DIY Holiday Crafts For Kids: Ideas To Get Inspired This Season

This past year hasn’t been easy. The COVID-19 pandemic brought uncertainty, lockdowns and social distancing. And for kids it has also meant a lot of boredom. More than ever, we need the joy of the holiday season. You can make special memories with your children with a few simple crafts that will keep them busy and fill them joy.

Make your own holiday cards

You can completely customize your greeting cards for whatever holiday you are celebrating, from Christmas to Hanukkah to Kwanzaa. Especially with people distancing and not able to visit with family and friends, you can create cards with personalized messages and your own photos, for that heartfelt, personal touch. Choose from many different patterns and styles and personalize the messages so that they are truly heartfelt from you.

Many kids like to cut, draw and glue, and making holiday cards is easy. Set up a craft table with construction paper or card stock, stickers, paints, colouring pencils and other craft supplies. Your children can decorate the front however they wish and write in a special message inside.

Make your own advent calendar

An advent calendar is a special calendar used to count down the days to Christmas. It offers a little surprise every day of the month and helps build up the excitement toward the holiday season. Hundreds of possibilities abound for DIY advent calendars – all you need is a little imagination (or you can search on Pinterest for inspiration).

One great idea is to have your child cut out a large tree shape - it can be kraft paper that your kids can  colour with paints or crayons, or made of felt or any other material you like (even wood if parents are handy!). Get 24 small, cardboard gift boxes, such as the kind you can buy for jewellery. Lay them out on the floor in a tree shape pattern so you know how large your ‘tree’ needs to be. You can also just have a simple rectangle that your kids can decorate or cover in wrapping paper.

Each box can be decorated however your child wants, but should each be numbered. Once they’re done, glue the boxes to the tree or rectangle frame you’ve made, with the lids on top. You can put treats or little gifts inside each one, so that your child gets a little present to open every day leading up to Dec. 25. This is a fun project they can reuse next year!

Make your own Christmas tree ornaments

The fun thing about these is you and your kids can come up with dozens of ideas. All you really need is a bit of imagination and some craft supplies on hand.

One very simple idea is to have your kids cut out shapes from sturdy cardboard – such as candy canes, Christmas trees, gift-wrapped presents or ornaments. They can then paint or decorate them. Punch a hole in the top and tie onto your tree with pretty ribbon. You can add to your collection every year, reminding you all of the fun time you had making them. You might want to put the year on the back (although it’s unlikely anyone will forget 2020!)

Other fun ideas include jazzing up clear ornament balls – the kind you can get at any dollar store – and decorating them however you want. You can paint the outside or fill them with glitter, tissue paper, tinsel or bits of garland.

There are also ornament kits that are made especially for kids and come with everything you need to make ornaments.

Make your own holiday décor

A house full of twinkling lights and seasonal décor brightens up any space and gets us in the mood for the holidays. Children can be a big help in transforming your home this Christmas.

A great tip for getting your kids outside in some fresh air is to go for a walk in a park or forest nearby and helping them cut branches and collecting pine cones for filling pots, placing on the mantle or for making garlands and wreaths.

A construction paper garland chain to wrap around the tree is easy and fun for all ages. All you need is different-coloured construction paper, scissors and glue or tape. Cut the paper into strips 1½” and about 4” long. Coil the first strip and close with glue or tape. Take another strip of a different colour and coil through the first part of the chain and glue or tape it closed. Keep repeating the process until you have the length of garland you want. You can also decorate it further by drawing or putting stickers on the paper strips.

Make your own gift wrap

Making your own wrapping paper is easy and economical. One of the simplest ways is to take regular kraft paper or plain tissue paper and decorate it with pictures, holiday wishes, stickers or glitter.

Creating custom labels and ribbons is a great way to make a gift extra special and personalized, and it’s easy with a label maker.

You can also get customized gift envelopes, which fit calendars and photo books. And to further remind your loved ones how much you care, there’s no limit to how many gifts now that you can personalize – such as photobooks, cards, calendars, puzzles, mugs, ornaments and even blankets.

These are just a few ideas for making Christmas crafts with your kids this holiday season. You’ll probably find that as soon as you get started, your children will come up with quite a few ideas of their own!