Christmas is a wonderful time to get creative with your children! Why not plan some fun craft activities with the children this year?

We’ve rounded up our 5 favourite Christmas crafts for you and your little ones to enjoy. Read on and use our handy step-by-step guide to create your very own Christmas decorations.

1) Paper cone Christmas tree

 Create a lovely paper cone Christmas tree, decorate it with some gemstones and display with your Christmas crafts. You’ll need:

• Coloured craft paper in green
• Plastic jewels and glitter stars stickers
• Scissors
• Glue or double-sided tape

Instructions:

• Draw a large circle on your green paper
• Cut out the circle, fold it in half and cut along the fold so you have 2 semi-circles
• Take one semi-circle and fold it round into a cone. Secure it with glue or double-sided tape.
• Decorate your tree with plastic jewels and stickers
• Your Christmas tree is ready!

2) Handprint Christmas card

 Make homemade Christmas cards with your little ones. This handprint Christmas card is easy to put together and looks so lovely! You’ll need:

• Blank greeting card
• Green glittery fun foam
• Yellow glittery fun foam star
• Plastic jewels
• Brown card
• Silver card (or any other colour)
• Scissors
• Glue
• Pencil

Instructions:

• Place the child’s hand on top of the green glittery sheet and draw around it with a pencil. Cut out the hand shape.
• Take your brown card and cut out a tree trunk
• Take your silver card and cut out a pot for your tree
• Glue the tree, trunk and pot on to the greeting card to create a Christmas tree
• Stick a yellow glittery star to the top of the tree.
• Glue on plastic jewels to the tree
• Your card is ready! You can now write a Christmas message inside and send it

3) Christmas wreath

 Crafting your own lovely festive decorations with the help of your children is so much fun! Read on for our step-by-step guide to making a Christmas wreath. You’ll need:

• Wreath base – bought or follow instructions below.
• Scissors
• Lightweight florists wire or similar
• Ribbon/twine
• Evergreen branches – e.g. ivy, holly, fir
• Decorations: you can use anything you like such as cinnamon sticks, pine cones, Christmas baubles, ribbon, holly, rosemary, dried citrus fruits, etc.

Instructions: To make a Christmas wreath first, you’ll need a wreath base. There are so many options you can choose from. You can buy a base, wire ring or a fresh spruce wreath from your local garden centre but it’s so much more fun to make your own! 1) Make your own wreath:

• Bend some thick wire or a metal coat hanger into a circle or any shape you prefer. You can shape your wreath into different shapes. Try a star, a heart or even your initials.

2) Attach the evergreen branches:

• To build your wreath, start by securing the evergreen boughs to your base. Lightweight florist’s wire works wonders to help you attach the greenery to the wreath. Lay a small bundle of greenery on the base and wrap the wire tightly around the stems a few times. Don’t cut the wire yet. Instead, add another bundle, overlapping the previous one by half and wrap some more wire around stems.
• Overlap the stems as you go to cover your base avoiding gaps. Keep adding stems until the wreath base is fully covered, then tie off the wire, cut it and tuck the end away.
• Once you’re done attaching the stems, you can then use some natural twine to securely bind everything to your base. Twine holds really well so it can help your wreath last longer.

3) Decorate your wreath:

• Decide how you will decorate your wreath. You can use just about anything to follow your taste or to incorporate the theme from your other festive decorations. You can try a natural look using cinnamon sticks, dried orange slices (your children can help you prepare these), holly, ivy or pine cones.
• For a more modern look, you can add glass baubles, glittery lights, sparkly stars or bells. You can also try more unusual decorations. Buttons, flowers, pegs, children’s drawings can make an alternative festive wreath.

4) Christmas potpourri

Bring the scent of Christmas into your home with this Christmas potpourri – and have fun combining and stirring the ingredients and experimenting with the smells in the process! You’ll need:

• Star Anise
• Cinnamon sticks
• Pine cones
• Ribbon
• Cellophane bag

Instructions:

• Cut the orange into slices. Arrange on a baking tray and place in the oven on the lowest setting for approximately 4 hours until they are completely dried out.
• When the orange is cool, mix some slices with some pinecones, a small handful of star anise and 2 or 3 cinnamon sticks cut in half.
• If giving as a gift, fill a cellophane bag, arranging the slices of orange around the edges, and tie the bag with some beautiful festive red ribbon.

5) Mini Christmas tree decorations

Head outdoors and collect materials to make your very own mini twig tree. Super simple and pretty, you will love making these decorations with your little ones. You’ll need: Twigs of different sizes Twine or string Glue/ glue gun Glitter/paint  Instructions:

• Collect as many different sized (longer and shorter) sticks and twigs as you can. Find a longer, flat stick for your base.
• Stick your twigs to your base: Use your longer twigs at the bottom and then shorter ones as you move up the base.
• Tie your twine/string into a loop that is big enough to hang from your tree. Attach this to your base with glue.
• Finish by decorating with glitter or paint