Kids love Halloween because they get to be involved every step of the way. There are traditions surrounding every other holiday that children don’t aways get to take part in. The best way to get children excited about holidays is to involve them as much as possible.
Have them help decorate the space. Cook special meals together. Try to include even the youngest children in every aspect of each holiday.
So I have compiled a list of fun activities to include little ones regardless of age.
Felt Christmas Tree
Christmas trees are covered in finicky, delicate ornaments. Small children are often not allowed to decorate the tree and are kept away from it. But they want to help!
So give them their own tree and let them decorate it!
Start with a sheet of green felt and cut it into the shape of the tree. Then cut colorful felt into different fun shapes. The felt ornaments will stick to the felt tree which can be decorated it and redecorated. To increase the educational value of the tree, make the ornaments in the shapes and colors they are learning. Then name the shapes and colors as they go on the tree.
The felt tree can also double as an advent calendar. Give a new ornament every day and let them redecorate the tree.
Older children can also help make the ornaments. Make them out of felt or cardboard and then stick a small piece of Velcro on the back. The Velcro will stick to the felt tree.
The best part of a felt tree is it rolls up and stores small, which is fantastic when short on storage space.
Check out this tutorial for more.
Paper Chain
Paper chains improve fine motor skills, problem solving, geometric/ pattern recognition, and scissor skills. They look great decorating a house too.
Get out some colorful paper, tape and spend an afternoon making chains. Decorate the chains with glitter, stickers, and whatever else the kids want. Hang them around the house for a homemade festive touch.
Older kids could also make popcorn garlands. Just air pop some popcorn and thread it on a string to practice sewing and improve fine motor skills.
Holiday Cards & Thank You Notes
When my daughter started coloring, I realized I no longer needed all of those pre-printed Halmark greeting cards– I just needed some blank white cards.
When it is time to make cards, I get out the cardstock, some crayons or colored pencils, and stickers. Of course, my baby is 2 right now, so she is working on pre-writing.
As she gets older, I’ll start adding paint and scissor skills to the repertoire.
Once the kids stop wanting to do things freeform, cards can become more elaborate and turn into structured crafts to practice following directions. There are some really interesting designs out there. Here are a few ideas:
- 49 Awesome DIY Holiday Cards
- Sustainable Christmas Cards
- 20 Simple and Sweet DIY Christmas Card Ideas for Kids
- Easy Ribbon Cristmas Cards
- Thumbprint Christmas Cards
- 22 DIY Christmas Cards That Deliver More Holiday Cheer Than Store-Bought
Wrapping Paper
There is something about homemade items that make things extra special. Take a paper bag and flatten it out. Then let the little ones go to town on the decorating.
Use paint, stickers, glitter, and whatever else they want to decorate with.
Before making the wrapping paper, make sure to demonstrate how it will be used to wrap presents. Children can get upset if they make beautiful art that is then destroyed without warning.
Once they are done decorating, help them wrap presents and place them under the tree.
Luminaries & Paper Lanterns
My grandmother used to line the walkway with luminaries every Christmas eve. Eventually the whole neighborhood would come out and line all the sidewalks with luminaries.
Luminaries are simple to make and children of all ages can help make them.
Functionally, they are just a white paper bag with gravel or sand in the bottom to weight them down. Let the child pour in the sand or gravel to improve pouring skills, then put a tea candle (or a fake tea candle) in to light them up. Line walkways, driveways, and sidewalks with them.
Luminaries can be decorated an infinite number of ways. Color or paint them to practice prewriting and writing skills, cut decorative patterns in the bag for scissor skills, add googlie eyes to make pretend monsters. Just have fun with it!
Here are some ideas for inspiration:
- DIY Paper Lanterns with Beautiful 3D Flowers Design
- DIY Paper Bag Luminaries
- How to Create Safe Paper Bag Luminaries
Cookies
One of the best things about winter is the cooking. Soups on the stove all day. Warm, crusty bread. Pot pies and confections. I love winter cooking.
Cookies are a great introduction to baking. They taste fantastic and they aren’t super delicate. A little more flour or sugar than advised wont ruin them.
Chocolate chip cookies are a fan favorite, and sugar cookies are fun to decorate.
Try doubling the recipe with older children to work on fractions and volume understanding. Toddlers can use baking to practice pouring, stirring, and stamping with cookie cutters. The dough also makes for a fantastic sensory experience.
Here are some great recipes to get you started:
- Christmas Cookie Exchange Recipes
- 15 Most Popular Christmas Cookie Recipes
- 26 Freezable Christmas Cookie Recipes
- Reindeer Poop Cookies
- Christmas Chocolate Kiss Cookie
- Butter Cookies
- Christmas Cookies to Make With Kids
Pie
My daughter hasn’t had sugar yet, and we aren’t going to give her any this year. Cookies have too much sugar and are a huge temptation to our little one. So we are making pie.
She loves cutting fruit and veggies. Apples, cut easy and keep her occupied for hours. I core the apples and she chops them into bits. The crust is super fun for her to kneed and using rolling pins increases dexterity and hand strength.
We make the pies without sugar and then the baby can enjoy the treat with us.
Ornaments
We make a family ornament every year. Most of the ornaments on our tree are hand made and I love them all.
Clay and paint, cloth, felt, really anything can be used to make an ornament.
I love ornaments that give a sense of where the kids are developmentally. The first 2 years we did footprints on clay. This year we may do something with her hand. We make enough ornaments for the grandparents and aunts/ uncles to get one too.
Need some ideas? Check these out:
- Easy Pipe Cleaner Wreath Ornaments
- Christmas Ornament Pom-Pom Push (a fine motor craftivity for toddlers!)
- 39 adorable Christmas ornaments for kids of all ages (from tiny tot to tall tweens) to make or help with
- Christmas Salt Dough Keepsakes & Ornaments
- 20 Homemade Ornaments for Baby’s First Christmas
- 15 Easy Christmas Ornaments for Toddlers
- DIY Kids Fingerprint Ornament
- 20 Keepsake Ornaments For Kids To Make
Other Fun Crafts
Wreaths and suncatchers. Bows and snowmen. There are a plethora of crafts out there. Here are some fun ones I stumbled across:
- Egg Carton Snowman
- Handprint Wreath
- Cotton Ball Snowman
- Paper Plate Christmas Elf Craft
- No-Sew Sock Penguin Craft
- 3D Pasta Christmas Trees
- Decorate Pinecone Christmas Trees
- Over 30 Easy Christmas Fun Food Ideas & Crafts Kids Can Make
- Christmas DIY Crafts for kids
Wrapping it all up
The more kids are involved in the festivities, the more they will enjoy the holidays. Pick some crafts and do them every year to make a tradition out of it.
Most of all, have fun! The holidays are a time for family.
What are your favorite holiday crafts? Leave them in the comments below. And don’t forget to like and share!
Jane
Jane Reid, the primary author of Unprepared Mom and STEM 911, is an educator, tutor, women’s rights advocate, and mom. Here to make your life easier one article at a time.