Christmas crafts are a wonderful way to spend time with your children, invite the spirit of the season into your home and provide plenty of ideas for homemade gifts. There are a wide variety of craft projects available for children of all ages, so choose age-appropriate projects to bring smiles instead of frustration. Christmas crafts for kids allow them to get involved in the festivities.

Ages 3 through 5

• Snow Scene: Let the children color a winter scene on blue construction paper. After the picture is done, let them paint over it with a mix of watered down white tempera paint and salt. The paint dries clear with little sparkles of snow.
• Pinecone Ornament: Paint pinecones with white school glue, then add glitter, sequins and small beads. When the glue is dry, help children loop a ribbon around the top for hanging.
• Reindeer Puppet: Decorate a brown paper bag with googly eyes, red pompom nose and other accessories. Using handprint cutouts, finish the reindeer’s antlers to complete this Christmas paper crafts project.

Ages 6 through 8

• Christmas Wreath: This age group loves Christmas paper crafts. Cut out a dozen handprints out of green construction paper and glue them to a paper plate to resemble a wreath. Add red pompoms for berries and a bow to complete it.
• Salt Dough Ornaments: Make salt dough (recipes found online) and cut out ornaments using Christmas cookie cutters. Punch out a hole at the top with a plastic straw. Let the ornaments air dry for 24 hours, then paint and glue on accessories such as pompoms, sequins and fabric scraps. Use a ribbon loop for hanging.
• Lollipop Angel: Using a colored tissue paper square, cover a round lollipop and stick. . Cover the colored tissue paper with a smaller square of white tissue paper and secure both with a pipe cleaner just under the candy. Make tissue wings by tying a piece of yarn in the center of a tissue rectangle. Glue the wings to the back of the angel. Add details such as hair, eyes, halo and decorations using accessories and markers.

Ages 8 and Up

• Christmas Stocking: Cut out two felt stocking pieces from a paper pattern. Using a yarn needle, whipstitch the edges together, leaving the top open. Decorate the stocking with glue, iron-ons, sequins, felt cutouts and other embellishments.
• Christmas Snow Globe: Using a baby food jar with the label off, make a real snow globe. Super glue a tiny Christmas figurine to the lid of the jar and let dry. Then fill the jar with water, a teaspoon of pearlescent glitter and a drop of glycerine. Make sure there are no air bubbles in the jar when you screw the lid (with figurine) back on. Use super glue to seal the lid on tightly. Decorate the rim of the lid with paint, ribbon or lace.