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 (31–40)
Santa Claus walking along
The little waddling Santa Claus is super cute, isn’t he? Let’s glue red construction paper onto a paper cup and draw a Santa illustration.
Prepare two bottle caps, put a super ball inside, and glue the caps together.
Thread a rubber band through and use tape to secure it.
Put some beads in a small bag, tie it with a string, and attach it to the paper cup Santa.
Make shallow cuts at the bottom of the paper cup, fit the rubber band in, and it’s done.
Try twisting the caps to make it toddle along.
It might be fun to have a race, too!
Easy! Torn-paper Christmas tree
@hoiku.labo [Craft for ages 0–5] Rip-and-stick torn-paper collage tree 🎄#Childcare CraftingNursery teacher / Childcare worker#Drawers of ChildcareWith childrenEasy to makeMake and playPopular production#ChristmasInfant Craft⭐↓Detailed instructions are in the comments↓⭐
♪ Original Song – Hoiku Kyujin Labo – Hoiku Kyujin Labo | Nursery Teacher Job Changes and Helpful Information
Let’s create a Christmas tree with torn-paper collage! Prepare a base with the tree trunk already glued on, and have the children tear several sheets of origami paper into small pieces.
If tearing is difficult, you can prepare pre-torn origami paper.
Apply glue in a triangle above the trunk, then attach the torn paper on top to form the tree.
Finish by decorating with round stickers as ornaments.
Mixing patterned origami with solid colors will make it look more festive.
Choose sticker colors that won’t be overpowered by the origami colors.
Pompom Stamping! Christmas Tree
@hoiku.labo [Crafts for Ages 0–5] Stamp with a dabber! Christmas Tree 🎄❄#Childcare CraftingNursery teacher / Childcare worker#Drawers of ChildcareWith childrenEasy to makeMake and playPopular production#ChristmasInfant Craft⭐↓For details, see the comments↓⭐
♪ Original Song – Hoiku Kyujin Labo – Hoiku Kyujin Labo | Nursery Teacher Job Changes and Helpful Information
Here’s a Christmas tree craft idea where you dab on color with stamps.
Prepare a tree template, stamps, paint, and drawing paper.
First, fix the tree template onto the base sheet and have the children stamp paint onto it.
Green is the main color, but adding a little white can make it look like a snow-covered tree.
Once the stamping is done, remove the template and glue on a trunk made from construction paper to finish.
After the paint dries, decorating with sticker ornaments could be fun, too.
Cute tissue paper wreath
The step of rolling and sticking is so much fun! Let me share an idea for making a tissue paper wreath.
Before you begin, prepare a paper plate with the center cut out, white and green tissue paper cut into manageable pieces, and decorative parts like Santa and star shapes.
Have the children crumple the tissue paper into little balls and stick them onto the rim-only paper plate where you’ve applied glue.
Once they’ve gone all the way around with the tissue paper, let them place the decorative parts—made into stickers with double-sided tape—wherever they like.
Punch a hole at the top of the paper plate, thread a string through, and your Christmas wreath is complete.
Let’s make a big Christmas tree!
This is an idea where you put a big Christmas tree made from construction paper on the wall and let the children freely decorate it with ornaments.
Since it’s for infants (0-year-olds), please prepare the ornament bases in advance by cutting them out of construction paper.
Let the children draw on the bases with crayons or stick on stickers to create lovely ornaments.
Once the ornaments are finished, decorate the tree with them! If you prepare bases in a variety of motifs, the tree will look even more festive.