He may be wearing a Santa hat, but this Grinch shape craft still has that classic grumpy face kids love. With a round green head, a bright red outfit, and simple shapes that come together in such a fun way, this Christmas craft is a great fit for preschool through 1st grade. And at about 25 to 30 minutes, it’s long enough to feel like a real project without turning into a whole afternoon thing.

If the Grinch is already a big hit, you’ll definitely want to keep the theme going with these Grinch activities. Once kids start talking about that mischievous green face, one craft usually isn’t enough.

Collage of completed Grinch shape crafts made with colorful paper shapes, featuring an easy Christmas craft for kids.

Good To Know

Themes: Christmas, Grinch
Activity: Cut out and glue together basic shapes to create a Grinch character dressed in a Santa suit
Craft: Includes a free printable Grinch shape craft template to make cutting and assembling the pieces easier
Ages: Preschool, pre-K, kindergarten & elementary
Time: 25-35 minutes
Skills: Shape recognition, fine motor skills, scissor skills, hand-eye coordination, spatial awareness, and following directions

Grinch Made from Simple Shapes

What makes this one especially fun is how clearly kids can see the shapes doing all the work. The head is a circle, the hat has that big triangle shape, and the body and limbs are built from rectangles. Then you add those bold eyebrows and that sly little grin, and suddenly it’s very obviously the Grinch.

Kids will get plenty of hands-on practice while they make this one, but it won’t feel like a lesson. They’ll be too busy putting the pieces together and watching the character take shape. This is also a nice chance to talk about basic shapes in a way that feels much more interesting than just pointing to them on a worksheet.

Using a printable template helps keep the project manageable, especially for younger kids who still need a little support with cutting and assembly. With some colored paper, scissors, and glue, they can make a Christmas character that looks equal parts festive and grouchy. Honestly, that combination is what makes him so funny.

Supplies

Colored cardstock or construction paper
Scissors
Glue
Grinch shape template (click the “click here to get your freebies” image at the end of the post)

Directions

Start by printing the template, then gather the materials for this fun activity. Get those scissors ready, and let’s help the kids bring this friendly grinch to life!

Hands holding a printable Grinch shape craft template featuring the head, eyes, arms, body, and other Christmas paper craft pieces.

Glue the eyes onto the head, just below the eyebrows.

Hands gluing an eye piece onto the Grinch’s green circular face for a Christmas shape craft.

Grab the red triangle hat and the white hat fluff piece. Glue the hat fluff along the bottom edge of the triangle to create the Grinch’s Santa hat. Encourage your child to name the shapes as they put them together.

Hands gluing the white hat brim onto the red triangle Santa hat for the Grinch shape craft.

Take the white circular hat pom and glue it to the top point of the hat.

Hands gluing a white circle to the top of the red Santa hat for the Grinch shape craft.

It’s time to give the Grinch his Santa hat! Glue the completed hat onto the top of his head, making sure the white hat fluff sits just above his eyebrows.

Hands gluing the red Santa hat onto the Grinch’s green circular head for a Christmas shape craft.

Look for the red shirt piece and glue the Grinch’s head onto the top center of it, overlapping the shirt slightly.

Hands gluing the Grinch’s green circular head onto the red rectangular body for a Christmas shape craft.

Take the two red arm pieces and glue one to each side of the shirt. Position them so they extend outward, making the Grinch look like he’s ready to cause some Christmas mischief!

Hands gluing a red rectangular arm to the side of the Grinch’s body for a Christmas shape craft.

Grab the two green arm pieces and glue one to the outer end of each red arm, leaving part of the green pieces showing.

Hands gluing a green rectangular hand piece to the end of the Grinch’s red arm for a Christmas shape craft.

Glue the green leg pieces behind the bottom of the shirt, placing them side by side with a small gap between them.

Hands gluing a green rectangular leg piece to the bottom of the Grinch’s red body for a Christmas shape craft.

Grab the green feet pieces and glue one to the bottom of each leg. Position them so they extend outward to the sides. This is another fun opportunity to practice recognizing rectangles!

Hands gluing green rectangular feet pieces to the bottom of the Grinch’s legs for a Christmas shape craft.

Let’s finish the Grinch’s Santa outfit! Take the white shirt fluff piece and glue it across the bottom of the red shirt, just above the legs. Line it up with the bottom edge to give his outfit that classic Santa look.

Hands gluing a white rectangular shirt fluff piece to the bottom of the Grinch’s red body for a Christmas shape craft.

Finally, glue the white arm fluff pieces one onto each red arm, right next to the green hands.

Hands gluing a white rectangular arm fluff piece onto the Grinch’s red arm for a Christmas shape craft.

Your Grinch is now ready to spread some Christmas mischief! Kids will enjoy building their favorite grumpy holiday character while practicing shape identification, hand-eye coordination, and fine motor skills.

There’s plenty more Christmas fun waiting for your little learners! Check out our related crafts and printables below to find more hands-on activities that make holiday learning exciting at home or in the classroom.

Hands holding a completed Grinch shape craft made with a green circular face, red Santa outfit, and paper rectangles and triangles.

Christmas Books for Children

Dasher: This wonderfully illustrated Christmas book for kids gives you the back story on one of Santa’s favorite reindeer, Dasher! Girls will especially love to read this since Dasher is a girl.

Construction Site On Christmas Night: Fans of the fun characters of the construction site books have to add this Christmas-themed story to their collection. See how the trucks get ready for Christmas!

How To Catch Santa Claus: The kids have filled the house with clever traps, but catching Santa is harder than it looks! Littles will love watching Santa, his reindeer, and an elf dodge one silly trap after another on their Christmas Eve adventure.

A completed craft featuring two Grinch characters made from colorful paper shapes, wearing red Santa outfits and hats for a fun Christmas activity.

Christmas Craft Ideas For Kids

Handprint Christmas Gnome: Handprint crafts always have a little extra personality, and this one is no exception. Kids use their handprint to help create a Christmas gnome, then add the hat and face details to finish him off. That beard look is such a cute touch, and it gives the whole project a cozy holiday feel.

Santa Chimney Craft: A Santa craft is fun on its own, but Santa getting stuck in the chimney is even better. This idea lets kids make a festive scene with Santa popping out of the brick chimney, which is exactly the kind of silly detail that makes Christmas crafts memorable.

collage image of Christmas Craft Ideas For Kids

Pete The Cat Gingerbread Man: Pete the Cat and a gingerbread man are already a strong holiday combination. This project gives kids a chance to make that familiar blue cat in a Christmas-themed version, and it’s a good pick for anyone who likes pairing books and crafts together.

Paper Strip Reindeer Craft: Paper strips can make a craft so much more interesting because kids get to build the shape instead of just gluing flat pieces down. This reindeer idea uses those strips to create a fun 3D look, and the finished result has a lot more character because of it.

Christmas Activities For Preschoolers

These reindeer tracing worksheets are a lot more fun than a page of random lines. Kids trace different paths while working with a reindeer theme, which makes the fine motor practice feel much more seasonal and a lot less boring.

Scissor practice always goes over better when there’s something festive involved, and these Christmas cutting worksheets do exactly that. Kids cut along different lines while working with holiday pictures, and that little Christmas twist makes a basic skill feel way more worth doing.

A completed Grinch shape craft featuring two Christmas paper characters in Santa outfits, surrounded by construction paper, scissors, and glue sticks.

Dot to dots are just satisfying, especially when kids can actually tell who’s appearing as the picture comes together. With these Santa connect the dots, they connect the numbers to reveal Santa, then get to enjoy the finished image once all that counting work pays off.

Coloring and sight words together is a pretty smart combo, especially for kids who need reading practice but still want the activity to feel relaxed. These Christmas sight word coloring sheets let them work on common words while coloring holiday-themed pages, which is a much nicer deal than just drilling flashcards.

Did you make this activity with your kids or students? We’d love to feature them on our social media!

For a chance to have your child’s project featured, simply snap a picture of the completed project and post it to our Facebook page, email it to us directly by clicking here, or use #simpleeverydaymom on your social media!

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