10 Easy & Magical Holiday Crafts to Do With Toddlers
The holiday season is full of sparkle, wonder, and… energy. Lots of toddler energy. If you’re looking for simple, festive activities to keep little hands busy (and create sweet keepsakes along the way), these 10 toddler-friendly crafts are perfect. They use easy-to-find materials, require minimal prep, and focus on sensory fun rather than perfection.
1. Paper Plate Snowman Faces
Grab a stack of paper plates, cotton balls, markers, and scraps of paper. Let your toddler glue cotton around the edges for “snow,” draw a smile, and stick on a triangle nose. Instant snowman, and bonus - minimal mess!
2. Handprint Christmas Tree
Paint your toddler’s hand green and stamp it onto paper multiple times in a tree shape. Add sticker ornaments or fingerprints dipped in paint. This one becomes a keepsake every year.
3. Jingle Bell Sensory Bottles 🔔
Fill an empty water bottle with jingle bells, pom-poms, and glitter. Secure the lid tightly (VERY TIGHTLY). Toddlers love shaking them to make music. A great way to have an impromptu dance party
4. Cinnamon Play Dough ✨
Make your own dough with flour, salt, water, and cinnamon. It smells like Christmas and is perfect for shaping trees, stars, and “cookies.” Safe, fun, and wonderfully sensory.
5. Pinecone “Mini Trees” 🌲✨
If your toddler is like mine, you find everything in their jacket pockets - pinecones, mulch, rocks...Great for crafts, but not the washing machine. If you don't have any pocket pine cones today, collect some (or grab a bag from the craft store) and let little ones paint them green. Add dot stickers or finger-painted ornaments. They look adorable lined up on a windowsill.
6. Toddler-Friendly Gingerbread Ornaments 🍪
Cut gingerbread shapes out of felt or craft foam. Toddlers decorate with pom-poms, googly eyes, yarn, and stickers, no frosting, no crumbs, all fun.
7. Contact Paper Winter Collage ❄️
Place contact paper sticky side up and tape it to a table. Offer tissue paper squares, paper snowflakes, cotton balls, and glitter shapes (I recommend NO loose glitter at this age ). Toddlers press them on to make a magical winter collage.
8. Pom-Pom Candy Cane Stick 🍭
Use a candy cane shaped piece of cardboard or a pipe cleaner and let toddlers stick on red and white pom-poms. Great for practicing color patterns without needing perfection.
9. Holiday Sticker Cards 🎄💌
Fold construction paper into cards and set out holiday stickers. Toddlers make “cards” for grandparents, neighbors, or siblings. Low mess and great to keep them busy while you wrap gifts.
10. Salt Dough Keepsake Ornaments 🖐️⭐
Mix salt dough (1 cup flour, ½ cup salt, ½ cup warm water), cut into shapes, and make a handprint or footprint. Bake low and slow, then paint. You can just leave it as a handprint or paint a Santa or reindeer face. This makes a great gift for grandparents!
Final Tip
When crafting with toddlers, the magic is in the process, not the product. Embrace the messy, funny, uniquely toddler versions of each project. These moments become the memories you’ll treasure long after the glue has dried. Enjoy, and Happy Holidays! 🎁✨
*AI was used for parts of this post.
