[For 3-year-olds] December Christmas Crafts! A Collection of Fun Handmade Ideas
December is an exciting, heart-pounding time to enjoy Christmas crafts with three-year-olds! This time, we’re sharing Christmas craft ideas that three-year-olds will love.
From crayon-resist garlands and snow globes to yarn trees, every project lets kids have fun while feeling the season.
Enjoy the feel of materials, marvel at shifting colors, and celebrate the finished pieces—spend a joyful time crafting works perfect for Christmas memories! Note: Since children’s creations are treated as artworks, the term “制作 (seisaku)” here is used to mean “production/creation” rather than general “making.”
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[Age 3] December Christmas Crafts! A Special Feature of Fun Handmade Ideas (41–50)
Also great for Christmas! Easy way to fold a star
This idea starts with making creases.
By making firm, precise creases first, the following steps will be easier, so proceed carefully.
After creasing, fold the origami twice to make a small square, then squash the pocket to form two triangles.
Take only the top layer of the triangle and fold the right edge to align with the center line.
Turn the paper over and fold the other side the same way.
In this state, hold the remaining right corner and slowly pull the left corner; the folded sections will swap sides, creating the two bottom points of the star.
Finally, adjust for balance and make step folds with the remaining corners to finish.
[For 3-year-olds] December Christmas Crafts! A special feature of handmade fun ideas (51–60)
Snowflake paper ornament
Here’s an idea for making a papercut design with origami.
First, fold the paper into a triangle by bringing the top and bottom corners together.
Then rotate the paper and flip the top and bottom.
Cross the two triangle corners inward and fold where they overlap neatly.
Draw a crystal-like pattern and cut it with scissors.
Open the paper to reveal your design.
The crystal’s look changes depending on how you make the cuts, so try different variations.
The moment you open it and wonder, “What pattern will it be?” is so exciting and fun.
Christmas tree with origami!
We’ll make a Christmas tree by sticking strip-shaped origami onto a backing sheet.
First, prepare the origami and cut it into strips.
Overlap the two ends of each strip to form a loop, then start gluing the loops onto the backing sheet.
Arrange them in the shape of a tree: five loops in the bottom row, four in the row above, and so on.
Use red origami for the top row, and add a star at the top.
Decorate the tree with round stickers, and it’s done! You can also use wide paper tape instead of origami paper.
Santa Claus with handprints
Here’s a recommended craft for three-year-olds: a handprint Santa Claus.
In this project, the beard of a Santa drawn or cut out from paper is represented using the child’s handprint.
You can add originality through the size of the hand and the way the print is stamped.
It’s also easy to adapt—such as using handprints to create a reindeer’s antlers, not just Santa.
You can make handprint art regularly and display them side by side at graduation as a keepsake.
The feeling of cool paint on the hands is intriguing and unique, so kids will likely enjoy the making process, too!
Resist art gloves
Let’s make cozy mittens using a wax-resist (crayon resist) technique.
On a sheet of drawing paper where you’ve already outlined a mitten shape, have the children draw patterns with a white crayon within the mitten outline.
When they paint over it with watercolor, the patterns they drew will appear.
It’s nice if they can freely choose their favorite colors.
Once the paint is dry, cut out the mitten shape with scissors.
Add a wrist decoration and a craft pom-pom to finish.
It will be fun to see what patterns the children come up with.
A tree of single scissor cuts and string threading
Here’s a Christmas tree craft idea that lets kids practice fine motor skills with scissors.
They’ll decorate a construction-paper Christmas tree with various ornaments.
By having the children cut pieces of origami paper, they can enjoy themselves while learning how to use scissors.
If you punch holes in the base beforehand, the kids can also have fun threading string through them.
Give this project a try to create an original tree that will be perfect for Christmas decorations.
Christmas cake made from a milk carton
A Christmas cake made from a milk carton—perfect for December crafts and Christmas parties! Open the milk carton, cut it into three equal pieces, shape each into a triangle, and secure the edges with double-sided tape.
Wrap a strip of vinyl tape around the middle, add fruit stickers, and the cake base is complete.
For the strawberries on top, wrap crumpled tissues with origami paper.
One milk carton makes three cakes, and combining six pieces transforms them into a whole cake! Crumpling tissues and sticking on stickers are steps kids will enjoy, too!
