Christmas Crafts for Kids

With Christmas just around the corner it's time to start cutting, coloring, and gluing all those great seasonal crafts with your kids! There are countless creative crafts out there for you and your kids to make this Christmas, and while you might be tempted to take a stab at all of them, your children and your sanity will thank you for sticking to the basics. Here are some simple, cute crafts that can be made without too much effort on your part (who needs more stress during the holidays, right?):

Christmas ball ornaments: This is a great way to add some personality to those regular old glass ball ornaments that you put on your tree every year. You'll need a large glass ball ornament for each kid, glue, glitter, and markers. Remind your kids that these ornaments break easily, so make sure they work carefully with them. Have your child make a design with glue on the ornament and then sprinkle the glitter on it. Once the glue dries your child can add the year or anything else they want with dark colored markers. Now instead of plain glass balls you have personalized, homemade ornaments for your tree.

Styrofoam snowman: For this snowman you'll need three different-sized styrofoam balls (available at craft stores), glue, felt, scissors, toothpicks, and an orange pipe cleaner. First glue the styrofoam balls together, using the largest ball for the base of the snowman, the mid-sized ball for the snowman's tummy, and the smallest ball for the head. Let that set up for a few minutes before adding the snowman's face. Cut out five small circles from the felt for the snowman's eyes and buttons (whatever color felt your child wants is fine). Then glue the eyes and the buttons to the snowman. Next, cut off about an inch of the orange pipecleaner for the snowman's 'carrot nose'. Gently press the end of the small piece of pipecleaner into the snowman's head until it is far enough in to sit securely. Now make a hat and scarf for the snowman out of the felt and glue them onto the head and neck. Last, just press two toothpicks into the sides of the snowman to make his arms. This makes a small decoration that looks great on a table or mantle.