25 Christmas Crafts for Toddlers

Getting little ones into the holiday spirit is so much fun with simple, hands-on crafts they can actually do themselves. These Christmas activities are perfect for toddlers because they focus on process over perfection.

You’ll find projects that let them paint, glue, stick, and stamp to their heart’s content. Most use everyday materials you probably already have at home, and the best part is watching their faces light up when they see what they’ve made. These crafts keep tiny hands busy while building fine motor skills and creating keepsakes you’ll treasure for years.

1. Paper Plate Santa Faces

These cheerful Santas are made by painting a paper plate pink or peach for Santa’s face, then gluing on cotton balls for his fluffy beard and the trim of his red hat. Cut a triangle from red construction paper for the hat and add a cotton ball on top.

Your toddler can draw eyes with markers or stick on googly eyes, then add a red pom-pom or circle for the nose. The cotton ball beard is especially fun because kids love the texture and can pull apart cotton balls to make it as fluffy as they want.

2. Handprint Reindeer Art

This adorable keepsake starts with painting your toddler’s hand brown and stamping it on paper with fingers spread wide to create antlers. Once dry, flip the paper so the thumb becomes Rudolph’s face. Add googly eyes, a big red pom-pom or painted nose, and draw on a smile.

You can make a whole family of reindeer by doing multiple handprints in different colors. It’s a wonderful way to capture how small their hands are right now, and these make great gifts for grandparents.

3. Cotton Ball Snowmen

These puffy snowmen are built by gluing three cotton balls vertically on blue or black construction paper to make the snowman’s body. Let your toddler add stick arms drawn with marker or glued-on twigs from outside, then decorate with buttons, a paper hat, and a fabric scrap scarf.

Drawing coal eyes and a carrot nose with orange and black markers brings the face to life. The cotton balls give a nice three-dimensional texture that toddlers love to touch, and it’s great practice for learning how to use glue bottles.

4. Popsicle Stick Christmas Trees

Line up four or five green painted popsicle sticks side by side and glue them onto a piece of cardboard in a tree shape, with the longest at the bottom. Once the glue dries, your toddler can decorate their tree with pom-poms, sequins, stickers, or dabs of paint to look like ornaments.

Add a brown rectangle at the bottom for the trunk and a yellow star on top. The sticks create a nice rustic look, and kids enjoy arranging all the colorful decorations however they want.

5. Finger Paint Christmas Cards

Fold cardstock in half to make cards, then let your toddler go wild with red, green, white, and gold finger paints on the front. They can make handprints, dots for ornaments, swirls for garland, or just abstract holiday art.

Once dry, help them add simple details with markers like turning dots into ornaments with a line on top, or adding “Merry Christmas” inside. These cards are wonderfully personal for family members because they show your child’s actual fingerprints and creative spirit from this age.

6. Pasta Necklace Ornaments

String large pasta shapes like rigatoni, penne, or wagon wheels onto yarn or ribbon to create necklace ornaments that hang on the tree. Before stringing, your toddler can paint the pasta with washable paints or leave it natural for a rustic look. Tie the ends together and add a loop for hanging.

The pasta creates interesting shapes and textures, and the stringing motion is excellent for developing hand-eye coordination. You can also glue painted pasta pieces onto cardboard shapes to make other ornament designs.

7. Paper Chain Garlands

Cut red and green construction paper into strips about an inch wide and several inches long. Show your toddler how to loop one strip and glue or tape the ends together, then thread the next strip through and close it to make a chain. They can alternate colors or mix them up randomly.

Keep going until the chain is as long as you want for decorating a doorway, mantel, or tree. This classic craft teaches pattern-making and is satisfying because kids can see their creation growing longer and longer.

8. Footprint Christmas Trees

Paint the bottom of your toddler’s foot green and press it onto paper or canvas with the toes at the top to create a triangle tree shape. Once dry, let them decorate their tree footprint with dots of paint for ornaments, glued-on sequins, or small stickers.

Add a brown rectangle at the heel end for the trunk and a star at the toe end. This makes such a sweet keepsake because you capture their actual footprint size, and it’s much easier for toddlers than trying to paint their own feet.

9. Tissue Paper Stained Glass Ornaments

Cut simple shapes like stars, trees, or circles from clear contact paper and place them sticky-side-up on the table. Your toddler can press small torn pieces of colored tissue paper all over the sticky surface to create a colorful mosaic effect.

When it’s covered, place another piece of contact paper on top to seal it, then trim around the edges and punch a hole for ribbon. When these hang in the window, the light shines through beautifully and creates a stained glass effect that’s really magical.

10. Pinecone Christmas Trees with Pom-Poms

Collect pinecones from outside (or buy them at craft stores) and let your toddler glue small colorful pom-poms between the scales to look like ornaments on a tree. They can also add small beads, sequins, or dabs of paint. The pinecone’s natural shape already looks like a little tree, so it doesn’t need much.

You can glue it to a small wooden base or set it on a cotton ball “snow” base. These make cute table decorations and use natural materials that give them a woodsy, cozy feel.

11. Handprint Wreath Craft

Trace and cut out several handprints from green construction paper (you’ll need about 8-12), then arrange them in a circle on a paper plate with fingers pointing outward to create a wreath shape. Glue them down overlapping slightly.

Your toddler can decorate the wreath with red pom-poms for berries, add a bow made from ribbon, or stick on small jingle bells. The overlapping handprints create a layered, leafy effect that really does look like a holiday wreath, and you can write the date on the back.

12. Paper Bag Reindeer Puppets

Take a brown paper lunch bag and help your toddler glue two googly eyes on the bottom flap section. Add a big red pom-pom nose and draw a mouth. Cut antlers from brown construction paper or use pipe cleaners bent into antler shapes and glue them to the top back of the bag.

When your child puts their hand inside, the flap becomes the reindeer’s mouth that can open and close. These puppets are great for pretend play after crafting and can be used to act out Christmas stories or songs.

13. Cupcake Liner Christmas Trees

Flatten green cupcake liners and cut them in half to make semi-circles. Glue three or four halves onto paper in a triangle tree shape, with the largest at the bottom getting smaller toward the top. The ruffled edges of the cupcake liners give a nice layered, branch-like texture.

Your toddler can decorate with small stickers, dots of glue with glitter sprinkled on top, or marker dots for ornaments. Add a brown rectangle trunk and a star on top, and you have a cute textured tree.

14. Pom-Pom Snowman Craft

Glue three white pom-poms vertically on colored paper or cardstock, with the largest at the bottom to create a snowman’s body. Your toddler can add stick arms with markers or real small twigs, then use markers to draw a face with coal eyes and a carrot nose.

Cut a strip of felt or fabric for a scarf and a small rectangle for a hat. The pom-poms are easier for little hands to work with than cotton balls and create a really cute, dimensional snowman that stands out from the page.

15. Cardboard Tube Santa or Elf

Paint a toilet paper roll red for Santa or green for an elf, then let it dry. Add a face by gluing on googly eyes and drawing a nose and smile, or use a flesh-colored circle of paper for the face. Glue cotton balls around the bottom of the tube for Santa’s beard, or make elf ears from paper.

Cut a circle from construction paper for a hat, make a small cut to the center, overlap to form a cone, and glue on top of the tube. These stand up on their own and make cute decorations on a shelf or windowsill.

16. Sticky Contact Paper Christmas Tree Collage

Cut a large triangle from green construction paper and tape it to a window or table. Cover it completely with clear contact paper, sticky-side-out. Your toddler can press on small pieces of torn tissue paper, sequins, pompoms, buttons, ribbon scraps, or anything colorful and lightweight to decorate the tree.

When they’re done, cover with another piece of contact paper to seal everything in. This is wonderful for sensory exploration because kids love the sticky feeling and seeing their pieces stick right where they press them.

17. Salt Dough Ornaments with Cookie Cutters

Mix up a simple salt dough (1 cup salt, 2 cups flour, 1 cup water), roll it out, and let your toddler use Christmas cookie cutters to make shapes. Poke a hole at the top for hanging before baking. Once cooled, they can paint the ornaments with washable paints and add glitter while the paint is wet.

These ornaments dry hard and last for years. The dough has a nice texture that’s fun to work with, similar to playdough, and kids love making ornaments they can actually hang on the tree year after year.

18. Paper Plate Wreaths with Torn Green Paper

Cut the center out of a paper plate to make a ring, then let your toddler tear green construction paper into small pieces and glue them all around the ring. Tearing paper is great for developing fine motor skills and doesn’t require scissors.

Once the green pieces cover the plate ring, they can add decorations like red pom-poms for berries, a bow cut from red paper, or small bells glued on. The torn paper pieces create a nice leafy texture that gives the wreath dimension and looks really festive.

19. Thumbprint String Lights Painting

Draw a simple curved line with a marker across paper to represent a string of lights, or glue on a piece of black yarn. Show your toddler how to dip their thumb in different colored paints and press along the string to make the light bulbs. They can mix up colors randomly or make patterns.

Once the thumbprints dry, use a black marker to add little lines at the top of each print to look like the light bulb base. This is super easy and creates a really charming, personal piece of art that captures their tiny thumbprints.

20. Coffee Filter Snowflakes

Give your toddler round white coffee filters and let them color all over them with washable markers in blues, purples, and silver. Then lightly spray or dab the filter with water to make the colors bleed and blend together beautifully.

Once dry, fold the filter in half a few times and cut small snips along the edges (you’ll probably need to help with this part). Unfold to reveal a colorful snowflake. The wet marker technique creates a watercolor effect that’s really pretty, and each snowflake comes out completely unique.

21. Construction Paper Gingerbread Houses

Cut out a simple house shape from brown construction paper (a rectangle with a triangle roof). Your toddler can decorate it with white paint or glue to look like icing, then add cereal pieces, buttons, or pom-poms for candies and decorations. Draw or glue on a door and windows.

The house can be flat on paper or folded slightly to stand up. Kids love decorating these like they’re decorating real gingerbread houses but without the fragile cookies or the temptation to eat the decorations before the craft is done.

22. Jingle Bell Bracelets or Anklets

String large jingle bells onto pipe cleaners, then twist the ends together to make a bracelet or anklet that fits loosely around your toddler’s wrist or ankle. The pipe cleaners are easy to work with and safe, and the bells make a fun jingling sound whenever they move.

Your toddler can wear these while dancing to Christmas music or during holiday gatherings. Alternating different colored bells makes them more festive. The sound provides sensory feedback that toddlers really enjoy, and it’s a craft they can actually use and wear.

23. Toilet Paper Roll Angels

Paint a toilet paper roll white and let it dry, then add a face using markers or googly eyes and a smile. Cut a circle from paper doily or white paper for wings and glue them to the back of the tube. Make a halo by forming a small circle from gold or yellow pipe cleaner and attach it above the head.

You can add yarn for hair or leave the top plain. These angels stand up nicely on their own and make sweet decorations for a shelf or as a table setting decoration for Christmas dinner.

24. Sponge-Stamped Gift Wrap

Give your toddler plain white or brown butcher paper and cut sponges into simple shapes like stars, trees, circles, or squares. Pour red and green paint onto paper plates and show them how to dip the sponge and stamp all over the paper to create custom wrapping paper.

They can overlap stamps, mix colors, or make patterns. This wrapping paper is special because they made it themselves, and relatives will love receiving gifts wrapped in your toddler’s artwork. It’s also a great way to work on color recognition and patterns.

25. Glitter Glue Ornament Decorating

Buy clear plastic or plain wooden ornaments from craft stores and let your toddler decorate them with glitter glue in holiday colors. The glitter glue comes in squeeze bottles that are easy for small hands to control, and they can make dots, squiggles, stripes, or just squeeze it randomly all over.

Let the ornaments dry completely before hanging them on the tree. The glitter catches the Christmas lights beautifully, and these ornaments are shatterproof so they’re safe on lower branches where toddlers can see their creations up close.