For these handmade decoupaged fabric Christmas ornaments, you will need:

• 3″ Styrofoam balls
• decoupage medium/glue
• fabric scraps
• paint brush
• ribbon
• skewer
• embellishments

Basic craft supplies for homemade Christmas ornaments.

To start, push a skewer through the Styrofoam ball.  This gives you a way to hold it without decoupaging yourself to within an inch of your life.  You can also stick the bottom of the skewer into a foam wreath so your Christmas ornaments can dry and to hold them still when you decorate them.

This is where things get a little sticky.

Next, brush decoupage medium onto the foam ball.  Place fabric scraps onto the ball, brushing more medium over them.  Continue to do this, overlapping fabric wherever you need to, until the entire ball is covered.  Set it aside to dry for a couple of hours.

The Christmas ornament on the left is dry, and the one on the right is wet.

Once the ornament is dry, you can add a ribbon for a hanger.

I removed the skewer and then used it to push a very thin red ribbon through.  I then tied some small jingle bells to the end to keep it from pulling back out.

After that, you can embellish as you wish.

My preschooler directed me as I hot glued buttons and pom-poms all over her Christmas ornament.

A simple bow was enough for my handmade Christmas ornament.

What I Learned the Hard Way: I used fabric scraps that were left over from the scrap fabric Christmas wreath we made, thinking it would be great to have these ornaments match the wreath.  That worked out well, but I discovered that 2″ square pieces of fabric were too big.  I ended up cutting the squares into quarters so the cloth would lay better on the round ball.

I silently said to myself, “Seriously? Nesting paper dolls? I’m drawing nested paper dolls?!”.

I thought I would want to draw pretty farm scenes, or cute illustrations trying to be a Helen Dardik wannabe. Nope, I drew out paper dolls, put my markers away, and haven’t felt like drawing since. I don’t think I’ll ever have myself figured out.

So today I broke out my ancient copy of Adobe Illustrator and put these Santa nesting dolls together. I thought they were cute in the drawing, but I have to say I think they are pretty dang adorable once you put them together!

Christmas Paper Craft Santas

How to Make These Christmas Paper Craft Santas

These couldn’t be easier to make – print out one of each of the following 4 nesting dolls, then cut out each of them.

Santa Nesting Doll - X Large	Santa Nesting Doll - Large
Santa Nesting Doll - Medium	Santa Nesting Doll - Small

Nesting Santa Doll Tower

Then I’m going to recommend a step that you will probably be inclined to skip. Trust me on this, don’t skip the following step – it makes it SO MUCH EASIER to assemble them. So what is this mystery step?

Score your folds

You don’t need a fancy bone folder, I just used a pen with no ink and a small ruler (though I’ve decided I’m sticking this bone folder into my own Christmas stocking this year!). When you score these folds, your fold lines are effortlessly crisp and exact. I never thought the extra step was worth it, until I tried it. Now I never fold paper crafts without scoring first! And actually, it makes the folding easier and faster, so it doesn’t really seem like an ‘extra step’ at all.

Next, make all of your folds before you add any glue. And using a glue stick is the best route for this project – instant stickiness with no mess. Then when you go back to add glue to the white glue tabs, the whole nesting doll almost naturally assembles itself.

Do this to all of the dolls and get playing with them!

More Printable Christmas Crafts

You might also want to check out these printable Christmas pinwheels or these Christmas mandala coloring pages (print them on Shrinky Dink ink jet plastic!).

Kids can make this adorable candy-cane reindeer craft.

These little candy cane reindeer are something I remember from my childhood, and it was so much fun introducing them to Dot. Every day since we first made them, she has asked if we can make more. We even invited friends over to join us on one round. While she’s really enjoyed putting them together, I think some of Dot’s enthusiasm has to do with getting to eat the candy canes!

Related Pages: Paper Plate Penguins, Christmas Finger Puppets, Christmas Handprint Crafts

For each reindeer, you will need:

• 1 candy cane
• 1 brown pipe cleaner
• 2 googley eyes
• 1 pom-pom
• narrow ribbon (optional)
• glue

All it takes are some basic craft supplies and a couple of candy canes.

Start by cutting the pipe cleaner in half and then cutting one of those pieces in half again.  Shape the large piece into a “V” and wrap the smaller pieces around to make the antlers.

Use pipe cleaners to create the antlers for your candy cane reindeer.

Place a dab of glue in the bottom of the "V" and twist the antlers around the top of the crook of the candy cane.

Glue on two googly eyes and one pom-pom nose.

The size of eyes gives the reindeer different expressions. We used red pom-poms for a Rudolph-looking reindeer, but other colors work, too. We’re going to try some with little jingle bell noses next!

Tie the ribbon around your reindeer’s neck, if you so desire.  Ours were so cute without them that we decided to skip this step.

Because my daughter is loving these so much, we have them hanging everywhere, including on a pine garland on our banister, and they look great!

What I Learned the Hard Way: I wanted this to be a toddler-friendly craft, so we used white glue; but we have had a little trouble keeping the noses attached.  I plan to go back while my little one is sleeping and reinforce them with hot glue.

Hot Cocoa Gift Jars

My not-quite-three-year-old and I made two of these hot cocoa jar gifts in about ten minutes this morning, which worked out perfectly, since a friend unexpectedly stopped by, and we had a ready-to-go, homemade Christmas present to send home with her!

Related Pages: Christmas Rice Krispie Treats, Christmas Sugar Cookies, Printable Christmas Gift Tags

You’ll want to pick up a few extra things to make this jar gift:

• canning jars (I got used ones from a thrift store, but you can find new ones at the grocery market)
• hot cocoa mix (you can make it from scratch, but I took the easy way out!)
• mint candies
• mini marshmallows
• wax paper
• ribbon
• embellishments
• hot glue

Find everything you need for this homemade gift right at the grocery store!

Start by cutting two wax paper circles that are the same size as the interior of the jar.  They don’t have to be perfect.  They’re going to help keep your ingredients separate in their layers.

Fill the bottom one-third to one-half of the jar with your cocoa mix and place one of the wax paper circles on top.  Layer the mint candies next, followed by another wax paper circle.

Mints are a great addition to hot cocoa, and they look gorgeous in this display.

The top layer is mini marshmallows to float in the hot cooca.

Fun, colorful, and easy homemade gift in about five minutes!

Finally, decorate the jar with ribbons and other embellishments.  I had some silk poinsettias around, so I hot-glued them to the top for a festive look.

Jar gifts are pretty and you know they'll actually get used.

What I Learned the Hard Way: Hm.  This kids’ craft really was as easy as it looks.  I guess the biggest lesson learned is that my husband is in trouble for teaching the little one that marshmallows are “snowman poop.”  I got to hear that term over and over again this morning!

Remember, this is Day 12 of Twleve Days of Gifts Kids Can Make! 12 down and NO more to go!

Happy Holidays, everyone! xo

Scrap Fabric Wreath Craft

This scrap fabric Christmas wreath has a lot going for it. For one, it was really, really easy to make. For another, it is really, really hard to mess up. The end product actually came out looking a lot more sophisticated than I expected from a simple kid’s craft.

Related Pages: Yarn Wreath, Printable Christmas Decorations, Rag Wreaths

To make this scrap wreath, you need:

• Styrofoam wreath (the one we used was 10″)
• a few scrap fabrics cut into 2″ squares
• glue
• a pencil

The best wreaths are from fabric scraps within one color scheme.

I thought I was being so clever by choosing some fun kid-friendly prints (snowmen, candy canes, presents), but in the final version, you can’t see any of  the pictures anyway.  I discovered it’s really all about the color scheme.

Since we used scraps, I don't have an accurate accounting of the amount needed, but this much was more than enough.

One at a time, wrap a square around the end of a pencil, dip it in glue, and stick it into the Styrofoam form.

Get the fabric squares fairly close together.

You want to get them fairly close together for a good effect, but it’s not necessary to measure them out or anything. You don’t really even need to be that concerned about which fabrics go where, as they all blend together to create the look. We chose to do the front, outside, and inside of our Christmas wreath, leaving the back plain. In the future, I would consider covering the back with felt for a more finished look.

To hang, I simply wrapped a ribbon around the wreath and pinned it in place on the back.

What I Learned the Hard Way: While this craft is easy, it’s also time consuming. It might be a good project for a couple of kids to work on together or to do during a movie or in a couple of sittings.

Printable Merry Christmas Banner

This is my last *sniff* Christmas in July post this year! I won’t miss it too much – I’ve taken a break from Classroom Jr. for the summer. And now that August is right around the corner, I’m going to be crazy busy putting new back to school content up!

Related Pages: Coordinating Christmas Gift Tags, Printable Vintage Christmas Cards, Easy Christmas Finger Puppet Crafts

Printable Christmas Cupcake Decorations		Printable Christmas Cupcake Wrappers
Merry Christmas Paper Banner Page 1	Merry Christmas Paper Banner Page 2	Merry Christmas Paper Banner Page 3
Merry Christmas Paper Banner Page 4		Merry Christmas Paper Banner Page 5

Check out all of our Christmas Kids Activities from the Woo! Jr. Network!

Reindeer Paper Chains

I really love printable crafts! I’m a little late on my Christmas in July series, but here’s the next one up – printable Christmas paper chain templates! There’s a snowman, reindeer, angel and Christmas tree, along with easy directions on how to cut and fold the paper to make these paper chains. Tape several of them together to make cute paper garlands and decorate with glitter or paint!

Related Pages: Printable Santa Dolls, Printable Christmas Tags, Printable Christmas Bingo Game

Christmas Paper Chain Template

Be sure to check out all of the Woo! Jr. Network Christmas kids activities!

Related Posts: Printable Christmas Paper Toys, Printable Christmas Postcards, Christmas Pinecone Crafts

Printable Christmas Tags - Retro Characters

Printable Christmas Tags - Cute Characters

For more Christmas fun to print, check out our Christmas worksheets on Classroom Jr.!

Easy Christmas Kids Crafts - Finger Puppets

I’m kicking off my Christmas in July series this Friday with my infamous finger puppets! I actually made these last December, but got so busy during the Christmas season that I didn’t have time to post them. I admit I really don’t like seeing Christmas stuff in stores in the summer, but I actually saw a Christmas aisle in my local Hobby Lobby at the beginning of JUNE - so technically I’m kind of late, right?!

What’s even stranger is that I’m headed out to the pool when I’m done putting up this post – if you really think hard about Christmas in July, it kind of fries your brain!

Related Pages: Advent Calendar Crafts, Printable Santa Craft, Snowflake Crafts

Christmas Finger Puppets Craft Materials List

I’ve placed a photograph next to each finger puppet with the exact materials needed for each Christmas critter. All of them require a very easy to find set of stuff:

Pipe Cleaners (Rudolf also needs the special varied width pipe cleaners for his legs – see photo below)

Pom Poms

Googly Eyes

Glue (Hot glue gun works best, but I’ve since discovered that even regular glue will suffice, it just takes longer to dry)

Wire Cutters (So you don’t ruin your scissors cutting the pipe cleaners)

The snowman finger puppet also needs dimensional fabric paint.

How to Make These Christmas Finger Puppet Crafts

Please refer to the original Easter finger puppets post for general assembly instructions.

It explains the general instructions on how to wind the pipe cleaners around your finger and how to attach the pom poms accurately.

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer Finger Puppet

Reindeer Finger Puppet

You will actually need six of those 1.5 inch pieces of gold pipe cleaners!

Wind the finger puppet base.

Twist two sections of gold pipe cleaner around one piece to make each antler. Glue them into the top of the brown pom pom head.

Glue the red mini pom pom and googly eyes onto the face. Gluing the nose first will make gluing those tiny googly eyes a little easier, as they will have something to rest on.

Glue Rudolph’s head onto the puppet body base.

Cut the varied width brown pipe cleaner in half – you will only need one section per set of two legs.

Slide each pair of legs between the body coils.

Christmas Santa Finger Puppet

Santa Craft Finger Puppet

OOPS - materials missing in the photo – a large red glitter pom pom!

Wind the puppet base.

Twist a 5 inch (approx) piece of red pipe cleaner into a cone shape for Santa’s hat. Use a pencil tip like the one in this 4th of July Statue of Liberty finger puppet. Twist two 2.5 inch pieces of white and silver pipe cleaner together, then into a circle for the brim of Santa’s hat. Glue the silver pom pom onto the cone top, and the brim onto the cone bottom, then glue the hat onto the tan pom pom.

Glue his red nose on first, then his googly eyes, and then glue his head onto the red glitter pom pom body. Cut a white pom pom in half for Santa’s beard, and glue it on after the head has been attached, because you need to glue it to both his face and body.

Glue the two tiny back pom poms onto Santa’s ‘coat’.

Glue Santa to the finger puppet base.

Mr. Penguin Finger Puppet

Penguin Finger Puppet

Wind the puppet body base.

To make Mr. Penguin’s top hat, wind a black pipe cleaner around a pencil as shown. Do the first three rows next to each other, then the next three rows on top of each other:

Pipe Cleaner Top Hats

To make his wings, bend an 8 inch piece of pipe cleaner into kind of a U shape as shown in the picture above.

To make his bow tie, bend a 2.5 inch piece of pipe cleaner into kind of a connected X shape as shown in the picture above.

To make his beak, simply bend a 3/4 inch piece of orange pipe cleaner in half.

Glue the beak onto his pom pom face, then glue on the googly eyes. Next, glue his top hat on.

Glue his head onto the puppet base, then glue his bow tie underneath his head and beak.

Slide his wings in between the body coils and then glue the two medium orange glitter pom poms on the bottom front for his feet.

Frosty the Snowman Christmas Finger Puppet

Christmas Snowman Finger Puppet

Wind the puppet base.

Make the black top hat as shown above on the Mr. Penguin finger puppet craft.

Cut a 1/4 inch piece of orange pipe cleaner for Frosty’s nose.

Glue the three white glitter pom poms together, large, medium then small on top.

Glue the nose onto his face, then his googly eyes. Since the top pom pom is pretty small, you may want to make his eyes with the black fabric paint instead.

Paint three small buttons onto his body (even the mini pom poms are too big for this).

Glue Frosty onto the puppet base.

Christmas Elf Finger Puppet

Christmas Elf Finger Puppet

OOPS - you will also need a 3 inch piece of green pipe cleaner for his arms!

Wind the puppet body base. When using glitter pipe cleaners you MUST use two of them for the body base – they are too thin!

Make the elf hat as instructed for Santa’s hat above, using the colors shown here.

Glue the mini pom pom nose and googly eyes onto his pom pom face, then glue on the hat.

Glue his head onto the body base.

Bend the 3 inch piece of green pipe cleaner into arms as shown, and slip them in between the body coils.

Glue the two pink mini pom poms onto his body for buttons.

Winter Cardinal Finger Puppet

Winter Cardinal Finger Puppet

Wind the puppet body base.

Glue the red V shaped feather onto the top of the cardinal’s head, then glue the yellow V shaped beak onto his face.

Glue the googly eyes on top of the beak.

Bend the wings out of a 6 inch piece of red pipe cleaner as shown.

Glue the head onto the body base, and then slide the wings in between the body coils.

Be sure to check out all of our Christmas kids crafts and Christmas kids activities while you are here, too!

Reindeer Reindeer Ornament Craft	Tree Painting Christmas Tree Handprint Painting	Pointsettia Pointsettia Christmas Craft	Santa Ornament Santa Printable Ornament
Snowmen Ornament Snowmen Family Ornament	Angel Handprint Angel Craft	Christmas Tree Handprint Christmas Tree Craft	Santa Handprint Santa Card Craft

Check out all of our handprint crafts and the rest of our Christmas crafts and activities, too!