December in a preschool classroom is loud, sticky and full of glue sticks with the lids missing. It’s also when kids are most excited to make things. The problem is time. You’ve got twenty children, one table that seats six, and maybe forty minutes before snack.
So every craft on this list was picked with a real classroom in mind. These preschool Christmas crafts are split into two groups, ages 3 to 4 and ages 5 to 6, and each one tells you the skill it practices, roughly how long setup takes for a class of 20, and how messy it gets. If you’re hunting for Christmas crafts for kindergarten, skip to the second half. The free printable pack has every template, printed two or four to a page so you’re not feeding the copier all morning.
Quick Pick Table
| Craft | Ages | Skill | Prep for 20 kids | Mess |
| 1. Paper chain countdown | 3 to 4 | Counting, cutting | 15 min | Low |
| 2. Name ornament | 3 to 4 | Name recognition | 20 min | Low |
| 3. Shape Christmas tree | 3 to 4 | Shapes, sizes | 15 min | Low |
| 4. Cotton ball Santa | 3 to 4 | Counting to 10 | 10 min | Medium |
| 5. Sticker pattern lights | 3 to 4 | AB patterns | 5 min | Low |
| 6. Class handprint wreath | 3 to 4 | Working together | 10 min | High |
| 7. Folded 3D paper tree | 5 to 6 | Cutting on a line | 10 min | Low |
| 8. Roll and decorate gingerbread | 5 to 6 | Counting, adding | 5 min | Low |
| 9. Symmetry snowflakes | 5 to 6 | Folding, symmetry | 5 min | Low |
| 10. Decorate a tree mini book | 5 to 6 | Sequencing, writing | 15 min | Low |
| 11. Paper bag reindeer puppet | 5 to 6 | Following steps | 10 min | Medium |
| 12. Salt dough name ornament | 5 to 6 | Writing names | 30 min | High |
Crafts 1, 8 and 9 work just as well as plain winter crafts, if your class doesn’t celebrate Christmas.
Christmas Crafts for Ages 3 to 4
Three and four-year-olds can glue, stick and snip, but most can’t cut a shape out cleanly yet. Precut the tricky parts and let them do the assembling.
Paper Chain Countdown
Cut strips of red and green paper ahead of time, enough for one strip per school day left before break. Kids loop and glue (or staple, with you holding the stapler) one link at a time. Each morning, the class tears one link off and counts what’s left. It turns “how many days until Christmas?” into a math question, and you’ll hear it a lot less.
Name Ornament
Give each child a set of paper circles, one per letter of their name. They write a letter on each circle, or trace the letters you’ve written lightly in pencil. Then they glue the circles in order along a strip of card and add a loop of yarn at the top. A few will glue them backwards. That’s a teaching moment, not a mistake.
Shape Christmas Tree
Hand out three green triangles in small, medium and large, a brown rectangle and a handful of colored circles. Kids stack the triangles into a tree, biggest at the bottom, then glue on circles as ornaments. Ask them to name every shape as they go. Our template has all the pieces on one page.
Cotton Ball Santa
Glue a pink circle face onto a paper plate and draw a red hat across the top. Then give each child exactly ten cotton balls to glue on as Santa’s beard. Counting out loud while they glue is the whole point. It’s messier than it looks, because cotton balls stick to everything except the plate.
Sticker Pattern Lights
Print our Christmas lights line and hand out round red and green stickers. Start a pattern for them, red, green, red, green, and let them carry it on. Children who get it quickly can try red, red, green. It takes almost no prep, which makes it a great one for the last afternoon before break.
Class Handprint Wreath
Every child paints a hand green and presses it onto paper. Once they’re dry, cut the handprints out (this bit is yours) and arrange them in a big ring on the classroom door, fingers pointing out. Add one large paper bow. It’s the messiest craft here, so do it in small groups with a wet cloth nearby. It’s also the one parents photograph at pickup.
Christmas Crafts for Ages 5 to 6
Kindergarteners can cut along a line, follow three or four steps in a row and write a few words. Give them more of the work.
Folded 3D Paper Tree
Print our tree template on green card. Kids cut out two tree shapes along the thick lines, then slide one into the other through the slits so the tree stands up. It’s a good check on cutting skills, and it’s very satisfying when it suddenly stands on its own. Decorate with crayons before assembling, because it’s hard to color once it’s 3D.
Roll and Decorate Gingerbread
Each child gets a gingerbread person printable and a die. Roll once and draw that many buttons. Roll again for the number of icing squiggles. Kids who are ready can roll two dice and add them together. You need nothing but crayons and dice, so it’s an easy one to set up as a math center.
Symmetry Snowflakes
Fold a square of white paper in half, then in half again, then into a triangle. Kids snip small shapes along the edges and unfold it. Every single time, someone gasps. Talk about how both sides match, and why. Our printable snowflake template has fold and cut lines for kids who want more guidance.
Decorate a Tree Mini Book
Fold our printable into a four-page mini book. On each page, kids draw one step of decorating a tree: lights first, then ornaments, then the star, then presents underneath. Underneath each drawing they write one word or a short sentence. It’s a craft and a writing lesson in one, which helps on those days when the schedule is packed.
Paper Bag Reindeer Puppet
Kids glue a brown paper face onto the bottom flap of a paper lunch bag, trace their own hands on brown paper for antlers, cut them out and glue them on. Draw on eyes and a nose. Then let them use the puppets to retell a winter story. Expect at least one reindeer to sing.
Salt Dough Name Ornament
Mix the dough before class: 1 cup of flour, half a cup of salt and about half a cup of water per four children. Each child rolls a ball, flattens it, presses out a shape with a cookie cutter and writes their name in it with a pencil tip. Poke a ribbon hole, then bake the ornaments low and slow after school. They paint them the next day and take them home as a gift.
Check your class list for wheat allergies first, since the dough is mostly flour. It’s also very salty, so remind kids it’s not for eating.
Running These Crafts in a Busy Classroom
The best preschool Christmas crafts are the ones you can run at one table while the rest of the room keeps going. Set a craft up as a center for groups of four or five, and rotate over a morning. Prep everything into labeled trays the afternoon before. Write each child’s name on their paper before they start, not after, because twenty identical paper plates are impossible to sort.
And send it home labeled. A little “Made by” tag (there are some in our pack) means families know who made what, and the craft actually makes it onto the fridge.
Download the Free Classroom Printables
The free PDF has templates for the shape tree, name ornament circles, Christmas lights line, 3D paper tree, gingerbread person, mini book, reindeer puppet pieces and snowflake fold guide, plus “Made by” labels and a one-page planning sheet. It’s everything for these preschool Christmas crafts, and it prints on US Letter and A4.
More Christmas Crafts and Printables
- Christmas crafts for toddlers
- Christmas crafts for kids
- Paper snowflake template
- Top Christmas printables for kids
- Winter crafts for kids
Frequently Asked Questions
What are easy preschool Christmas crafts?
A paper chain countdown, a shape Christmas tree and sticker pattern lights are three of the easiest. They need paper, glue sticks and stickers, and each takes 15 minutes or less to prep for a whole class.
What Christmas crafts can kindergarteners do on their own?
Christmas crafts for kindergarten can include more cutting and writing. The folded 3D paper tree, symmetry snowflakes and a decorate a tree mini book all let 5 and 6-year-olds cut, fold and write with very little help.
How do I run a Christmas craft with a whole class?
Set it up as a center for four or five children at a time and rotate. Prep supplies into trays the day before, and write names on everything before kids begin.
What can preschoolers make as Christmas gifts for parents?
A salt dough name ornament, a name ornament or a class handprint wreath photo all make good gifts. Add a “Made by” label so families know it’s their child’s.
Are there Christmas crafts that also work as winter crafts?
Yes. The paper chain countdown, roll and decorate gingerbread and symmetry snowflakes all work as winter crafts, which helps if some children in your class don’t celebrate Christmas.
How long should a preschool craft take?
Around 10 to 20 minutes for 3 and 4-year-olds, and up to 30 minutes for kindergarteners. Let kids who finish early decorate the back or help tidy up.
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