December craft ideas! A collection of childcare activities to enjoy with Christmas and winter themes

10 years as a kindergarten teacher / elementary school teacher / junior and senior high school teacher / childminderkepiko
Graduated from Kunitachi College of Music, Faculty of Music (now: Department of Music Culture and Education, Early Childhood Music Education major). In elementary school, my homeroom teacher was Jun Kusaba, a game researcher. After graduating from university, I worked as a kindergarten teacher for 10 years and as an after-school childcare instructor for 7 years, then took a position as a music teacher at an international school in Singapore. In addition to music education, I engaged in activities that introduced Japanese culture, traditional games, and recreational activities, working with many children. Later, through freelance writing, planning, and editing at Shogakukan, I met many delightful adults and experienced the joy of communicating and sharing. Drawing on the perspective cultivated in the field of education and my experience as an editor, I provide practical information with an emphasis on both input and output, mainly in areas related to music and children. My hobbies include instruments, singing, handicrafts, toys, drawing, traditional games, the outdoors, and books. My special skill is spinning-top tricks.
20 years of experience as a nursery teacher / kindergarten teacherhiyoko sensei
I’m Hiyoko-sensei, a former nursery school teacher from Hyogo Prefecture. Ever since I was five, my dream was to become a childcare worker, and before I knew it, 20 years had passed since I achieved that dream. Through singing and playing with the children, I kept working with the spirit of someone in their twenties, even as I increasingly felt my physical limits year by year (haha). From here on, I’d like to share helpful information carefully and thoughtfully, drawing on my on-site experience.

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.

December craft ideas! A collection of childcare activities to enjoy with Christmas and winter themes (41–50)

Perfectly round and cute! Threading Santa

Santa Claus’s big belly is the cutest feature! This is a unique lacing craft.

What you’ll need: a paper plate, scissors, a hole punch, red yarn, red tissue paper, glue or double-sided tape, and Santa’s face and body parts.

Cut out the center of the paper plate and punch holes around it, then lace red yarn through the holes.

Next, attach crumpled tissue paper around the rim of the plate.

Finally, glue on Santa’s face and body parts, and you’re done!

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Santa Claus paper plate craft

@peta_peta_anyo
Santa Claus Craft 🎄Materials- Paper plate- Construction paper- Crayons- Pom-poms (decorative parts)- Cotton- Glue (liquid) - Glue stickHow to make it- Cut the paper plate in half.- Snip little cuts along the rim of the paper plate with scissors.- Cut the construction paper into a triangle.- Apply glue and stick on the paper plate.- Attach a pom-pom with liquid glue to the tip of the hat. (It’s fine to fold the tip of the hat or leave it as is.)- Color the face area with crayons.- Glue cotton along the seam where the paper plate and construction paper meet.- Finally, draw the nose and mouth with crayons, add eye stickers, and you’re done! (It’s cute even without eye stickers ♡)Thank you always for looking! 🌟 To revisit this post later, “Save” is recommended!Teacher Mayu 🧸 @peta_peta_anyo[Ideas for easy crafts you can do tomorrow!]- Recording real kids’ voices and reactions from the field- Active nursery teacher | Fun childcare for both kids and teachers ☺︎ˎˊ˗I’d love your follows and likes 🤍Nursery teacher / Childcare worker Childcare Production Winter Craft Christmas crafts #Christmas #ChristmasTree Made in December December Crafts Santa Claus #Santa #Santa craft Infant Craft Toddler Crafts Easy to make
♬ Christmas song “Let’s decorate” – 3KTrack

This is a Santa Claus wall decoration idea that children can enjoy at different difficulty levels, from infant to preschool classes.

In the infant class, children can aim to complete their work by drawing or pasting Santa’s face on a paper plate with crayons, while in the preschool class, they can start from cutting the paper plate with scissors and work through to completion.

Using cotton, white decorative balls, and googly eye stickers adds a three-dimensional effect.

The wall will look festive, and it might make children look forward to coming to school.

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An ornament that can also be hung on the tree! Star decoration

@chii_1514m
I made a star ornament that you can also hang on the tree.#Production video #Production Video #Kindergarten #Nursery school wall surface #MugiMama's crew Handmade #Christmas
♬ Cute heartwarming BGM(836059) – Red Cat Blue

You can easily make this using simple materials from a 100-yen shop.

First, roughly cut colored construction paper in your favorite colors.

Place a star-shaped template on top of parchment paper and secure it with tape.

Peel off the star together with the tape, then freely stick on the small pieces of the cut paper.

Add another layer of tape over the top, and cut along the star shape with scissors.

Finally, punch a hole and thread a string through it to complete the star ornament.

Using cellophane makes it translucent and more festive in the light, perfect for Christmas trees or wall decorations.

It’s a simple yet eye-catching craft that you can enjoy making with children.

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kojifumi

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Disney handmade garland

https://www.tiktok.com/@xx._.takaaki/video/7245241301426343175

Let’s try making original Disney garlands.

It seems the garlands themselves are made by taking official coloring pages and editing them with an app.

Laminate the garlands, cut them out, and hang them on a string, and you’ll have an adorable garland! If you want the design to shine even more, apply a holographic sheet on top of the lamination.

Designing in Christmas colors or adding ribbons and bells to the garland will make it an even more fitting wall decoration for December!

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sasashina

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Make it with toilet paper rolls! Nordic-style Santa Claus

@hapibacrafts
[Make It with a Toilet Paper Roll! How to Craft a Scandinavian-Style Santa Figurine] You can make this cute Scandinavian-style Santa figurine using construction paper and a toilet paper roll! Here’s how. <What you need> ・1 toilet paper roll ・Construction paper (B5 red x1, B6 gold x1, B6 white x1) ・Santa figurine template (available on minne) → https://minne.com/items/38394007 ・1 red pom-pom, 2.5 cm (available at Daiso) ・Ruler, craft knife, scissors ・Wood glue, glue stick, rubber bands ・Black pen <Instructions> 1. Print the template and roughly cut it out. 2. Glue the template onto construction paper in the specified colors and cut out the pieces. 3. Arrange the cut pieces in the same orientation as shown in the images. 4. Apply glue to the skin-colored circular piece. 5. Stick it onto the white circular piece. 6. Apply glue to the white beard piece and attach it as shown in the image. 7. Glue the small white circle to the top of the red piece. 8. Glue the toilet paper roll in place. 9. Roll it up, apply glue to the edge, and secure. 10. Now you have Santa’s body and face pieces as shown. 11. Apply glue to the back of the face piece and attach it to the body. 12. Hold it in place with a rubber band until the glue dries. 13. Use wood glue to attach the red pom-pom to Santa’s face. 14. Secure with a rubber band and wait until it is fully bonded. 15. Meanwhile, draw Santa’s eyes with the black pen. 16. Once Santa’s nose is fully attached, you’re done! ⬇️ For a detailed walkthrough, watch the video here.https://youtu.be/NUt3fq8KLoI⬇️ Reindeer version is herehttps://youtu.be/uhwaT-iGaNQ Christmas decorations Santa Claus Simple craft Simple Handmade Christmas crafts Toilet paper roll core #Santa Santa Claus #Christmas decorations Simple Santa doll Santa doll Christmas Doll Christmas decorations Handmade Christmas Papercraft Papercraft making Childcare #ConstructionPaperArt Poster Board Craft Children's crafts #xmascraft #handmadexmas #Nabechin
♬ Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree – Brenda Lee

Crafts made using familiar materials and scrap are a great experience for both children and adults.

Instead of buying something new, using items that would otherwise be thrown away can also contribute to the SDGs.

The items you’ll need are: a toilet paper roll, construction paper cut into parts, glue, double-sided tape or paste, red pom-poms, a black pen, and rubber bands.

When attaching the pom-poms, it’s a good idea to secure them with rubber bands while they dry.

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