If you have kids, chances are you have a few homemade Christmas ornaments the kids made.    

Making ornaments is a fun way to pass the time as the kids count down to the big day.  These beaded Christmas ornaments are easy to make, and they look beautiful on the tree.  

Beaded Christmas Ornaments 

These homemade Christmas ornaments for kids to make would be fun to make when you’re stuck inside on a cold day.  Plus, they make cute gifts.

Young kids will also have fun making play doh ornaments. 

Affiliate links have been used below at no additional cost to you.  See my full disclosure for more details. 

Materials Needed:

• Pipe Cleaners (Chenille Stems)
• Transparent Faceted Round Beads
• Transparent “Sunburst” Beads
• Red and White Tri Beads
• Thin Red Ribbon
• Gold Thread (or invisible thread, for hanging)

Beaded Icicle Ornaments

To create your own beaded icicles, start off with a white pipe cleaner.  

For the one pictured we chose to use clear beads in 2 different sizes.  Thread the smallest ones on first to create the bottom of the icicle.  Then add your larger beads.

You can also use colored beads, if you wish.  These turn out beautiful when hanging near the lights.  

Once your icicle is as long as you wish it to be, add a drop of white glue to the ends of your pipe cleaner and fold the tips of the pipe cleaner over.  (The glue helps keep little fingers from undoing the beads later.) 

If needed, you can trim your pipe cleaner.  

Tie a loop of gold thread to the top for hanging.  If desired, you can add a bit of ribbon, flower, or other baubble to the top with hot glue. 

Pipe Cleaner Snowflakes with Beads

To create your DIY snowflake ornament, you will need 3-4 pipe cleaners. 

Twist the middles together to form 6-8 points of your snowflake. 

For the one pictured we used clear and gold beads. 

You can also do this ornament with “sunburst beads” in any color you wish, forming a star.  

Challenge little ones to create a pattern that they can repeat on each arm of the snowflake or star.  

Again, bending the ends of each pipe cleaner around the last bead will help secure them.  I also added a bit of craft glue on the ends to keep little fingers from taking them apart later.

Finally, add a loop of gold string to the top so you can hang your ornament.  

Pipe Cleaner Candy Canes with Beads

I remember making these tri bead Christmas ornaments when I was a kid.  I had so much fun making them with my own kids.  I’m sure you will too!

Once again start with a  pipe cleaner.  

We used opaque red and white tri-beads to create our candy canes.  I’ve also seen them done with round beads and transparent ones.  They all turn out pretty. 

Have your child thread the beads on, alternating between red and white.   Working on patterns like this is perfect for toddlers and preschoolers.  

Once you have enough beads on the pipe cleaner, simply bend the top to form a candy cane.  (And, yes, I bent the tips on these and added a bit of glue, too!)

We like to hang ours by just sliding the hooked end over a tree branch, like a real candy cane.  You could also add a bit of gold thread to it for hanging.  

Beaded Wreath Ornament

To make a wreath ornament with beads, start with a pipe cleaner and green beads.

We used green sunburst beads and alternated them with silver round beads.  You could also use red beads between your green ones.  

Once your pipe cleaner is full, bend it into a circle and twist the 2 ends together.  

Add a pretty ribbon bow to the top.  You can tie it, or use hot glue if you wish.  We chose to add a loop of matching ribbon to hang it with.

What I love about beaded Christmas ornaments is that they are easy to make and each one is unique!  You can create an unlimited variety using different beads and adorning them with various ribbons, etc.

Looking for more homemade ornament ideas?

• Wire and Bead Ornaments for Tweens
• DIY Beach Ornament 
• Pine Cone Ornament
• Puzzle Piece Wreath
• Recycled Christmas Card Ornament

Originally published December 15, 2013. 

The post Beautiful Beaded Christmas Ornaments Kids Can Make first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

The cards are colorful and fun to display.

But what do you do with all those holiday cards once the decorations come down?  

You can recycle Christmas cards into fun Christmas card ornaments that will look pretty on the tree for years to come. 

These ideas may become some of your favorite homemade Christmas ornaments.

If you love recycled crafts, than you will love turning Christmas cards into ornaments.  These ornaments make fun tween crafts for Christmas break.  

Looking for more homemade ornament ideas?  Check out these beaded Christmas ornaments. 

Christmas Card Ornaments 

3-D Christmas Card Ornament —  Turn this year’s cards into a colorful 3-dimensional ornament that will remind you of all your friends and family.  

Photo Card Ornament —  Many families now a days send photo cards for Christmas.  It’s wonderful to see how the kids have changed each year.  But what do you do with the cards once the holidays are over?  It seems a shame to toss them in the trash.  These ornaments using photo cards are a fun way to display them year after year.  

Christmas Card Shadow Box—  Create vintage-looking ornaments using the cards you get from friends and family and a little creativity.  You’ll love how these tiny diorama ornaments turn out.  

Christmas Card Snowflake Ornament—  Discover how you can create elegant ornaments using strips cut from this year’s cards. 

Homemade Card Ornaments — With a few simple folds, you can turn Christmas sheet music, colorful card stock, or those holiday cards into beautiful ornaments to hang on the tree. 

This year, once the decorations come down, recycle those Christmas cards into homemade ornaments you’ll cherish for years.  

You may also like these posts:

• Play Dough Ornaments
• Candy Cane Games for Kids
• Melting Snowmen STEM Activity

The post Beautiful Recycled Christmas Card Ornaments first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

Out of all the bling on the Christmas tree, some of my very favorites are homemade, especially ones my children have made over the years.

If you’re like me and treasure those kid-made ornaments, than you will love this collection of  beautiful handmade Christmas ornaments for kids.

If you are looking for fun kids Christmas crafts to do this season, you just can’t go wrong with something for the tree.  

These Christmas ornaments kids can make are perfect if you are looking for fun activities to add to your Christmas countdown.

You might also enjoy some of these Christmas STEM activities. 

Homemade Christmas Ornaments

DIY Jesse Tree Ornaments —  A Jesse tree is a beautiful way to teach kids the reason for the holiday season.  These homemade Jesse tree ornaments are perfect for kids to make to go with the scripture readings.  

Beaded Christmas Ornaments  — From simple red and white beaded candy canes, to sparkling icicles and beaded star ornaments, kids of all ages will have fun making these 4 beautiful Christmas tree ornaments.  

Christmas Flower Ornament   — Find out how your child can recycle old cardboard tubes to make stunning red flowers that sparkle.

Melted Plastic Cup Ornaments  — Add a bit of science to your crafting with this Christmas ornament for kids.  

Play-Doh Ornaments  — This homemade ornament idea is a great way to use that play dough that’s starting to dry up.  

Lego Ornament  — This fun idea is a must for kids who love Legos.

Recycled Christmas Card Ornament — Create ornaments with memories of last year’s cards.

Craft Stick Snowman   — This kid made Christmas ornament is super easy and perfect for toddlers and preschoolers. 

Crystal Icicle Ornaments — Mix science with art and create beautiful crystals you can hang on the tree. 

Pine Cone Reindeer — Kids will have fun transforming a pine cone into an adorable reindeer for the tree.  

Dragonfly Ornament  — You will love these whimsical tree decorations.  

Sparkly Craft Stick Snowflake — Every tree needs a little sparkle.  Your child will love making these simple snowflakes.

Ribbon Christmas Tree  — These ribbon trees look elegant and would make a cute homemade teacher gift.

DIY Beach Ornament —  This plastic ball ornament is a fun way to keep vacation memories alive all year long.

Styrofoam and Button Ornaments  –This is a super easy ornament for even the youngest to make.

Button Wreath   — Kids will have fun making this ornament with discarded buttons.  

Puzzle Piece Wreath — Here is a fun way to recycle those puzzles with missing pieces.

Yarn Wrapped Trees — Kids love to play with yarn.  This simple tree ornament would be perfect for kindergartners. 

Paper Straw Wreath —  Toddlers and preschoolers will have fun working on patterns while making these. 

Plastic Cup Bell   — Every tree should have a bell.  Your child can make this one in just a few minutes. 

Scrap Ribbon Christmas Tree   — I love the simplicity in these easy to make ornaments.  

Craft Stick Stars — Looking for something super simple?  Make these stars ahead of time and let your toddler or preschooler decorate them with glitter glue and sequins.  

Pine Cone Ornaments — Every tree needs a bit of sparkle.  Gather the kids together to create these glittery pine cones to decorate the tree.

Cinnamon Ornaments  — Kids will love how fragrant these ornaments are.

Once the tree is decorated with plenty of homemade Christmas ornaments for kids, be sure to check out our  free printable Christmas scavenger hunt.

You’ll also like:

• How to Have a Candy Cane Hunt
• DIY Handprint Reindeer Sweatshirt
• Melting Snowman Activity 
• Homemade Present Wreath

Originally published November 26, 2017. 

The post 25 Beautiful Christmas Ornaments Kids Can Make first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

That little tree, with its branch weighed down by the one red ornament…  It’s just not Christmas time until I watch A Charlie Brown Christmas.  This year we have been working on a mini Christmas unit in homeschool.  We had lots of fun with activities inspired by A Charlie Brown Christmas.  

We actually have a 30 year-old copy of the book.  (You know, one of those that had a record with it back in the day that you could listen to and turn the pages when you heard the beep.)  The kids have seen A Charlie Brown Christmas special on t.v. before, but this year I dusted of the book and we delved into its dog-eared pages.

Before we started reading A Charlie Brown Christmas, I pointed out how the text is different from the typical books we read.  We talked about how it was written as a play, with the character’s name followed by a colon and then the words they say.  We compared the text to a few other story books we had nearby that make use of the typical quotation marks.

After our reading, the kids cut out the events in the story and glued them in order.  (Print out your own copy, along with our math sheet, below.)  

Then it was time for some math.  

Math Activities Inspired by A Charlie Brown Christmas:

• Practice counting by 5’s since Lucy charges 5 cents at her help booth.
• Figure out how much money Lucy would have if she had a certain number of nickels.  (If Lucy has 12 nickels, how much money does she have?)
• Charlie Brown picked a small tree for the play.  Use your tape measure to determine how tall your Christmas tree is.  While you’re at it measure a few ornaments!
• Print out our Charlie Brown Christmas math sheet for more math problems inspired by the Peanuts gang.

While reading the book or watching the video, use the opportunity to talk about the characters and how they feel.

• In the beginning of the story, when Charlie Brown finds out Snoopy has entered the decorating contest and then he helps his sister write her Santa letter, how does he feel?
• How do you think Charlie Brown feels when the kids make fun of the tree he chose?

Speaking of that little tree, it is a great opportunity to introduce symbolism.   There are many things the little tree could symbolize, including the fact that Christmas trees are a traditional symbol of the holiday.

I love the quote from Linus, “I never thought it was such a bad little tree.  It’s not bad at all, really.  Maybe it just needs a little love.”   We talked about how none of us is perfect; we are all a little like Charlie Brown’s tree.  I took it a step further and introduced the idea that God loves us, no matter how imperfect we are.  In fact, that first Christmas gift of Jesus was really a gift of love to us all, just like the little tree needed some love to shine its brightest, God’s love makes us better, too.

We decided to make our own Charlie Brown Christmas tree to remind us of that love.

To make your own A Charlie Brown Christmas ornament you will need:

• 2 Green Pipe Cleaners
• Craft Stick
• Red Bead
• Hot Glue
• Ribbon or Cord

Cut the craft stick in to 2 one inch pieces to make the tree’s base.

Hot glue these together.

Cut one pipe cleaner in half and bend the top a bit for the main part of the tree.

Twist 2 inch pieces of the other pipe cleaner around it to form branches.

Hot glue a red bead on and add a bit of ribbon or cord to hang it.

The little bent tree with the red ornament on it may just be one of my favorite homemade ornaments.  It definitely feels more like Christmas here now.

You may also enjoy:

• 4 Beaded Homemade Ornaments
• Sparkly Snowflakes
• Candy Cane Hunt

The post Activities Inspired by A Charlie Brown Christmas first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

It was then, as the kids were putting the finishing touches on our craft that my youngest excitedly said, “And then we get to make his reindeer, right?”

I hadn’t really planned on a second craft, but one look in his eyes and I knew we had to make a reindeer.

This Simple Shape Reindeer Craft takes almost no planning and makes a cute decoration!

We made this reindeer after our shape Santa craft.  They are perfect to do together or separately.

Shape Reindeer Craft

Materials Needed:

• Construction Paper
• Glue
• Googly Eyes
• Markers

For very young toddlers you may want to cut out the pieces first.

For preschoolers I recommend drawing the pieces on the construction paper and letting them cut out the pieces themselves.

Older kids can help use a ruler to measure and draw the shapes before cutting them out.

Pieces Needed for Reindeer Craft:

• 5 1/2 inch square (Head)
• 6 x 8 inch rectangle (Body)
• 5 x 1 inch rectangles (4 of these for the Legs)
• Small triangle (Tail)
• 1 inch circle (Nose)
• 1 hand print (Antlers)

Once all the pieces are ready, let your kids glue them into place.

With toddlers and young preschoolers you can talk about the shapes they are using to make their reindeer.  “Look, his head is a square.  Can you see any other squares in the room?”

Both of my crafters chose to give the reindeer a red nose (like Rudolph!), but your child might choose a black, brown, or even blue nose.

I intended the reindeer’s face to be the profile, so we only needed one eye, but younger kids may not understand this.  Let them put on two eyes if they wish.  The important part of crafting with kids isn’t the result, but the crafting process itself!  

This simple shape reindeer craft looks super cute hanging on the bedroom doors.

You may also like:

• Jingle Bell Bracelets  — Fill your home with the happy sound of jingle bells this holiday with this simple Christmas craft.
• Triangle Reindeer — Perfect for preschoolers.  Work on shape recognition and create a reindeer to decorate the door.
• Handprint Reindeer Sweatshirt — These sweatshirts are so cute, you may be tempted to wear them long after the holidays are over.

The post Simple Shape Reindeer Craft first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

“Mommy, Mommy!  Can we do our craft now?”  My daughter had pulled out the card from the day’s pocket on our Christmas Countdown Calendar.   The card read, “Do a Christmas craft,”  and she was excited to see what the craft would be.

The simple Santa craft I had planned turned out to be a big hit.

This craft would be great for preschoolers, but my 6 and 8 year-old both had fun cutting, gluing, and adding their own ideas to the Santa craft.

In fact, as soon as they finished they asked if they could make this reindeer craft to keep Santa company.

Shape Santa Craft

You will need:

• Construction Paper (We used this fun marbled construction paper.)
• Markers
• Glue
• Googly Eyes
• Cotton Balls

For very young kids you might want to have the parts pre-cut.  For preschoolers you can draw the shapes and have them cut them out themselves.  (Work on those scissor skills!)

Older kids can do the whole thing on their own.

We used a 5 1/2 inch diameter circle for Santa’s head.  A 5 x 7 inch rectangle became his body.  Arms and legs were made from 6 x 1 inch rectangles, and a triangle with a 5 inch base became his hat.

If you are working with toddlers or preschoolers you can talk about each shape as it is used.

Once Santa’s main parts are assembled, let your child decide what details they want to include.  My son decided he wanted to fold the arms and legs accordion-style.  He also wanted a belt, mittens, and boots.

Cotton balls make a fun, three-dimensional addition to Santa.  Pulling the cotton balls apart a bit to form his beard is a great for working muscles needed for writing skills, and most kids like playing with the soft cotton as well.

My son does NOT like gluing cotton.  (It drives him nuts when it sticks to his hands.)  So, he settled for just a few pieces as Santa’s beard.  Kids could also choose to skip the beard or use markers to draw it on.  Let them make the craft their own.

My daughter on the other hand LOVES pulling the cotton apart and had fun giving Santa a full beard, mustache, and adding fuzzy, white trim to his hat.

They were both very proud of their shape Santa craft and couldn’t wait to hang them on the doors.

***

Looking for more Christmas craft inspiration?

The post Simple Santa Shape Craft first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.