The anticipation of Santa’s arrival fills kids with excitement! Embrace the festive spirit and sprinkle some crafting magic to get ready for Santa’s visit with a fun craft!
Kids can transform an ordinary paper cup into a jolly Santa decoration with this Santa cup craft! This simple yet entertaining craft is perfect for kids to bring their artistic visions to life, and make memories that will last.
It’s also an opportunity for little hands to enhance their fine motor skills as they carefully cut and glue pieces in place. They’ll hone important developmental skills in a playful and enjoyable way when they make this craft. It’s a win-win for creativity and skill development!
Take a trip to the North Pole and discover more Santa activities to do with the kids this holiday season!
Paper Cup Santa Christmas Craft

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To make this festive craft, all you’ll need are a few supplies, an inexpensive paper cup and our free printable template. Keep reading for the step-by-step instructions that will show you just how easy this Santa is to make!
Supplies
- Colored cardstock or construction paper
- Paper cup
- Scissors
- Glue
- Glue dots (optional)
- Santa template (unlock the image at the end of the post to go to the download page)
Directions
Start by downloading the template and printing it out. Once the template is printed, gather the materials for this fun activity. Get those scissors ready, and let’s help the kids bring the Santa to life!

First, guide your child to glue the face above the mouth, onto the beard/hair piece.

Take the eyes and glue them on both sides.

Place the nose in the middle of the face, near the bottom.

Now, help your child to glue the Santa hat to the top of the face.

Create the hat by gluing the fluff to the bottom of Santa’s hat.

Glue the pom to the tip of the hat.

Create Santa’s belt by gluing the outer buckle to the middle of the band.

Next, place the inner buckle in the middle of the outer buckle.

Glue the belt near the lower part of the cup.

Finally, encourage your child to attach the head to the upper and middle parts of the cup. We used a glue dot for this because it is stronger than glue and has no dry time.

Now your kid has this cute Santa Cup! Check out another one of our Christmas crafts for more fun!

Chrismas Ideas for Kids
Add a little Christmas magic to your kids’ day with some Christmas crafts and educational activities. We have a sleigh full of ideas that will keep your little ones entertained and learning throughout the holiday season.
There’s something on our list for every little elf to enjoy with holiday books, festive crafts, and interactive, hands-on activities.

Christmas Children’s Books
Below are some of the top Christmas books to read to your kids!
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 An Elf: Kids everywhere love the silliness of this Christmas story. The rhymes and the illustrations will draw the kids in as well. This is a Christmas book kids will want to read every year!

Easy Christmas Crafts for Kids
Reindeer Gnome Craft – Kids can transform colored paper into a festive friend who’s dressed up as a reindeer, complete with a red ornament with this cute craft! Our step-by-step instructions and choice of two free templates make this craft a breeze for kids of all skill levels!
Related: Christmas Cutting Worksheets
Nutcracker Headband Craft – Get into the holiday spirit with this fun headband craft! Kids can personalize their nutcracker with their favorite colors and work on boosting important skills at the same time! They’ll be excited to wear and play pretend with their nutcracker masterpiece.

Stocking Card Craft – Deck the halls with this cute stocking card! This craft is perfect for kids of all ages. They’ll create a personalized holiday greeting for family and friends. This simple and fun craft just needs basic supplies and our free template to make!
Santa Handprint Craft – Capture the magic of the season with this personalized craft! No paint required – just paper, glue, scissors, and our printable template. This easy Santa Claus craft is perfect for little elves eager to spread holiday cheer, so gather your supplies and let the festive crafting begin!
Fun Christmas Activities
Extend the magic of the story, How to Catch Santa, with our companion How to Catch Santa worksheets! After enjoying the book, these worksheets add a hands-on, festive twist to learning.
Try this Elf Christmas Card Craft
Kids will work on fine motor skills, completing patterns, developing vocabulary, recognizing the letter C, and much more! This set of printables includes 4 worksheets and a set of flashcards featuring illustrations from the book.

Make the holiday season merrier with these reindeer worksheets! They are perfect to use at home or in the classroom to enhance letter recognition, handwriting skills, and scissor skills.
Kids will learn to recognize and write the letter ‘Rr’ with our reindeer handwriting page and letter maze worksheet. Fun and learning go hand in hand with these festive worksheets, so be sure to download and print them today!

Unwrap the joy of learning with our free Christmas dot to dot printables! As kids connect the dots, they’ll reveal a reindeer, Santa, and a snowman! These engaging activities help enhance fine motor skills and practice counting.
After completing the dot to dots, kids will love getting to color in each picture. Hit print, grab the crayons, and get going on an activity that combines learning with holiday fun!

Elevate how your preschoolers learn their letters this holiday with this Christmas tree letter recognition activity! This hands-on approach makes learning the ABCs festive and fun. Simply tape or glue the Christmas tree onto a paper bag or box, cut out its mouth, and let the kids begin feeding the tree with ornaments!
As your little ones select ornament cards, they’ll say the letter names or sounds on them before feeding their tree!
Christmas Tree Tissue Paper Craft
Share With Us
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!

Santa Cup Craft For Kids
Kids can transform an ordinary paper cup into a jolly Santa decoration with this Santa cup craft!
Materials
- Colored cardstock or construction paper
- Paper cup
- Scissors
- Glue
- Glue dots (optional)
- Santa template
Instructions
- Download the Santa template, print, and cut out the pieces you need.
- Begin by gluing the face above the mouth, onto the beard/hair piece.
- Take the eyes and glue them on both sides.
- Place the nose in the middle of the face, near the bottom.
- Now, glue the Santa hat to the top of the face.
- Create the hat by gluing the fluff to the bottom of Santa’s hat.
- Glue the pom to the tip of the hat.
- Create Santa’s belt by gluing the outer buckle to the middle of the band.
- Next, place the inner buckle in the middle of the outer buckle.
- Glue the belt near the lower part of the cup.
- Finish up by attaching the head to the upper and middle parts of the cup. We used a glue dot for this because it is stronger than glue and has no dry time.
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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. Read more.
Laurel
Monday 16th of December 2024
Merry Christmas
Sam
Tuesday 17th of December 2024
Merry Christmas to you too!
kannika
Monday 11th of December 2023
i want this
Sam
Monday 11th of December 2023
Since you’re a subscriber, you just need to click the “I want this freebie” image at the end of the post and then enter your email in the form. After that, it’ll automatically redirect you to the download page ◡̈
Char
Thursday 7th of December 2023
Love your crafts!
Sam
Friday 8th of December 2023
Oh, thank you so much, Char!
Francis
Sunday 3rd of December 2023
Love it!
Sam
Monday 4th of December 2023
Yay, so glad to hear that!
Francis
Sunday 3rd of December 2023
Grdat idea for kids!
Sam
Monday 4th of December 2023
Thanks so much!