December craft ideas! A collection of childcare activities to enjoy with Christmas and winter themes
December is the perfect time to enjoy cozy, seasonally inspired crafts.
Here, we introduce wonderful ideas that nurture children’s imagination—from creations that evoke winter warmth, like oden, cream stew, and a snug duvet, to seasonal projects such as Christmas wreaths, snow globes, and snowmen.
Using familiar materials, why not enjoy winter-only crafting with children while exploring light, color, and shape? We also provide detailed explanations of key points and creative tips for each project, so please use them as a reference.
Because the items children make are treated as artworks, we use the term “制作 (seisaku)” in the text to mean “production/creation” in the artistic sense.
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December craft ideas! A collection of childcare activities to enjoy with Christmas and winter themes (11–20)
A roly-poly toy made from a capsule
https://www.tiktok.com/@hoikushi_bank/video/7038191152163474690Roly-poly toys that sway from side to side are really popular with little kids, aren’t they? For this one, all you need are a toy capsule, some marbles, and vinyl tape, and the method is super simple—highly recommended.
Put four marbles inside the toy capsule and use vinyl tape to keep the marbles in place.
Close the capsule, tape the opening, then wrap tape around the whole capsule.
Add a face and decorations, and it’s done! You can make them to match seasonal themes or animals—like Santa Claus, bears, or rabbits—which makes it even more fun.
Sparkling translucent snowman
@chii_1514m Sparkling Translucent Winter Craft [Snowman]#Production video#Wall Creation#Kindergarten#Nursery schoolWinter ProductionWall decorationSnowman#Christmas#CapCut
♬ Jingle Bell EDM Christmas Snow(910545) – The Structures
Stained glass snowmen are perfect for an indoor craft activity during the cold winter season.
For this cellophane snowman craft, cut construction paper into a snowman shape and then cut a round opening for its belly.
Apply tape to the snowman’s surface with the adhesive side facing up, and stick on pieces of cut cellophane randomly in any colors you like to decorate the snowman.
Draw the snowman’s face with colored pens, and it’s done.
Stick it on a window and enjoy the glowing colors as the light shines through.
It’s also fun to try making penguins or snowflakes with the same method.
Christmas wreath made with paper clay
@rinmama_handmade♬ Cute heartwarming BGM(1490583) – sanusagi
Speaking of Christmas, many households decorate with wreaths, don’t they? Prepare paper clay, tissue paper, fabric, and chopsticks.
Once you shape the paper clay into a wreath, smooth it out on a flat surface.
Before the clay dries, use something with a rounded, slightly pointed tip to press in square-cut pieces of tissue paper or fabric to decorate.
It’s best to fill in the wreath without gaps to give it volume and make it cuter—highly recommended.
Adding accents of red, yellow, or light blue will make it look more festive.
You could also stick on beads or glittery stars at the end to boost the Christmas feel and make it even cuter.
Christmas Lights Made with Paper Cups
https://www.tiktok.com/@chooobo2/video/7436354141355658513Crafts using everyday paper cups are popular with children.
This project is an original light made from a paper cup.
Cut a clear plastic file into a circle to match the diameter of the cup’s rim, then draw pictures on it with color pens.
Place plastic wrap over the drawing on the rim side of the cup and secure it with a rubber band.
Cut out the bottom of the paper cup, shine a light from below, and your drawing will be projected onto the wall for you to enjoy.
It’s a craft full of discoveries, such as how light creates shadows and how the shadows move when you move the light.
Handmade snow globe
Sparkling snow globes are a fun craft to look at and play with.
Be sure to make them together with the kids.
First, draw and color the motif you’ll put inside the snow globe on shrink plastic.
For children who aren’t confident drawing freely, it’s helpful to prepare a tracing template.
Next, bend the edge of the shrink plastic, apply glue, and fix it to the jar lid.
For the liquid inside the jar, mix water and liquid laundry starch (or glue) at a ratio of 3 to 7, and pour it in.
Measuring is also a valuable experience for children, so it’s great to do it together.
Finally, add beads or pom-poms, close the lid, and it’s done! It’s very beautiful, but please be careful to prevent accidental swallowing of small parts.
