Snowflakes 
• Paper
• Bowl or plate
• Scissors
Draw round the outside of a bowl to make a circle on the paper. Cut round this, then fold the paper circle in half, then in half and in half again so it looks like a slice of pizza! Cut out patterns from the paper and unfold to reveal your snowflake. This site shows you how.

That’s only the start…you can decorate your snowflake with glitter or crayons or stick on card to make Christmas cards. You can stick coloured cellophane on the back and hang in the window.

 
Alternatively if you want to get really flash try this:
• Acetate paper (the type used for overhead projectors that can be bought from a stationery shop)
• Glitter glue
• Hole punch and ribbon.
• Optional: A pre-printed or pre-drawn snowflake design,
Tape the snowflake design under the acetate paper and trace the pattern with glitter glue. Leave to dry overnight then trim around the edges. Or omit the snowflake design under the acetate paper and just cut a snowflake outline and let the children go wild with glitter glue and marker pens. Tape snowflakes to your window or hang on the Christmas tree after punching a hole with a hole punch and threading with ribbon.

 

Handprint Christmas Tree
A great way of celebrating Christmas and including your family and friends. You can get everyone to decorate their handprints to make a keepsake you can display every year. 
• Lots of green paper
• A sheet of brown paper (or paint white paper)
• A sheet of yellow paper (or paint white paper)
• A large piece of card for the backing
• Pencil
• Scissors
• Glue
• Optional: Glitter, coloured pens
Draw around each person’s hands on a piece of green paper. Cut out the hand print and get everyone to decorate their own hands. Draw and cut out a tree shape (triangle) on the card. Do the same for a rectangle for the trunk. Stick the trunk onto the tree shape.

Starting at the bottom of the tree, glue the handprints in rows. Moving to the second row, glue down the handprints, making sure the fingers overlap the next hand a little bit. Continue to the top of the tree. Cut out a yellow star for the top of the tree. Glue it on the tree. Check this out for step by step instructions.

Paper plate snowman
• Small paper plate
• Large paper plate
• Sheet of black card
• Scraps of orange, brown and colored card
• Round black stickers (or use white and color with a felt pen)

Glue the two plates together to make your basic snowman. Use the round stickers for the eyes, mouth and buttons.
From the scraps of card cut two twig arms, a carrot nose, a scarf and a black hat. Glue these to your snowman.

 

Christmas Pudding Plate
 This is simple but effective and can be used to display the mince pies and other treats your children wish to leave out for Santa on Christmas Eve!
• 2 paper plates
• Brown paint
• Glue (PVA or a glue stick)
• Green and Red Paper
• Red pom poms (available from craft shops).
Paint the front of one plate and leave to dry. Cut the other plate in half with a wavy line and glue to the front of the brown plate. Draw holly leaves on the green paper and cut out. Glue to the top of the white plate and finish by gluing pom poms to the leaves to resemble holly berries.

 

Tissue Paper Wreath 
• Thick cardboard – red or green works best but white is fine
• Red or green tissue paper ripped into small squares (approx 5cm)
• Hole punch
• Glue (PVA or a glue stick)
• Ribbon to hang
• Optional: beads, sequins, pom poms and ribbons.
Draw a large circle and then another circle in the centre onto thick cardboard (you may wish to trace a large dinner plate or inverted bucket to get it perfectly round). Cut out and remove the centre leaving behind a wreath shape. Punch a hole on the outer edge where you can tie a ribbon to allow your decoration to hang. Cover the wreath with a layer of glue then scrunch the tissue paper squares up and layer onto the glue. Leave to dry overnight and if desired decorate with beads, sequins, pom poms and ribbons.

Reindeer Handprint 
Based on traced handprints and footprints this work of art can be displayed on the fridge or cut and hung on the Christmas tree. You can either buy coloured paper or just get children to colour white paper with paint or crayons.
• Brown paper (for the face)
• Yellow paper (for the antlers)
• White or red paper (for the base)
• Red pom pom
• Wiggle eyes (available from craft shops) or black felt pen
• Glue (PVA or glue stick).
Children should place their shoe on the brown paper and trace around the shoe.  Next get children to trace around both their hands onto the yellow paper. Cut shoe and hand shapes out and glue on to the base paper. The shoe shape represents the face of the reindeer and the hands represent the antlers (therefore place either side of the upper end of the shoe). Glue the pom pom on to show the reindeer’s nose and either draw on eyes or glue the wiggle eyes on. Check this out for step by step instructions.

 

Gingerbread Men or Gingerbread Houses
Gingerbread biscuits are a traditional Christmas favourite. Try this recipe and a man or house shaped cutter, cut into gingerbread men or houses.
• Gingerbread biscuit dough
• Man or house shaped cutter (if you can’t find either use a man or house template made from cardboard and a sharp knife)
• Writing icing or make your own and use a fine piping nozzle
• Assortment of lollies (different shapes and sizes), chocolate chips, sprinkles and fruit leather
• Ribbon and drinking straw if you intend on hanging.
Roll out gingerbread dough onto a flat and floured surface. Cut biscuits with cutter (or a template and knife if cutter is unavailable) and if you intend on hanging, make a hole at the top of each house/man using a drinking straw. Bake and remember to allow them to cool before starting to ice. Decorate with icing and other bits and pieces (using icing as glue). Upon drying thread the ribbon through the hole.
 

Christmas Bells 
• Yoghurt pots (empty & washed)
• Gold paper ripped into squares (approx 5cm)
• PVA glue
• Decorative bits and pieces (glitter, sequins, ribbons etc)
• Ribbon for hanging.
Paint the outside of the yoghurt pot with glue and cover with small squares of gold paper until it’s all covered. Decorate the bell with anything you fancy and dry overnight. Get an adult to make a hole in the bottom of the pot and thread ribbon through ensuring a knot is tied at the end to keep ribbon in place. You can hang the bell on the Christmas tree.

 

Wooden Spoon Santa
 This decoration can be used as a puppet or placed in the garden to welcome Santa’s arrival on Christmas Day.
• Wooden spoon
• Pink paint
• Red, white and black thick cardboard or foam card (available from craft shops)
• Red and white pom poms
• PVA glue
• Wiggle eyes or black felt pen.
Paint the spoon pink and allow to dry. Using the red foam/card, cut out a shape for Santa’s body and glue to the wooden spoon. Cut a belt, boots and buttons from the black foam/card and stick to Santa’s’ body. Cut a hat from the remaining red foam and a beard from the white foam/card. Glue hat to the top of the wooden spoon and beard to the bottom of the wooden spoon. Place the red pom pom to represent a nose and the white pom pom on the end of the hat. Stick on wiggle eyes and add facial features using the felt pen.

If you’ve got a dearth of wooden spoons check this out.

 

For more Christmas activity inspiration try these websites:

Mums on top

Kiwi Families

New Zealand Search
Enchanted learning
Activity Village