This holiday season, get creative with fun and festive Christmas crafts and art activities that you can easily do at home or in group settings! Whether you’re looking to entertain kids, bond with family, or add some handmade charm to your holiday decor, this blog post offers a variety of ideas for a variety of skill levels. From DIY ornament making to personalized holiday cards, take some time to make art this season.
This post also includes A TON of free video resources to help you along the way. Some of them are longer YouTube videos and others are short form videos that will break down the steps in 60 seconds or less.
Decorate Your Own Wrapping Paper
Decorate your own gift wrap with acrylic paint and foam brushes as stamps! I bought an $8 roll of red Kraft paper and had fun making organic polka dots. Have your kids draw on them, hand draw your own designs, or pick out cute stamps to make this a really easy holiday DIY project.
Is it easier or more cost effective? Nope, but ‘‘tis the season to be extra.
Homemade Ornaments
There is something special about homemade ornaments on a Christmas tree. I love the nostalgia each year of opening the boxes and going through a lifetime of ornaments.
DIY Cinnamon Ornaments
These homemade cinnamon ornaments have only three ingredients and are such a cozy and nostalgic craft that will smell good for years to come.
Mix:
1 cup of applesauce
1.5 cups of not your best cinnamon
2 tablespoons of glue (I didn’t measure…)
Mix together and roll out with a rolling pin. They can be fragile when too thin, but take longer to dry when thicker. Use any cookie cutter you like, but I prefer the gingerbread man because the color and texture are perfection. Bake at 200 degrees for about three hours until they harden. Then add ribbon and any decorative elements you would like!
Air Dry Clay Ornaments
These air dry clay ornaments are so easy to make! All you need is air dry clay, cookie cutters, a rolling pin and some decorative ribbon. Make to roll your slab evenly and be patient with dry time. You can also do this with kiln fired clay if you have access to a kiln. Paint them however you would like, I used a basic gold spray paint, and you can use a clear sealer to make them last longer.
Air Dry Clay Materials
I love Amaco’s air dry clay because it acts just like the kiln fired version, which I use almost daily! I have also heard great things about the DAS modeling clay, and it’s made in Italy so I know it will be a top notch product.
Buy it on Amazon:
***This post contains affiliate links to products I truly love and use in my classroom. If you use these links to buy something I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting this public school teacher’s side hustle!
Wire Letter Ornament
Personalize your ornaments using jewelry wire! I find it easiest to print out, or hand letter if that’s your specialty, the words you like and then trace over it with wire.
Wire Materials
Buy it on Amazon:
Cardboard Ornament
If you are on a budget, or need a quick activity for kids, cardboard ornaments are the way to go. I used Among Us (blast from the past) as inspiration, but you can pre-cut circles to decorate. Re-use all those Amazon boxes you have coming in! You can use acrylic paint, paint markers, or regular markers.
Watercolor & Gouache Card
I LOVE making homemade cards. I have made cards for so many different occasions, but there’s something extra special about holiday cards. There are so many aesthetics to choose from and I always reach for watercolor because it’s so easy to use and can be really loose and ethereal or vibrant and detailed. Here are my favorite concepts for cards:
Snowman Christmas Cards
Christmas Wreath Watercolor Cards
Gingerbread Man Christmas Card
You can also cut these out and use them as gift tags.
Christmas Tree Cards
There are so many ways to paint a Christmas tree! It is one of my favorite Christmas motifs.
Ornament Christmas Card
Ornaments are works of art all by themselves! Use them as inspiration for cards, or gift tags.
Materials
These are my favorite brands of paint to use. I am new to the Himi Jelly gouaches, but have been fun experimenting! Prang is super cheap but still vibrant, I have been using the Winsor Newton travel sets for twenty years and the Holbein is my splurge.
Buy them on Amazon:
- Himi Jelly Gouache Paint – Set of 18,
- Prang Watercolor Set
- Winsor & Newton Cotman Water Colour Sketchers’ Pocket Box 1
- Holbein Artist’s Watercolors Set of 12
Using the right paper is essential, so make sure you are using a watercolor or mixed media paper. Some watercolor paper has more tooth and will have a rougher texture. I like to use premade cards because they come with an envelope!
- Strathmore Watercolor Cards, 5×6.875 inches, 50 Pack, Envelopes Included
- Canson XL Series Watercolor Pad
Sculpey Christmas Trees
If you have sculpey or any modeling or air dry clay, try out these trees as a fun holiday craft! I painted mine, but I really like the simplicity of the white.
Buy it on Amazon
Make Holiday Inspired Art
As an art teacher, I think making art at home is one of the best ways to spend your time. Create a work of art inspired by the season.
