For more Christmas crafts, check out this penguin keepsake plate, Christmas handprint crafts, and our snowflake crafts!

Pinecone Gnome Ornament	Pinecone Snow Bunnies	Elegant Pinecone Ornaments	Pinecone Placecard Holders
Pinecone Gift Tags	Pinecone Votive Craft	Christmas Pinecones in a Pot	Pinecone Christmas Tree
Fabric Button Pinecone Trees	Pinecone Christmas Carolers	Pinecone Christmas Angels	Christmas Pinecones

Check out all of our Christmas crafts, coloring pages and activities for kids from Woo! Jr. Network sites!

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

Here’s a really cute Christmas craft of a paper plate penguin that is easy enough for preschoolers to make.

Paper Plate Penguin Preschool Craft

What You Need to Make a Paper Plate Penguin:

• Two paper plates
• Scissors
• Glue
• Orange and black paint, crayons or markers
• Googly eyes (optional)

How to Make a Paper Plate Penguin:

1. Cut up a paper plate as shown. This craft uses every piece you cut out so don’t throw anything away!

Paper plate penguin craft template

2. Paint the two wings black and the three triangles orange.

3. Paint a black v-shaped ‘hairline’ on the penguin’s head as shown.

4. After the paint has dried, glue the two wings onto the top rim of second paper plate, the big orange triangle onto the penguin face for it’s beak, and the two small orange triangles onto the bottom rim of the plate for it’s feet.

5. Glue two googly eyes above the penguin’s beak, or just color them onto the face if you don’t have any googly eyes laying around.

For more preschool Christmas crafts, try these easy Christmas handprint crafts, or the penguin coloring page in this set of winter bird coloring pages.