Season of Activities: 4 Creative Holiday DIY Ideas for Kids
Shanequa Dasher of @dashercreations is sharing holiday inspiration of DIY activities to try with your little ones at home this season.
The holidays are a great time to create and spend quality time with the family. Easy crafts and DIY activities are one of my personal favorite ways to create lasting memories without breaking the bank. Here are 4 creative and fun holiday DIY ideas for kids that will keep them engaged and inspired throughout the holiday season.
Toilet Paper Roll Snowman Bowl
You'll never strike out with a game of bowling. Create these adorable mini snowmen using toilet paper rolls, paint, markers, and those lost socks with no match (baby/toddler socks work best). We even did a few with earmuffs using pipe cleaners and pom poms. Line them up and let the good times roll. Add a little extra fun by putting colors, numbers, math problems, letters or sight words on each snowman. All snowman “pins” that get knocked down will have to be read out loud or solved in order to count.
Craft Stick Holiday Puzzles
Puzzles are always a family favorite in our home, but I personally think they’re even better when you create them. These popsicle stick puzzles featuring a few holiday favorites are a great craft and activity rolled into one. Sneak in a little learning by adding corresponding letters, words, and numbers to help assemble each mini puzzle.
Pro Tip: Use painter’s tape to hold down the sticks as you and your kiddos draw and color your puzzle pattern.
Christmas Tree Matching
Just because school is out, doesn’t mean learning has to be. Allow your kids to create and then play their own Christmas tree matching game. We used some of the stickers from our Skillmatics Dot IT! to create a certain number of dotted ornaments on Triangle Christmas trees cut from a leftover cereal box and painted green.
As an activity, we matched the tree sticker “ornaments” with a number on the toilet paper roll tree trunk. This can be modified for older children using math facts and their answers, or with younger toddlers by simply matching the singular color of ornaments on a tree with the same color tree trunk.
The amount of adorable(and peace) that happens as I watch my 5 year old QUIETLY concentrate on placing each of the Dot IT! stickers is unmatched. He’s exercising his fine motor skills, pincer grasp, creativity and focus, and I love every minute of it.
Holiday Beaded Backpack Charms
Nothing says holiday cheer like festive backpack charms. We created these using beads, pipe cleaners, and keychain hooks. They can also easily be converted into ornaments for the Christmas tree by simply replacing the latch with a wire hook. This craft is great for fine motor skills and exploring patterns. It’s also a perfect and inexpensive DIY gift for friends and family from the kids.
Bonus: Turn this object into an activity by using a pencil, hook, tape, and string and create a “fishing rod”. Use your “fishing rod” to go fishing for charms.
The holidays are a time of special memories and creating magic. Each of these simple holiday DIY ideas can be achieved with items from around your home, and after the fun of crafting them, can be used over and over again as activities to spend quality time with your family. These DIY ideas are sure to inspire magical experiences in your home this holiday season and for years to come.
Shanequa Dasher, M.ED is mom, author, content creator and former classroom teacher. She loves creating fun, educational, and budget friendly crafts and DIY activities with her 2 children Kayla(9) and Kyler(5). Follow her at @dashercreations on Instagram and YouTube for more fun and inspiration.