If the holidays are inspiring you to do Christmas-themed crafts with your kids, you're not alone. There's something about seeing the lights in people's yards and putting up the tree that makes us want to whip out our hot glue guns and glitter. But our grand plans usually get destroyed by the fact that the holiday season is super busy and our houses are already out of control enough. Who has time for more mess?
Fortunately, doing fun Santa-shaped crafts and making ornaments with your kids doesn't automatically have to mean that your house looks like a glitter-filled tornado hit it. It's totally possible to have a fun, crafty day together as a family without spending twice as long cleaning up as you did actually making something out of craft sticks.
Whether you're looking for something fun to do with your kids or looking for something they can do without you that will keep them busy without destroying your entire house, look no further. Here are 20 mess-free Christmas crafts that kids of all ages will have a blast taking part in — and we promise that a cleaning crew will not be required afterward.
Paper Plate Elves
Paper plates are like gold when it comes to mess-free crafts, and this is just one example of how they can be used during the holiday season. Add some construction paper, googly eyes, markers, cotton balls, and a glue stick (or maybe even some paint, if you're feeling adventurous) to create with this adorable elf.
Colorful Trees
These Christmas trees couldn't possibly be simpler: Cut strips of paper, glue on with a glue stick, top with a star sticker, and boom, they're done. To make this craft even simpler and cleaner, this could also be achieved with different rolls of colorful washi tape.
Reindeer Puppets
These paper bag reindeer puppets couldn't possibly be cuter, and they're preschooler approved. You can find a printable template for this cheerful friend of Santa's, and if your little ones are too small to use scissors by themselves, it would be easy enough to print and cut the pieces out ahead of time.
Christmas Punch Tree
The genius part of this craft is that it can keep little hands busy for a long time! The tree is created by punching out shapes with a fancy hole punch and then gluing them to a piece of paper in a triangle.
"We added a triangle of glue to the card. I made a template for this to enable Miss 3 to do it by herself. She then stuck all the paper shapes on to make her tree," wrote the mom who shared this craft on Instagram. "We used a star punch to make a star for the top and finally added a pot for the tree."
Snowman Advent Calendar
Want to give your kids a fun craft to work on and keep them from asking how many days are left until Christmas at the same time? Making a paper chain is super simple, and it allows them to practice writing out their numbers. Honestly, this one is a win/win.
Craft Stick Christmas Trees
The sky's the limit with this one. Depending on how willing you are to let things get messy, you can involve paint and glitter — or you can keep it simple with markers, a little glue, stickers, and maybe some pom poms. Either way, these will make cute ornaments.
Paper Cup Christmas Tree
This isn't just a cute paper cup — this is a tree! It's all pretty simple to assemble too. By using green paper cups, you can avoid having to use any paint, and using glue dots to attach the decorations eliminates any mess that would have been created by liquid glue.
Paper Plate Christmas Trees
Here's another cute way to craft a Christmas tree. The circular shape of a paper plate means that it can make a perfect cone. Add a little bit of glue plus markers, paint, stickers, and pom poms to do the rest, depending on how fancy your kiddos want to make it.
Christmas Door Ornaments
These ornaments are so cute they're totally worthy of being given out as gifts to friends and family by older kids who are ready for this kind of craft. The door is easily made by cutting and gluing craft sticks, and the tiny wreaths can be found at craft stores.
The Toddler Tree
This can be considered a toddler sensory activity and a Christmas craft, all at the same time. Your job is to cut out the shape of a Christmas tree and draw lines across it. Their job is to add stickers on the lines to decorate the tree. This craft leaves virtually no mess behind.
Cardboard Tube Houses
If gingerbread houses aren't your thing, try cardboard tube houses instead! The Instagram user who suggested this craft said that anything from a wrapping paper roll cut down to an empty can of Pringles works for this. Just decorate the roll, add a roof, and create an entire holiday-themed village.
Reindeer Candy Canes
Why have just regular, boring candy canes around the house when you could have reindeer candy canes instead? It's simple to dress up a candy cane with googly eyes and pipe cleaner antlers, and they're way cuter hanging on the Christmas tree this way.
Toilet Paper Roll Christmas Creatures
Decorating toilet paper rolls like different holiday-themed characters is a great lesson in recycling, and it just goes to show that your imagination is the only limit. Using supplies you have around the house, kids can turn them into Santa, a snowman, a reindeer, Buddy the Elf … the possibilities are nearly endless.
Cardboard Luminaries
Here's another super creative use for toilet paper or paper towel rolls. By poking holes in the rolls very carefully with a pencil — and with supervision, if your kiddos are young — you can create a beautiful luminary. Light it with a battery-powered candle inside.
Pine Cone Reindeer
This one's a two-parter. First, kids can go outside and hunt down their perfect pine cone before heading back inside to turn it into a reindeer. Make the magic happen with some craft foam, googly eyes, and red pom poms, along with some hot glue (though an adult or older sibling should help with that part if little ones are involved).
Pom Pom Ornaments
These ornaments are super simple for the littlest crafters to join in. Hand them a clear ball ornament and a bunch of red and green pom poms, and let them get to work stuffing the ornament until it's full. The end result will be so cute. Don't forget to let them be the one to hang it on the tree!
Origami Christmas Tree
If your kids are old enough to learn how to fold paper, this Christmas tree origami is pretty neat. Holiday-themed origami paper is easy to find online, and making plenty of these would be a cool decoration for the table for dinner on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.
Beaded Candy Canes
If your kids can put a pony bead on a pipe cleaner, they can definitely make this craft. It's simple enough — just string the beads on and bend. These can create quick and easy ornaments, and there's no mess behind except the supplies you didn't end up using.
Santa Binoculars
Will we ever run out of adorable uses for toilet paper rolls? Here, they're turned into super cute Santa-themed binoculars, complete with a little belt that goes around both sides. All it takes is some construction paper, hot glue, and string to make it happen.
Cotton Ball Snowman
Any moms of Frosty-obsessed kids out there? If so, this snowman craft might be a hit. Kids can decorate this snowman with cotton balls, sticks from the backyard, and construction paper, and it's so simple even the youngest members of your family can get involved.
