Winter break is almost here! While it’s always a busy time of year, there certainly are those down days you’re left scratching your head over how to best keep your kids entertained. Here are 6 kid-friendly holiday crafts that are sure to spice up the day when boredom kicks in. And the bonus, parents? You’ll likely already have most items on hand at home! However, craft projects like quilting may require the use of a digital fabric cutting machine. If these crafts are made well enough, some people have started their own small business and have sold them on before now, so you could consider doing that. A lot of people love supporting small businesses during the festive period, so it might be worth starting a small company. Not only would this keep the kids busy, but it could also give you some more money towards Christmas presents. Perhaps creating an e-commerce store on Magento could be a good idea. Business owners can then use some search engine optimization from Victorious (https://victoriousseo.com/verticals/magento-seo/) to help them get their name out there, bringing more people to their online store. This would help them to sell more products, giving them some more money for the Christmas period. Of course, some people might prefer to just make these crafts for fun, and that’s completely fine too! It’s up to you!

  1. Pop Up Christmas Tree Card from Red Ted Art

How cute is this simple and fun pop up card? Kids can make these for their friends and family this Christmas. This personal, handmade greeting is sure to be a hit!

Items needed:

  • A sheet of green or white paper
  • A little brown paper/ card
  • Scrap of yellow paper for the star
  • Snowflake confetti (optional)
  • Glue stick
  • A sheet of Cardstock (blue)

See step-by-step instruction here.

2. Paper snow globe from Mommy Apolis

This adorable paper snow globe is great for the little ones. And the bonus is you don’t have to worry about water spills!

Items needed:

  • Black and blue construction paper
  • white paint
  • ribbon for a scarf
  • glue
  • markers
  • Q-Tips
  • Toothpicks

Instructions:

  • Trace circle on blue paper and cut out.
  • Paint snowman and make snowflakes using q-tips. Let dry
  • Cut hats from black paper and glue on
  • Cut small ribbon to make the scarf
  • Draw on eyes, nose and mouths with marker
  • Cut out a base for the snow globe, glue to bottom, and let kids write their name

3. A Wee Christmas Tree from Parenting.com

Beautiful, isn’t it? Something the older kids can work on!

Wee Christmas Tree:

  • Cut five 18 x 24-inch triangles from cardboard
  • Score the center of each triangle to make it easier to bend
  • Fold each triangle in half and glue together
  • Use clothespins to keep the pieces together
  • Paint the tree white
  • Roll corrugated paper around a cardboard tube to make the tree base
  • Cut a star from felt
  • Add a wire to the bottom of the star to attach to the tree

String o’dots:

  • Cut two yards of string
  • Every few inches, place a sticker on the string and then press another sticker back to back
  • String around the tree

Felt skirt:

  • Trim the edges of a two by two-foot piece of felt to make a circle
  • Glue rickrack to outer edge of the circle
  • Decorate with felt circles
  • Place under mini-tree

4. DIY Snow Globe from Martha Stewart

These snow globes are gorgeous and easy to make! Plus, they don’t cost a fortune like the ones in store. These can be gifted to family and friends for the holidays and used on repeat for years to come.

Items needed:

  • Synthetic evergreen tips (can be found at Michaels or even the dollar store)
  • Plastic or ceramic figurines
  • Glass jar
  • Oil-based enamel paint (optional)
  • Sandpaper
  • Clear-drying epoxy
  • Glitter
  • Glycerin

Instructions:

  • Sand the inside of the lid until the surface is rough. With clear-drying epoxy, adhere the figurine to the inside of the lid, and let the epoxy dry
  • Fill the jar almost to the top with distilled water; add a pinch of glitter and a dash of glycerin (available at drugstores) to keep the glitter from falling too quickly. You might want to ensure that you are adding distilled water only instead of the tap water. But, make not to add glycerin too much, or the glitter will stick to the bottom of the jar when it’s flipped. Screw on the lid tightly, being careful not to dislodge the figurine. Turn the jar over and back again — and let it snow
  • Screw on the lid tightly, being careful not to dislodge the figurine. Turn the jar over and back again — and let it snow

5. Snowman Garland from Parenting.com

A string of snowmen! Not only is this simple to create, the neutral colours will go with any décor – I’m sure you’ll be asking your kids to “borrow” it for the living room! Make multiple strands and hang them (high to low) on the fireplace mantel or a console table.

Melt-Free Snowman:

  • Cut snowman shapes out of felt
  • Decorate each snowman with a felt top hat
  • Punch a hole on each side of the snowman
  • String with baker’s twine

6. Homemade Playdough from Family Education

Who doesn’t love playdough? Not only will your kids love the final product, they’ll have fun getting in on the action of making it from scratch!

Items needed:

  • 1 cup water
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1/2 cup salt
  • 1 tablespoon cream of tartar
  • Food coloring
  • Saucepan
  • 1 cup flour

Instructions:

  • Combine water, oil, salt, cream of tartar, and food coloring in a saucepan and heat until warm
  • Remove from heat and add flour
  • Stir, then knead until smooth. The cream of tartar makes this dough last 6 months or longer, so resist the temptation to omit this ingredient if you don’t have it on hand
  • Store this dough in an airtight container or a Ziploc freezer bag

What are your go-to crafts/ things to do when the kids begin getting restless? Comment below!