Christmas Crafts for Toddlers

'Tis the season - for Toddler Crafts! Christmas was always my favorite time of year to do crafts with my kids. So I'm looking forward to doing some crafts with almost-3-year-old grandson Brayden. There are so many ideas on the Internet -- and so many ways to display his "art work" -- hanging it on the Christmas tree, garlands on the mantle, hanging on the front door, or even outside in the trees for the birds. I've been looking around the 'net for good Toddler activities, and found several I plan on trying with Brayden. My favorite, hanging Christmas ornaments for Birds, is from "Kids Craft Weekly" -- a free newsletter I get in email every week. You can subscribe here. You can also purchase a copy of her ebook Christmas Crafts for $5.00 (PayPal). If her newsletter is any indication of what's in this Christmas Craft book, I'd say it's a good buy! OR you can sign up for a Giveaway of 10 copies of this book at The Crafty Crow. Christmas Ornament for the Birds General directions (it's copyrighted, so you'll have to subscribe to the newsletter to get more specific directions or photos!) From slightly thawed frozen pie crust dough (rolled out flat), use Christmas cookie cutters to cut out shapes. Poke a hole in the top for adding ribbon later. Brush cut-outs with beaten egg yolk, and then press bird seeds and nuts onto the shape. Bake at 375 for about 10 minutes or until lightly brown. Cool completely, add ribbon, and hang outside to decorate the trees for the birds! I'm thinking we could also do cookie dough cut-out Christmas trees with M&Ms for decorations and a ribbon to hang on our tree. Easy Gift for Friends and Family I also want to help Brayden make Christmas gifts for family and friends. He needs to know the joy of giving before the "gimme gimmies" set in in a few years. Read a good article titled "Helping Toddlers Learn about Sharing at Christmas time" here. His gift to others will be a desk calender made from his art work. I saw this idea on a crafty mother's blog, but I simply can't find it again to give credit where credit is due. But here's what I'm planning for Brayden's gift to others. We're combining his fingerpainting artwork, an acrylic frame, a calender and sticky notes to make the desk calender. We're using smaller two-photo acrylic frames (that stand up and bend in the middle) for the base, putting Brayden's art work inside the frame, then attaching sticky mini-calenders on one side, and sticky notes on the other. Brayden's fingerpainting is done and dry, and I'll cut out and put the "art work" in the frames, then have Brayden help me stick on the calender and notes. An option would be to put both the calendar and the sticky-notes on one side, and Brayden's photo on the other... we'll see! This is a very low-cost Christmas present! As you can see by the sticker, I found the frames for .59 cents at a dollar store, the mini-calendars were $2.00 for 10 and the sticky-notes have come from my desk! Christmas Card I'm going to keep this one simple. Brayden is not yet old enough to cut with scissors with any accuracy, however, he can brandish a glue stick with the best of 'em! I will cut out white circles of different sizes from construction paper, as well as snowman hats and carrot noses. I purchased a package of small googley eyes. Hopefully some time before Christmas Brayden and I can get outside and make our first snowman so he knows what a snowman is! Then we will make simple construction paper Christmas cards, letting him glue on the pre-cut shapes and eyes to make a snow man for the cover. As I'm writing this I'm thinking I might introduce him to the fine art of using a paper punch, and have him punch out circles from different colored construction paper, and I'll cut out a Christmas tree. He can glue on the tiny circles to decorate the tree on the front of the card! Sewing Activity I've mentioned before that Brayden and I sew on my sewing machine frequently. He's very good at it (he's a pro! He's been on my lap at the sewing machine since he was 6 months old!) and is excellent at keeping his hand away from the needle at all times. I thought I would cut out some mitten shapes from fabric or muslin scraps, and Brayden could help me sew them together, leaving a small gap which we can stuff with -- jingle bells, Christmas-y spices or catnip (for a gift for Joey the Killer Cat). We could add a ribbon to hang, and possibly use the glue stick again to put some glitter on the front (not for the catnip one, obviously). Holiday Sewing Cards - from FamilyPlayandLearn.com Cut the fronts off greeting cards. Punch holes around the edges of the cards and tie a shoestring to one of the holes. Let toddlers use the cards to learn to 'sew' Reindeer Paper bag Puppet - from FamilyPlayandLearn.com You'll need a brown paper lunch bag, construction paper, glue, red pom poms, felt markers, and googly eyes. Leave the bag closed. Put your hand inside to make a puppet. Now, put your puppet on a table and take your brown construction paper. Trace your hand and cut out the shape to make antlers. Glue the antlers to the top of the puppet. Glue a red pom pom for a nose and googly eyes onto your puppet. With markers, draw a mouth and any other reindeer stuff you want on your puppet! Glitter Bells - from PreschoolEducation.com Need: Cereal Box,Glue, Glitter, Ribbon or Yarn, Misc. Craft Items - such as fabric scraps, beads, etc. Directions: Cut bell shapes out of light weight cardboard. Put the glitter in a plastic sandwich bag. Paint the bell shape with glue, put it in the bag with the glitter and shake until it is coated. Make as many as you want. Let the bells dry. Poke a hole in the top and tie bells together, letting each one hang down about 5-6 inches. You can also decorate with misc. craft items. Glittery Pinecones - from AssociatedContent.com These enchanting ornaments will add an outdoorsy touch to your Christmas decor. And your toddler will be so proud to have his own ornaments hanging from the Christmas tree. Materials: Pinecones of any size Glue Red, green, silver, and gold glitter Coordinating ribbon or string Directions: Either collect pinecones outside or purchase them at a craft store. Let your toddler> drizzle pinecone with glue; then sprinkle with or roll in glitter. Tie a ribbon or string to top of pinecone. Jingle Jingle Jingle! A favorite of my kids when they were ages 6 months to about 4 years -- just tie a few jingle bells on a string, attach the string to each of your child's shoelaces. And watch them dance and jump and stomp and jingle! Other Christmas craft ideas Snowman ornament Brown paper bag Gingerbread men Printables Find the Difference in the two pictures of Christmas items Simple Christmas Tree to Color Simple Snowman to Color Basic Christmas Shapes - Angels, Bells, Snowflakes, Christmas Tree and more. Bookmark this one for your own craft ideas!