The holidays have always been a great time for family traditions such as decorating the tree and posing for the family Christmas card. Why not add Christmas crafts to the list, if you haven’t already done so? Christmas crafts for kids are definitely something the whole family can enjoy — and can be a handy tool for teaching children that not everything has to be store-bought. In this post, we give you three Christmas craft suggestions which can make the holidays more special for your family.

Christmas crafts for kids

Eco-friendly wrapping paper

Have you ever felt that it was rather wasteful to spend a lot of money on expensive wrapping paper, only for it to end up torn on the floor after the gift-giving is done? While it may be more practical and time-saving to just give gifts in the same shopping bags that they came in, it doesn’t really contribute to the holiday spirit. A good way to save some money (and trees) is by making eco-friendly wrapping paper with your kids. Just buy a ream of butcher paper or Manila paper, some colorful non-toxic finger paint in holiday-themed colors and you are all set! Lay out the sheets of paper on the kitchen floor and tell your kids to go crazy making hand-prints and footprints. The younger your kids are, the cuter it is—grandparents have been known to melt at the sight of these DIY-wrappings and children Christmas crafts.

Christmas gift tags

Another way to recycle is by using last year’s holiday cards for making this year’s gift tags. Just cut out holiday shapes from the front of old Christmas cards (stars, pine trees, candy canes, etc.), stick into card stock that has been cut into the right size, and embellish with glitter pens. Punch a hole into the top, string a loop of decorative string through, and knot. Voila!

For more creative gift tags, feel free to use other crafting supplies like stickers, colored glue, glitter, charms, felt, fabric scraps, and pipe cleaners.

Window glass stencils

If you would rather not turn your house into a ‘glitterland’ during the holidays, you can still add special touches by using window glass stencils and a can of white spray paint. Just buy some holiday stencils or snowflakes or cut out some of your own using acetate sheets. All you need to do is use some double-sided magic tape to temporarily stick the stencils on the glass windows and aim the spray paint. Concentrate the white paint on the outer edges of windows to simulate frost. If you make a mistake, just use a scraper to gently peel off the paint from the glass. This is perfect for older kids who tend to think themselves too cool for tinsel and glitter.

See other kids projects here.

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If you’ll notice, we have deliberately chosen children Christmas crafts projects which can be put into good use for the holidays. We do feel that construction paper Santa hats and reindeer paper bags just tend to gather too much dust. This way, your kids get to have fun and you save some money buying Christmas supplies; a win-win situation for everyone.

Mike is a nationally recognized parenting expert, speaker and author of various articles on parenting advice. He also writes on freelance basis for Children Christmas Crafts.