Anyone can spend money on a holiday gift – which is what we do each and every year for my kids’ teachers. Generally, we opt for a gift card to a book store or a coffee shop – something they will appreciate and get some use out of – as well as something that will relay the fact that we (my husband and I) are grateful to them and want to acknowledge this with a small token.
But I want to include my kids in the gift-giving process. And in my opinion, the best way to do this is by having my kids pour their time, effort and creativity into something to acknowledge the appreciation they have for their teachers as well.
I realize that teachers are probably inundated with crafts and trinkets come the holiday season – which is why we always choose small and simple crafts that can be used to give the classroom or home a festive feel.
My stipulations are as follows: the craft must be simple and uncomplicated, relatively inexpensive and not too time-consuming. And this is what I’ve come up with.
Here are 11 quick and simple Christmas crafts. Happy Holidays!
#1 Crayon Can Candy Cane Holder
What you will need:
- one soup can with the label peeled off
- one package of crayons
- hot glue
- clear varnish spray
- candy canes
Using the hot glue, attach each crayon around the circumference of the soup can’s exterior. Once dry, give it a spray with the clear varnish.
To make it more Christmassy, use only red, green and white crayons and garnish with a holiday ribbon tied into a bow.
Take it a step further, and swap out the crayons for glued-on candy canes. Once the holidays are over, the can doubles as a pencil holder.
***************************************************************************
Still not a subscriber to Pencils and Popcans? Why the heck not — it’s free!
***************************************************************************
#2 TP Roll Snow Man
What you will need:
- toilet paper roll tube
- small piece of white card (for the snowman’s base)
- tape
- googly eyes
- small piece of orange construction paper (for a carrot nose)
- black magic marker
- small piece of black felt (snowman’s hat)
- piece of felt cut into shape of a scarf
- three small twigs (for arms and hat brim)
- hot glue
Using a glue gun, attach the black felt to the top of the tp tube as the snowman’s hat, a small straight twig as the brim and the googly eyes beneath the hat. Then with magic marker, draw on a mouth. Poke a small hole for the nose and roll up the orange construction paper in a make-shift carrot and insert into the nose hole.
Wrap the felt scarf around the snowman and tie loosely in front.
Poke two holes on either side of the roll and insert twig arms. Then tape the bottom of the roll to the card base so it stands upright. Voila – a miniature Frosty.
#3 Seasonal Joy Sign
What you will need:
- a piece of decorative wood in whatever size you prefer (found at most craft stores – although the finished sign in the accompanying photo was made with wood found at the local Walmart)
- a wreath (this will be the letter “o” in the word “joy” so choose a size that will work well with your piece of wood)
- paint
- hot glue
Centre the wreath onto your piece of wood and then trace out the letters “J” and “Y” on either side. Then using the hot glue gun, glue the wreath in place.
Paint the letters “J” and “Y” in whatever colour paint you prefer.
Feel free to add a hook to the back of the wood or simply lean on a shelf or mantle for a bit of decorative flair.
*I opted to cheap out a bit and instead of using wood, we made our three signs out of thin artist boards found at the dollar store. Then we rimmed the boards in holiday ribbon and used mini-wreaths made of jingle bells for our “O”s – the wreaths were also dollar store finds. Here is a photo of the finished result.
#4 Snowflake Photo Ornament
What you will need:
- eight wooden clothes pins
- white paint
- thin ribbon
- hot glue
Remove the metal fasteners from each of the clothes pins and glue the two remaining wooden pieces together back to back. Then glue all eight together in the shape of a snowflake. Paint the snowflake white.
Once dry, glue a small photo in the centre. (The new insta polaroid pictures work well). Attach a ribbon to the top by gluing the ends onto either side of one set of clothes pins.
#5 Decorative Paper Clips
What you will need:
- large-size paper clips
- a roll of thin, pliable rust-resistant wire (found at most hardware stores)
- colourful beads of all shapes and sizes and/or sequins
Cut off a length of wire – you can play with the amount and see what works best for you. Wrap the wire around the top of the paper clip as many times as you prefer (I usually do it about 10 times to get a bit of a bee hive effect), then pull the last bit of wire up straight in order to thread your beads and sequins.
Once the beads and sequins have been threaded, twist that last bit of wire into any sort of shape you like and using scissors or pliers, crimp the wire end closed so the beads won’t fall off and tuck it in.
*This is an ideal craft for small children. While I got the wire wrapped onto the clips, my kids took their time sorting through our treasure trove of beads and sequins to come up with their perfect patterns. Then using their fine motor skills, they patiently threaded the wire which I closed off for them. They presented them years ago to their teachers as book marks.
#6 Paint Swirled Ornaments
What you will need:
- transparent, hollow plastic ornament globes (found at most craft stores)
- paint (thick and oil-based works best)
- gold or silver leaf (found at most craft stores)
- white glue
- thin ribbon
- clear spray varnish
Remove the metal end from the ornament’s top, pour some paint inside and swirl around. Feel free to coat the entire interior of the globe, or only a portion – whatever you prefer. Turn globes upside down over top of old newspaper and allow a few days to dry.
Once dry, insert the metal tops back in. Then coat the exterior of the globe in white glue – you can coat the entire globe, or just half or specific areas – depending on how you want the finished ornament to appear. Then apply the gold and/or silver leaf to the glued areas. Allow a couple of days for drying.
Once the leaf has dried, spray the ornaments with the clear varnish. When dry, tie ribbon through the ornament tops. A perfect addition to any Christmas tree.
#7 Singing Pop Can Angel
What you will need:
- pop can – pull tab removed
- silver spray paint
- two pipe cleaners (one for the angel’s arms and one for the halo)
- a bit of Christmas wrapping paper (the angel’s song book)
- googly eyes
- cotton balls or yarn (for hair)
- white or silvery ribbon (for wings)
- hot glue
Spray a pop can silver and allow to dry. Using a hot glue gun, attach the eyes above the can opening (which is the angel’s singing mouth) and cotton balls/yarn above the eyes as hair.
Fashion one pipe cleaner into a halo and with glue gun, attach to the back of the can so the halo sits above the angel’s hair. Cut the second pipe cleaner into two even pieces and glue to either side of the can as the angel’s arms.
Cut the piece of wrapping paper into a small rectangle and fold in half like a little song book. Glue this to the ends of the pipe clearer arms.
Tie the Christmas ribbon into a bow and glue to the back of the can for the angel’s wings.
#8 Christmas Ornament Wreath
What you will need:
- a variety of Christmas tree ornaments (the dollar store variety are ideal)
- pine cones
- flat foam wreath for the base
- hot glue
- Christmas ribbon
Use a hot glue gun to attach the ornaments and pine cones in layers on top of the foam wreath. Once dry, trim the wreath with a decorative ribbon. This wreath looks gorgeous propped up on a mantle or as a centrepiece on a festive dining room table.
#9 Large Stick Snowman
*this craft involves a bit of drilling – but is relatively simple
What you will need:
- one large thick stick – whatever you can find in your yard or local forest is fine (this will be your snowman)
- piece of wood for the snowman’s base (depending on your stick size, ensure you have an adequate sized wooden base)
- white and black paint
- felt piece cut into a scarf
- 3 twigs (two for arms, and one straight twig as the snowman’s hat brim)
- googly eyes
- small dowel for the nose
- orange play-doh (to wrap around the nose dowel)
- hot glue
- drill
- one screw
Using the drill, countersink the screw into the wood piece you will be using as your snowman’s base. This will ensure the screw is flush with the bottom of the base. Then attach the stick upright to the base with the screw.
Also drill two small holes on either side of the stick for the twig arms and one small hole for the dowel nose. Then paint the snowman’s body white and paint the top black (for the hat). Also paint the twig black that you will be using as the hat brim.
Once paint is dry, use a hot glue gun to attach the black twig to the bottom of the snowman’s painted black hat. Attach googly eyes. Wrap the small dowel in orange play-doh, leaving the bottom uncovered and insert into the drilled nose hole.
Tie felt scarf around the snowman and insert twig arms into previously drilled holes.
#10 Popsicle Stick Snowflake
What you will need:
- 6 popsicle sticks
- buttons, pompoms, sequins and/or cotton balls
- thin ribbon
- hot glue
Glue the popsicle sticks together via their centre so that they form a snowflake shape. Using a hot glue gun, decorate the sticks with buttons, pompoms, sequins and/or cotton balls depending on what you prefer.
Once dry, glue the ribbon to the snowflake so that it can be hung in a window or on a tree.
*Years ago, I helped my son with this particular craft. He carefully dug through my bag of old buttons pulling out black, brown and grey ones. I tried to steer him toward the white buttons but he wasn’t having it. In the end, it wasn’t the most beautiful snowflake in the wold – but he was happy with it and proudly presented it to a substitute teacher he was fond of. And she loved it – or at least pretended to love it.
#11 Holiday-Themed Coasters
What you will need:
- one apple
- paint
- cork coasters (found at most craft stores)
- clear spray sealant
Cut an apple horizontally down the middle. Remove seeds and pry open the seed cavities a bit with a small knife. Then pat the apple dry, paint it and stamp onto the cork coasters.
Once paint dries, spray with a couple of coats of the clear sealant.
Homemade is the best! I especially liked the joy wreath.I think a grouping of jOy-hOpe and lOve wreaths would make a charming display.