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With the Holidays just over a week away, there’s no better way to get you and your little one in the festive spirit than with some amazing crafts and activities.
Whether you’re making these just for fun or to use as decorations, your little one will have a great time getting creative whilst developing important early years skills including confidence, fine motor skills, communication and more!
Quick note: these activities are largely xmas related. You can click here to check out some awesome Hanukkah-based activities or here for fantastic activities related to Kwanzaa.
Let's jump straight into our guide to 6 Festive Activities & Crafts to Delight and Inspire Under 5s This Holiday Season.
The Activity: Salt Dough Handprint Christmas Tree Ornaments
You will need:
1 cup salt
1 cup plain flour
1 cup of water
Green food colouring (optional)
Paint
String
Straw, wooden stick or chopstick
Method:
Combine the salt and flour then pour in the water gradually, stopping when it has become dough-like and not too sticky. Optionally, add in green food colouring.
Roll out to form flat circles and place your hand into the middle to create a hand print shape in the dough.
Poke a hole at the top for the string and then bake in the oven at 100 degrees for about 2-3 hours. Then leave to cool.
Once cooled, paint!
Finally, pull the string through the hole you made earlier and it’s ready to go up on the tree!
The Activity: Snowman In A Bag Craft
You will need:
Orange & black paper
Scissors
Eco-friendly googly eyes
Shaving cream
Sealable storage bag
Glue
Method:
Cut circles for the mouth from black construction paper, then out cut a triangle from the orange construction paper for the nose.
Glue your cut outs to the bag along with the googly eyes to create the face of a snowman.
Add a little shaving cream into the bag, zip it shut and let your little one explore the texture!
The Activity: Salt Painted Christmas Tree
You will need:
Card paper
Paint or food colouring
Glue
Salt
Paintbrush
Water
Pen/Pencil
Method:
Draw your Christmas tree on the card paper, then trace it using the glue.
Sprinkle salt all over the image, and shake off the excess (top tip: save the excess salt for salt dough or to make play dough!).
Next, water down your paint and tap it on the areas you want coloured with your brush. This will spread on both sides like magic!
Once you’re done painting your tree, you can decorate! You can add more paint for baubles or add stickers – time to get creative!
The Activity: Pom Pom Pinecone Trees
You will need:
Pinecone
Mini pom poms
PVA glue
String
Method:
This one is super easy – simply dip the pompoms into the glue and wedge them into the pinecones to make them into adorable Christmas trees!
Then tie your string around the top and hang!
The Activity: Cinnamon Cookie Playdough
You will need:
8tbsp pain flour
2tbsp salt
2tbsp cinnamon
60ml warm water
1tbsp oil
Other resources e.g. star anise, rice, cookie cutters, rolling pin etc. (optional)
Method:
Just mix all the ingredients together! Then allow your little one to explore! They can use other resources to make different shapes or just explore the wonderful smell and texture!
The Activity: Spiced Orange Sensory Activity
You will need:
Orange
Cloves
Something to poke the orange with e.g. a wooden skewer (optional)
Method:
Another super easy activity that is perfect for sensory play and is a great opportunity for fine motor skill development! Simply, give your little ones cloves and an orange, and let them poke them into the orange skin! If they need a bit of help, you can pre-poke some holes using the skewer.
Thanks for reading! What's your favourite festive craft or activity? Let us know in the comments below!
And here are some additional resources for even more festive activities!