Christmas in the classroom is my favorite time of the year! I love to have my students create kid-friendly Christmas ornaments as a gift for the grown-up in their life. Often the types of ornaments we make are kid-friendly so that students can all make them at the same time. However, if it involves paint, glitter, or anything else that might be messy, I suggest you assign your class an independent task and work with a small group of students at a time to make it more manageable.
Kid-Friendly Reindeer Ornaments
Supplies: Clear plastic ornament balls, brown construction paper, brown pipe cleaners, red pom-poms, googly eyes, or white & black craft paint
Directions:
- Students tear construction paper into strips and roll them with a pencil. I’ve found the smaller the strip the better.
- Stuff curled strips into a clear ornament. Plastic ornaments are a safer option for the classroom
- Twist the pipe cleaner to the top & add a ribbon to hang on the tree
- Add red pom-pom for the nose
- Paint on or add googly eyes
- Use brown lunch sacks for wrapping and have students trace their hands to create antlers
Kid-Friendly Snowman Head Ornament
Supplies: Clear plastic ornament balls, white paper, colorful pipe cleaners, colorful pom-poms, googly eyes or black Sharpie, orange Sharpie, or foam for the nose
Directions:
- Students tear construction paper into strips and roll them with a pencil. I’ve found the smaller the strip the better.
- Stuff curled strips into a clear ornament. Plastic ornaments are a safer option for the classroom
- Add pipe cleaner and pom-pom for earmuffs
- Add ribbon to hang on the tree
- Draw or add a nose
- Draw on or add googly eyes
- Wrap in tissue paper and tie a ribbon for easy wrapping
Snowman Finger Family Ornament
(requires a little more supervision)
Supplies: Colorful ornament balls, white paint, sharpie markers, tag for ornament
Directions:
- Paint students’ fingers but do not include the thumb
- The student places a hand on the bottom of the ornament to create a snowman family
- Allow time to dry
- Students add details to ornaments using Sharpies
- Add ribbon and tag printable found here
- Wrap in tissue paper and place in a plastic cup to help students transport home without breaking
Picture Frame Gift
(Not a Christmas ornament, but still a cute gift idea)
Supplies: Wood frame, colorful paint, black Sharpie, picture of student
Directions:
- Students dip their fingers in paint and place it all over the frame to create lights
- Allow time to dry
- Take a festive picture of each student and print
- Students use a Sharpie to connect lights
- Insert a photo of the student
- Wrap in tissue or wrapping paper
A few more Kid Friendly Christmas ornament ideas from Anna at Hanging with Mrs. Hulsey:
Reinder Drawings
The next two are not ornaments but are definitely kid-friendly gift ideas that would make also a great classroom or hallway display.
This project takes a while, so it makes a great early finisher project. One thing I had my students do that seemed to help was I allowed them to Google images of “drawing patterns”
