Homemade Christmas Crafts for Kids

Big thanks to our friends over at Mavens with some crafty ideas for a British style Christmas!

Christmas Crafts for Kids

With so much to buy and prepare for Christmas, finding a happy balance between saving money and spending quality time with friends and family can be a lot easier said than done. But that’s where crafting comes in. Creating your own Christmas decorations, stockings, canapés, and crackers is not only a fun way to keep the kids happy and entertained, but also allows you to tick off that mounting to-do list at the same time.

There’s a wealth of online activities for kids to inspire you this festive season, from great Christmas markets to magic Santa’s grottos, so hunting down something fun to do with your children isn’t tricky. Just to get you started, we’ve tracked down five fab festive and crafty activities for kids to help you on your way to a happy, homemade Christmas:

1. Make your own… Christmas stockings 

Spending money on something to hold all your Christmas presents can seem a little silly, especially when it’s so easy to make one at home. From pillowcases to over-the-knee socks, there’s no rule on what a stocking’s shape or size should be – so there’s no limit on how creative you can be! The secret to a great stocking is in the decoration. Red, green, and gold are the most festive colours, and these all can be achieved through paint, picture collages, stitch work, or fabric dye. Paint, glue, or stitch your child’s name onto the stocking for a personal touch, and then go-all out with the sequins. They’ll be so excited to dive in and discover what’s inside!

2.                       Make your own… Christmas cards and gift labels

Buying Christmas cards for all your friends and family is not only expensive, but also bad for the environment. So why not make your own instead? You only need some coloured card, a glue stick, and some felt-tip pens to get started. Glitter, ribbons, stickers, and sequins are ideal for when you need to throw in a festive sparkle. Old magazines, newspapers, and last year’s Christmas cards are great for cutting out Christmassy pictures, and these can also be used to make wonderful personalised gift labels. Simply cut a piece of card into a rectangular shape and glue a Christmas image on one side. Or glue the image onto the card and cut around it to create something really unique. Then all you need to do is pierce a hole in one end, loop through some ribbon, and voila: one beautiful homemade gift label.  

3.                       Make your own… Christmas crown

Creating and decorating hats is a fantastic activity for kids, as it is extremely easy – and they’ll just love being King or Queen for the day in their Christmas crowns. First cut out long rectangular strips of coloured or metallic card (gold or silver is best). Then cut a zig-zag pattern down one edge, so that you are creating a series of mini spikes – just like you’d expect on the top of a crown. These crowns can then be given to the children to decorate however they like, before the two ends are taped together to fit snuggly around their head.

4.                       Make your own… Christmas crackers

Every dinner table needs dressing up for Christmas, so why not make yours extra-special with personalised crackers? Simply fill an old toilet roll with a small gift (nail varnish, jewellery, gardening seeds, lottery tickets, luxury chocolates etc.), a cheesy joke, and your own handmade Christmas crown. Snappers can be bought online or from craft shops, and then threaded through the cracker before you wrap it with tissue paper. Finally, tie at both ends with a piece of string or ribbon. Writing the recipient’s name on the outside is another good idea; it not only ensures you remember who should get which cracker, but also creates handy place cards for the table too!

5.                       Make your own… Christmas snacks

Christmas and feasting go hand in hand, but all that food and entertaining can be exhausting and expensive. Creating your own Christmas party food is not only a great way to save money, but it will also help your kids develop an interest in cooking and encourage them to learn basic skills in the kitchen. From feta and cucumber bites to mini chocolate brownies, there’s no end to the number of quick online recipes around. One of these failsafe party foods is Christmas cocktail sausages – simply coat the sausages in sticky honey and sesame seeds, then bake in a warm oven for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cheap, easy and so, so delicious: Christmas is served!