Holiday Craft Ideas for Kids

• Seasonal crafts can help keep your child engaged and off screens
• Crafting can help kids improve fine motor skills, independence and focus
• Holiday craft projects can add fun and meaning to any day of the year
• Use Citi Shop^℠ to find money-saving offers on the craft materials you need

If you’re a parent or caregiver, explore this guide to educational holiday craft ideas for kids and crafting tips, materials and instructions to simplify the process. Find out how to incorporate learning into each fun craft. You can also discover how Citi Shop helps eligible Citi^® cardmembers save more online when shopping for supplies at top retailers.

The benefits of crafting with kids

Kids love to create. Discovering a holiday craft tradition can help your little one build a sense of personal identity and family belonging. But beyond making meaningful memories, crafting can also benefit your child developmentally and socially.

• Using craft tools like crayons, stickers, glue sticks and scissors help children develop the fine motor skills necessary for writing, typing or even playing an instrument, as well as daily activities like getting dressed and eating
• Crafts can prompt logical and critical thinking skills as kids consider which tools to use, how to plan and follow steps and how to solve problems
• Language skills come into play when kids explain the meaning of shapes, colors and ideas behind a finished creation
• Crafting may help kids build confidence and independence, express complicated emotions or simply relax with an easy artistic outlet
• Crafting can also be an affordable, fun way to balance your child’s screen time

Season by season and holiday craft ideas

Pick a season and get started with easy, flexible crafts to complete at home.

Spring

• Tissue paper flowers

Glue tissue paper bunches to paper plates and sticks to play with colors and shapes. Develop your child’s geometry skills by comparing blossom widths and stem lengths.

• Egg carton bugs

Use paint or markers to decorate an upside-down egg carton to look like bugs. Help your child identify their favorite insects and discuss the role pollinators play in nature.

• Earth Day coffee filter globe

Introduce your child to Earth’s geography by using markers to draw continents on a coffee filter, then fleck the filter with water to blend the colors.

Summer

• DIY kites

Make a simplistic paper kite with string, a wooden dowel and layered tissue paper to explore wind flow, weight and motion while getting active outside.

• Seashell painting

Collect and clean beach shells, then paint them with decorative dots, stripes or aquatic designs as you talk about sea life.

• Popsicle stick boats

Lay out 4-5 popsicle sticks side by side and glue more sticks across the top to form a sturdy base, leaving a small gap in the middle for a popsicle stick sail. Talk about how objects float to introduce the concept of buoyancy. Encourage your child to make tweaks to help the boat float better. Once dry, test it out at the beach, lake or in the tub.

Fall

• Leaf rubbings

Cover a leaf with paper and rub the side of a crayon over it to help your child see the veins and shape. Try it out with the leaves of a few different tree species.

• Pumpkin painting

You can paint shapes, animals, faces or abstract designs onto small pumpkins with brushes and washable paint. Guided painting tasks can give your child practice following directions and reinforce their color recognition. 

• Thanksgiving turkeys

Help your child trace one of their hands and cut the shape out to create a paper turkey. You can decorate the tracing with feathers, washable paint, crayons or markers while discussing Thanksgiving traditions and animal features.

• Thankful trees

Show your child how to practice gratitude by cutting out paper leaves and writing down something they're grateful for on each one. You can then attach the leaves to a paper tree and hang it in a communal space.

Winter

• Snowflake cutouts

Fold paper triangles and snip small shapes along the edges with kid-friendly scissors to form symmetrical snowflakes. You can frame the activity with an educational talk about snowflake formation and natural patterns.

• Pinecone ornaments

As you collect pinecones, talk with your child about how animals use pinecones and why trees produce them. Later, you can line the pinecone edges with glue or paint and add glitter. Glue a loop of ribbon to the top to hang your ornament. 

• Gift tags

Cut out shapes from cardstock or recycled paper for holiday gift tags, then decorate them with handwritten notes and drawings. Personalized gift tags can help supplement lessons in thoughtfulness and handwriting.

• Homemade greeting cards

Fold a sheet of colored paper in half to create a simple, blank card that your child can decorate with stamps, drawings or stickers. Create a lesson on the importance of community by making greeting cards for family, friends, classmates and neighbors.   

• Heart cards

Fold paper in half and cut out heart shapes to create colorful Valentine’s Day cards. Your child can practice cutting, understand symmetry and learn how to express their feelings with art.  

General craft supplies for every season

Stocking up on basic craft materials can ensure you’re ready for an impromptu art class anytime. Here are a few supplies to consider:

Adhesive tools

• Glue sticks and washable liquid glue
• Tape (masking, double-sided, washi, etc.)

Decoration supplies

• Markers, dot markers
• Colored pencils
• Washable paints (tempera, watercolor)
• Brushes
• Googly eyes, pipe cleaners and pom poms
• Sequins, beads and buttons (for big kids only)
• Stickers
• Glitter
• Ribbons
• Stamps and ink pads

Surface materials and tools

• Construction paper, cardstock and cardboard pieces
• Paper plates
• Popsicle sticks
• Felt and foam sheets
• Scrap fabric and yarn
• Scissors (kid-friendly pinking shears or shape scissors)
• Hole punch and craft punches of different shapes
• Stapler

Storage and organization tools

• Metal or plastic shelving systems
• Ribbon spools and clips
• Stacking trays and caddies
• Labeled containers or bins

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Tips for crafting with kids

These tips can help you cut down on craft clutter and keep projects fun and sustainable.

Choose age-appropriate crafts

If you have trouble completing a craft as an adult, imagine how frustrating a project could be for a child. Here’s how to modify any project for your child’s level.

• For smaller children and toddlers, opt for simple instructions, non-toxic paints and lots of surface room to work
• For kids 3-5, make sure crafts use child-safe scissors and washable adhesives
• For kids under 10, avoid complex crafts that may be too overwhelming 

Prep supplies ahead of time

• Preparing a station for your child to work at can save time and energy
• Your child may also find crafting easier when they know exactly where to go and what they need
• Invite your child to set up the station with you to teach them planning skills
• Be sure you have all the supplies you need for a specific craft before getting started

Let kids lead and explore

• Your child may invent or modify steps in the crafting process, and those changes may help them complete the activity or even enjoy the project on a deeper level
• You can ask your child to guide or help you while crafting alongside them, giving them a sense of leadership and responsibility
• Ask your child questions about the project to get them talking and sharing

Keep cleanup manageable

• Create separate zones for steps that include glue, paint or other wet materials
• Create drying zones to place crafts while cleanup happens elsewhere
• Designate where trash and scraps go 
• Confine the project to one room or area of the home

Crafting can help you and your child grow with screen-free, creative activities that build skills and celebrate each season. If you want to make the crafting process even more meaningful, invite siblings, cousins or neighbors to join in - or set aside regular time for crafting and show-and-tells for the entire family.

Disclosure: This article is for general educational purposes. It is not intended to provide financial advice. It also is not intended to completely describe any Citi product or service. You should refer to the terms and conditions financial institutions provide for various products.