The kids are out of school for the holidays, which means that we will hear that dreaded phrase more often: “I’m bored.” Here are some simple Christmas crafts that you can do at home with the kids to have fun this holiday season. 

DIY Ornaments

Homemade Christmas ornaments are a delight and easy to make. All you need are clear plastic ornaments and items to fill them with. You can use glitter and confetti to make colorful ornaments. White pom poms look like snowballs and make for a fun filler as well. You can leave the outside of the ornament clear, or paint it with reindeer, snowmen, and other fun Christmas designs. 

Tissue Paper Wreath

While we love gift bags for their simplicity in gift-giving, we’re often left with extra tissue. Why not use that tissue to decorate? Cut green wrapping tissue into squares, and gather them from the middle to create poofs you can put together on a wire or wicker ring. Use red for flowers and add in other colors as well to create interesting paper wreath designs.

Create a Paper Plate Christmas Tree

With the holidays, we usually have leftover paper plates. Instead of letting them sit in your cabinet, have the kids make a Christmas tree forest. Simply cut once from the edge to the center of the plate so that you can turn it into a cone. Then use crayon, marker, or paint to color the three. You can use draw or paint on decorations or create paper cutouts to glue onto the tree. 

Mason Jar Lid Ornaments

Use Mason jar outer lids, rope, and ribbon to create simple ornaments for your tree or to decorate around your home. Simply wrap the rope over and through the jar lid until you have a full, round wreath. Then adorn it with ribbon and other decorations to make it look festive. Hemp rope makes for a rustic wreath that is perfect for a country-style Christmas.

Snow Scene

We all dream of a white Christmas, but we don’t all live someplace where it snows regularly (or even at all). You can repurpose a shoebox to create a lovely snowy scene to display in your home. Place the box on its side, take cotton balls and stretch them out to make a nice, fluffy snowy ground. You can draw a house or forest on the inside of the shoebox or create standup cutouts from the lid to make houses and trees, painting or coloring them.

Handprint Christmas Trees

Get the whole family together for this project. Trace your hands on green construction paper, then carefully cut out the hands. You want as many as you can make. Once you have the hands, mix them up and use them to create Christmas trees, using the larger hands at the base and smaller hands towards the top. You can make one tree or several if you want a forest. Decorate them with leftover garland, cutout ornaments, or stretched cotton balls to create snowy edges.