15+ Low Prep Christmas Crafts for Kids to Make This Holiday Season

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Looking for something quick and cheerful to keep little ones entertained during the holidays? These low prep Christmas crafts are perfect for when you want the joy without the mess or a big supply list. Most of these use items you already have at home, and setup takes just minutes.

If you’re looking for even more festive ideas, don’t miss our full roundup of Christmas crafts for kids. Simple, sweet, and stress-free — just how holiday crafts should be!

Collage of over 15 easy Christmas crafts for kids, with snowmen, reindeer, angels, ornaments, and holiday characters.

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Low Prep Christmas Crafts

Torn Paper Grinch

Little hands get to rip green paper to form the face of everyone's favorite holiday grouch, giving this project a playful sensory element. Using a simple template, kids glue torn pieces into a fuzzy collage that captures the character's grumpy look without any tricky cutting.

The project channels all that excited energy into creative fun, and the result is a fuzzy green friend that preschoolers will be proud to display.

taminglittlemonsters.com

Paper Plate Christmas Bauble

Budding artists can transform a simple paper plate into a giant Christmas bauble to hang or display. Kids paint and decorate their “ornament” with whatever colors, glitter, or stickers they like—some even add their name or a special design to make it unique.

This easy holiday art activity encourages creativity and fine motor practice, while giving children a festive decoration they can proudly display.

Related: Merry Christmas Headband

happytoddlerplaytime.com

Spatula Painted Santa

Little ones use a kitchen spatula as a stamp to paint a jolly Santa, turning a common utensil into a creative paintbrush. They press a paint-covered spatula onto paper to form Santa's face, then use wine corks to stamp on a fluffy white beard and a bright red hat (complete with a pom-pom).

It's a wonderfully messy and inventive painting activity that lets kids see Santa come to life with each fun stamp.

Also try: Torn Paper Santa Craft

Fork Painted Reindeer

Kids trade their paintbrushes for forks to create a fuzzy-textured reindeer, adding a fun twist to this painting. They dip the fork in brown paint to make the reindeer's fur, then add a bright red nose and cute eyes to bring their holiday critter to life.

This creative technique is easy for little hands and adds a playful sensory element, resulting in a unique Christmas keepsake.

www.craftsonsea.co.uk

Paint Splat Angel

Kids create a beautiful angel by squishing paint between folded paper, making a surprise pattern for the angel's gown or wings. This classic “paint splat” technique is easy for toddlers and preschoolers, and it gives each angel a unique marbled look when they open the paper to reveal the design.

The result is a low-mess artwork that looks so pretty, making it a fun way to celebrate the holidays with little ones.

fromabcstoacts.com

Paper Strip Christmas Tree

Kids practice their scissor skills and size-sorting by building a little Christmas tree out of paper strips. Little ones stack and glue strips from longest to shortest to create a colorful tree shape, then top it off with a paper star.

It's a quick, hands-on project that's both fun and educational – perfect for keeping antsy kids busy while honing their fine motor skills.

Also try: Christmas Tree Tissue Paper Craft

Grinch Handprint Card

Little ones turn their handprint into a big Santa hat for a famous grumpy green character, creating an adorable keepsake holiday card. They trace and cut out their hand on red paper (or use green paint) to form the hat, then glue it above the character's face on a folded card.

It's a sweet way to capture their tiny handprint and share holiday cheer, and kids will be excited to give this personalized card to someone special.

taminglittlemonsters.com

Cotton Ball Snowman

Young artists will love this magical art project, which utilizes a simple “resist” painting technique to reveal a snowman in their picture. They start by placing a snowman template (or drawing one with a white crayon) on paper, then paint a snowy blue sky over the top.

When the paint dries, the white snowman magically appears against the colorful sky, leaving little artists with a beautiful winter scene to display.

Related: Snowman Matching Worksheets

frogsandsnailsandpuppydogtail.com

Snowman Art

Kids can create their own snowy scene by creating a lovable snowman out of paper and paint. They cut out and glue together simple shapes – like big white circles for the snowman's body and a little orange carrot nose – then use Q-tips dipped in white paint to dot a flurry of snow all around.

The project is easy enough for toddlers but engaging for older kids as well, resulting in a cute winter decoration that everyone will be proud of.

Also try: Snowman Counting Worksheets

Nutcracker Toilet Paper Roll

Little ones turn an empty toilet paper tube into a mini toy soldier inspired by the classic Nutcracker ballet, perfect for holiday decorating or pretend play.

Using a handy template, kids cut out and color the soldier's uniform, hat, and face, then wrap and glue them around the tube to assemble their tiny guard. It's a clever recycled project that brings a favorite holiday story to life and leaves kids with a cute keepsake to display.

www.craftymorning.com

Cupcake Liner Angel

With a couple of cupcake liners and a bit of imagination, kids can make a darling little angel decoration. One liner becomes the angel's gown when folded, and kids cut another into wing shapes. A paper circle face and a little pipe cleaner halo complete the heavenly figure.

It's a clever way to repurpose cupcake wrappers, allowing children to choose from fun colors or patterns to make each angel unique and festive.

Related: Elf Christmas Card Craft

www.easypeasyandfun.com

Elf Christmas

Your kids will have a blast assembling their own cheerful Christmas elf with this handy printable art. They color in the template pieces, cut them out, and glue the elf together, making it easy to create an adorable holiday character with minimal prep work.

The finished paper elves are super festive and can even be personalized with different colors or names, becoming cute decorations or little buddies for pretend play.

Also try: Torn Paper Elf Craft

Santa’s Cookie Plate Name

Children can get ready for Santa's visit by creating a special paper cookie plate decorated with their own name. They cut out and decorate paper “cookies” and arrange them to spell their name on the plate, making this project a sneaky way to practice letter recognition and spelling.

Little ones love that it's personalized just for them, and they'll practice their scissors and glue skills while creating a cute keepsake for Christmas Eve.

www.easypeasyandfun.com

Doily Snowman

A couple of frilly paper doilies are all you need to make an adorable snowman in this quick art. Little ones simply glue together different-sized doilies to create the snowman's body and head, then add a carrot nose, a tiny hat, and perhaps a scarf to bring him to life.

The doilies resemble lacy snowflakes, making the snowman extra cute, and the entire project is so simple that you can complete it in no time.

Related: Snowman Pattern Worksheets

toddlerapproved.com

Sparkly Star

Even the littlest one can make a dazzling star ornament with this simple, sparkly project. Toddlers start by painting a big star shape (cut from cardboard or thick paper), then cover it with glue and sprinkle on loads of colorful sequins, buttons, or glitter.

Once it's dry, just add a loop of ribbon to hang it up — the result is a homemade star that shines on the Christmas tree and makes your toddler proud.

Also try: Christmas Tree Name Craft

Handprint Manger

Kids can create a heartwarming Nativity scene using their own handprint as the manger for baby Jesus. They trace and cut out their hand on brown or yellow paper to make the hay-filled manger, then add a sweet baby Jesus figure on the palm and a bright star overhead.

The result is an adorable keepsake that perfectly captures the essence of Christmas, ideal for preschool or Sunday school art time.

handsonaswegrow.com

Sticker Christmas Tree

Here's a mess-free Christmas tree art that toddlers and preschoolers will love, since it's all about stickers! Simply cut out a large green paper tree, glue it onto a background, and draw a few zig-zag garland lines on it. Then, let the kids go wild by placing stickers as ornaments all over their tree.

No paint or glitter is needed, and peeling off stickers is excellent fine motor practice, so little ones stay engaged decorating their own festive tree with zero mess.

Related: Christmas Tree Card Craft

Spiderman Gingerbread Man

For a fun superhero twist on a classic holiday art project, kids can disguise a gingerbread man as the Amazing Spider-Man. With the help of a free template, they cut and glued on Spidey's iconic mask, suit patterns, and big white eyes to transform a plain gingerbread shape into a cool comic book character.

This project makes it easy to combine Christmas cheer with superhero fun, and little Marvel fans will be thrilled to see their favorite hero in gingerbread form.

happyhooligans.ca

Coffee Filter Angel Ornament

Kids can transform plain coffee filters into beautiful angel ornaments with just a few basic supplies. Each angel is made by folding and cinching a white coffee filter to form delicate wings, then attaching it to a popsicle stick for the body and adding a little round head with a pipe cleaner halo on top.

These homemade angels are simple to create, whether in a group or at home, and they make lovely decorations to hang on the Christmas tree.

Also try: Christmas Dot To Dot

Reindeer Tissue Paper

Little hands can make a colorful holiday decoration using bits of tissue paper to create a cute reindeer. Kids fill in a reindeer template by gluing on crumpled tissue paper pieces, giving it a fun, textured look while also practicing fine motor skills as they scrunch and stick each piece.

The finished reindeer looks bright and festive, and children will be proud to display their artwork around the house.

www.craftplaylearn.com

Gingerbread Man with Accordion Legs

Give your gingerbread man some extra pep by adding springy accordion-folded legs and arms in this easy paper art. Kids assemble a gingerbread man from paper (using a simple template for the body), then fold strips of paper back and forth to make bouncy accordion limbs to glue on.

The finished gingerbread man looks like he's dancing with his wiggly arms and legs, making this activity as entertaining to play with as it is to make.

More Fun Kid’s Ideas

31 Cute Gingerbread Man Activities For Kids
30 Fun Reindeer Activities For Kids
41 Adorable Winter Animal Crafts For Kids

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photograph of found of Simple Everyday Mom, Sam

Meet Sam

Sam is the crafter and founder of Simple Everyday Mom. She has been featured in Oprah Mag, Good Housekeeping, The Spruce Crafts, Country Living, The Bump, and more.

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