasp. And the end result is a beautiful tree ornament.
- Fingerprint Christmas Tree Craft (Crafty Morning) – Paint, paper, and thumbs are all you need for this Christmas tree craft for toddlers.
- Pom Pom Painting Christmas Tree Craft for Toddlers (Fantastic Fun and Learning) – Safety pins, poms, and paint are all it takes for your toddler to have a delightful afternoon decorating a Christmas tree.
- Q-Tip Painted Christmas Tree Craft (Gift of Curiosity) – This fine motor activity for toddlers has a beautiful result.
- Salt Dough Ornament Christmas Tree (Messy Little Monster) – Complete with a salt dough recipe, this Christmas tree craft for toddlers makes a beautiful ornament to hang on your tree for years to come.
- Toddler Christmas Trees (Arty Crafty Kids) – Recycle some of that cardboard leftover from your Prime orders by cutting them into Christmas tree shapes and having your toddler use different materials to decorate.
- Toddler Christmas Tree Activity Using Sticky Contact Paper (Laughing Kids Learn) – You know I am a fan of the contact paper activity, and this toddler Christmas tree craft is a fun way for your toddler to practice their fine motor skills and festively decorate a wall of your home for the holidays.
Christmas Tree Crafts for Preschoolers
Preschoolers love getting crafty. These fun and easy Christmas tree crafts for preschoolers will keep their tiny hands busy, their brains working, and their fine motor skills improving. Making it a win-win-win during their holiday break.
- Cardboard Box Christmas Tree (Days with Grey) – Another fun and festive use for all of those leftover cardboard boxes — turn them into Christmas trees that are ready for decorating.
- Christmas Tree Playdough (The Ladybirds’ Adventure) – Create Christmas trees with playdough and Christmas tree shape cutters!
- Christmas Tree Playdough Kit (Mama Papa Bubba) – I love this easy playdough Christmas art activity, and your kids will, too.
- Family Handprint Christmas Tree (Mama Smiles) – This sentimental Christmas tree craft for preschoolers can be done every single year with the entire family to see how much everyone has grown!
- Fork Painted Christmas Tree (The Best Ideas for Kids) – A preschool Christmas tree craft idea that goes outside of the box from a typical paintbrush and paint activity.
- Jeweled Christmas Tree Craft for Kids (Housing a Forest) – If you’re looking for a simple Christmas tree activity for preschoolers, this is it!
- Paper Plate Christmas Tree Craft (I Heart Crafty Things) – The end result of this Christmas tree activity for preschoolers is really adorable and fun. Plus, you’ll find another fun use for those leftover paper plates.
- Recycled Christmas Tree Craft (Simple Everyday Mom) – If you have extra buttons, glue, and a cereal box, then you can absolutely do this Christmas tree craft idea right away.
- Scrunched Paper Christmas Trees (Crafts on Sea) – Fine motor skill practice is center stage with this scrunched paper Christmas tree craft. Kids will love tearing and crinkling up the tissue paper into tiny ornaments for a Christmas tree.
- Tape Resist Tree (Busy Toddler) Have kids that love to paint? Use painter’s tape to create dimension in your Christmas tree. Dry, hang, and decorate!
Christmas Tree Crafts for Kids
Christmas tree crafts for kids can be a bit more elaborate than those for younger kids. Whether they make an ornament, a bag puppet, or weave a paper Christmas tree, they’ll definitely have fun.
- Christmas Tree Paper Bag Puppet (Simple Everyday Mom) – For fans of the paper bag turkey craft, you’ll love this Christmas tree craft idea for kids.
- Curled Paper Christmas Tree Craft (Kids Craft Room) – Ribbon curling is fun and has a beautiful result. Your kids will love showing off their finished product with this Christmas tree craft.
- DIY Christmas Tree Toilet Paper Roll Craft for Kids (Crafty Morning) – Grab a few toilet paper rolls from your stash you’ve been saving for Breakfast Invitations and make trunks for these DIY Christmas trees.
- Homemade Christmas Tree Ornament (Little Bins for Little Hands) – I love how cute these Christmas tree ornaments turn out! The fun your kids will have using the yarn to create the tree shape on popsicle sticks is just the icing on the cake (or the star on top of the Christmas tree).
- Kids Christmas Tree Craft (I Heart Crafty Things) – Print out the free pattern or simply cut out different-sized triangles from green construction paper to create these cute Christmas trees.
- Paper Christmas Tree Craft for Kids (The Kindergarten Connection) – These whimsical Christmas trees look like they came straight from a Dr. Seuss book.
- Woven Paper Christmas Tree (Buggy and Buddy) – I remember making this cute Christmas tree craft when I was in elementary school and having a lot of fun.
- Yarn and Stick Christmas Tree Craft (Kids Craft Room) – Another fun take on the yarn and popsicle stick Christmas tree idea.
FAQ
There are so many ideas for cool Christmas crafts out there. Luckily, I did the research for you and curated this list of the best Christmas crafts for kids of all ages.
Making a Christmas tree out of a styrofoam cone just makes sense, doesn’t it? It’s already the perfect shape. Two ways you can make a Christmas tree out of a styrofoam cone include using yarn or even using playdough.
Other than using it for a firepit or donating your Christmas tree to a local animal sanctuary to feed the wildlife, you can use it for your own compost, create amazing-smelling sachets, or place your tree in its stand outside and create a bird sanctuary filled with sun butter pine cones for bird feeders, per This Old House.
