TheCrafts with childrenis a practical thing. This not only keeps the little ones busy in bad weather. In addition, as parents, you also promote the children's fine motor skills and thus do something good for the children in all areas. You can do crafts in everyday life and at any time without specific occasions. However, holidays and celebrations are particularly encouraging for crafting. In today's article we have put together a large selection of ideas and suggestions that can be useful both on an ordinary afternoon and during a specific holiday season. Find out interesting facts about “crafting with children”!
Crafting with children up to 3 years old
Children of almost any age can do crafts. The first projects can be started at the age of 3. Of course, little ones at this age need even more help. Scissors should only be used under supervision. The clay is very suitable for crafting with children under 3 years of age. It is harmless and is particularly fun for children. You can buy dough ready-made or make it yourself so that you can do crafts together with two-year-old children. But older children also enjoy playdough, which is why it is a universal material that is useful at any time.
Easy crafts with children
Other materials can also be used for crafting with children aged 3 and over. It's not just paper that is very popular. Natural materials that can be collected together on walks also make for great craft projects and offer the opportunity to explain nature to your children at the same time. Whether chestnuts and other fruits, twigs and leaves, crafting with natural materials creates interesting figures or pictures that allow children to let their imagination run wild. You can also do crafts with wood with children. Not only the branches already mentioned are suitable for this. Wooden discs can also be used to create figures or murals. And if you want to do crafts with paper, you also have endless options: let the children paint pictures on paper with felt-tip pens, colored pencils or wax crayons or with acrylics, finger paints or watercolors.
With paper, children can learn to cut out designs precisely and use glue. In general, paper is a versatile material that should not be missing from a craft afternoon. Various folding projects are also suitable for crafting with paper, which is particularly advantageous if the children cannot yet use scissors. Origami is particularly popular. With the help of various instructions, interesting figures can be made that the children can even play with afterwards. In this way, an entire zoo or farm can be made yourself. You can just as easily recycle any things you want for crafting. Crafting with toilet rolls, plastic and paper plates, plastic spoons, popsicle sticks and buttons, for example, is just one of the many possibilities.
Crafts with children in spring
As already mentioned, crafts can be made to suit different occasions. Spring is wonderful for this and can be welcomed with handmade decorations and pictures. Use friendly colors and characters and motifs associated with this time of year. Spring flowers are an important symbol. That's why you're welcome to make flowers with children. This is possible with paper, but also with plastic spoons. You should also not underestimate the butterflies. The butterflies with their pretty colors are typical spring messengers and undoubtedly put you in a spring mood.
The best way to make butterflies with children is to use paper, toilet roll and pipe cleaners. But of course other materials can also be used. The main thing is that the butterfly turns out to be beautifully colorful. It's also time to decorate the garden, balcony and terrace and the children can even help you with the right decorations. How about, for example, a wind turbine for the garden and the flower pots? Or you can choose another of children's favorite harbingers of spring: the ladybug. You can make a ladybug with children in a variety of ways. For the garden you can use stones that the children paint to match.
Mother's Day in spring
An important day in spring is of course Mother's Day. By now the children should thank their mother for all her efforts. And what makes mom happier than a homemade gift. Now it is the fathers' job to help the children. Fathers can sit down with the children and make a great surprise with children for Mother's Day that will put a smile on the mother's face. Hand and footprints on a piece of paper or in clay are among the most popular gift ideas, but a homemade bouquet of flowers or a self-designed flower pot also bring joy. The greeting card, which can also be made yourself, should not be underestimated.
So if you're making Mother's Day gifts with children, complement them with a lovely card that the children can use to say thank you. And home-baked is also a great option. But all of these ideas are also suitable for another day that symbolizes love. What we mean is Valentine's Day. And although this day is dedicated to couples in love, no one is stopping the children from making their parents happy too. Colors like pink, pink, purple and red are best when making Valentine's Day crafts with children. Of course, the heart motifs shouldn't be missing either.
Coloring and making Easter eggs with children at Easter
Easter in particular offers a reason for crafting in spring. Easter baskets and nests are made in advance, eggs are painted and Easter bouquets are decorated. It's the perfect time to spend craft afternoons with the kids. If you want to do crafts with children at Easter, choose projects that are not too difficult. Easter eggs are particularly fun. These can not only be painted and colored. They can also be designed with other things such as flowers, paper, buttons or string and fingerprints.
Make your own Easter baskets and nests
In addition, you can make interesting things using ready-made Easter eggs for crafts with children. This also includes the popular Easter baskets. Making Easter baskets with children is not that difficult. For this purpose, you can use ready-made baskets that are then redesigned, as well as similar containers such as cans or buckets. Of course you can make wonderful crafts with paper again. And egg cartons can also be a great basis for the Easter basket. A little Easter grass is used to fill the Easter baskets, into which the painted Easter eggs are then placed.
Another popular Easter decoration that you can make together with the children is the Easter nest. The Easter eggs can also be displayed there. The Easter basket is well suited to crafting with natural materials. The nest itself is made from twigs, while the inside can be filled with moss, for example. If you would like to make an Easter nest with children, you can make the project easier by taking a round basket or other container and then designing it like a nest from the outside together with the children. Cover it with twigs or use Easter grass.
Make Easter decorations with children
Crafting is the perfect moment to get really creative. Everything that is associated with the festival is suitable for Easter. The Easter Bunny brings particularly good joy to the children. After all, he brings the presents at Easter. That's why you should dedicate at least one day to it. Making Easter bunnies with children can be done in different ways. It can simply be painted or made out of fabric. Bunnies made from pompoms are particularly cute and are not difficult to imitate. A bunny can also be made out of paper and decorated in this way for the Easter basket or the refrigerator. Transform the Easter eggs with ears, tails and faces into little bunnies, make napkin rings in the shape of bunnies or sew whole bunny cuddly toys with cuddly soft filling.
Make your own Easter greeting cards
Crafting is especially fun when you can make someone happy with it. For this reason, Easter cards are a wonderful idea that you should also give a little time to during the Easter season. With the children's Easter cards you can bring great joy to grandparents and other relatives or friends. After all, who doesn't love a personal greeting? Making Easter cards with children is particularly easy. The cards are simply painted or glued on. The appropriate motifs can be cut or punched out yourself. Punches are available in a wide variety of versions and therefore also with matching Easter motifs. If your child can already write, they can add the greeting and congratulations themselves. Otherwise, you too can do this part of the craft project. Use a variety of materials to make Easter cards, such as washi tape, felt, yarn, cotton wool and pompoms, colorful craft paper and even buttons.
Crafts with children in summer
Just because there aren't any specific festivals in the summer doesn't mean there isn't a reason to craft. Quite the opposite! Even in summer you can make practical and funny things with the little ones that can even prove to be useful. The garden or terrace can be decorated with homemade things. How about, for example, decorating the dining table on the terrace with lanterns. You can make lanterns with children by covering mason jars with transparent paper, twigs or other things. The finished lanterns are then not only suitable for LED candles, but also for self-designed candles. The candles can be decorated using different techniques. One of them is the napkin technique. Of course you can make candles at any time of the year. Wind chimes are just as suitable for outdoor use. And here too, great models can be made from a wide variety of materials. Shells create an interesting sound in light winds, but bamboo canes can also be used.
If you want to avoid such noises, you can also make a simple mobile with your children as an alternative to making wind chimes. There are also particularly original craft ideas with pool noodles. You will be amazed at what interesting craft projects for children can be made with this accessory. And crafting with pool noodles is incredibly easy because the material is easy to cut. To make your interior summery, you can make pretty flowers out of tissue or crepe paper, make glowing garlands with fairy lights, or create murals with sand and shells. If you choose the theme “Beach and Sea” for your DIY projects, you can also make fish with children and put together great pictures. You and your children can use origami to make interesting 3D fish.
Crafts with children in autumn
Autumn is without a doubt the perfect season for crafting with natural materials. And the children have no less fun with it than the adults. Twigs, leaves, acorns, chestnuts and beechnuts are popular elements used for pictures and autumnal figures. If you make crafts with chestnuts, you can use them for the bodies of males or animals, for example. The cap of the acorn is wonderfully suitable as a hat. But you can't just make interesting autumn decorations with children using natural materials. Fabrics and paper are also suitable, although these are of course best chosen in autumnal, warm colors.
Such colors include brown, reds, orange, yellow, but also gold, copper and other warm metallic colors. If you would like to make autumnal animals with the children, forest animals are particularly suitable for an autumnal atmosphere. These include bears, squirrels, foxes and also the owl. The latter can be made very well and, above all, easily by children using both paper and felt. Big wiggly eyes make the owl particularly funny and likeable. If you're making owls with children, you can even use muffin paper cases as a resource. The owls are without a doubt a great fall decoration!
Play and celebrate in autumn
Autumn offers every reason to play and celebrate. On the one hand, the often strong wind naturally invites you to fly a kite. This is particularly great fun for the children. Dragons can also be made in small format and then used as autumn decorations. If you want to make such kites with children, all you need are a few twigs and paper or fabric. And there is St. Martin's Day, which is marked by the big lantern parade. Another great fun for the little ones, which they can even prepare for themselves by simply making their own lantern. Making lanterns with children is also very easy. Transparent paper is most popular for this purpose. However, you should then use LED lights instead of candles for lighting to avoid fires.
Ready-made lanterns that you can decorate colorfully for the move are also suitable. If you value real candles in your lantern, you can convert buckets or cans into lanterns and simply perforate them so that the light can shine through. There are no limits to your imagination when it comes to making lanterns with children. But be careful, especially when it comes to children! And if it rains during the move, simply create a fun outfit with rubber boots. These can be designed really well with adhesive tape. This is a simple craft idea that even children will enjoy.
Halloween – A popular festival for young and old
It's not just dressing up for Halloween that children enjoy. They would also like to take part in the decoration. For this purpose, craft afternoons can be planned again, which are perfect for making homemade decorations. If you are doing crafts with children for Halloween, the typical motifs and characters such as spiders, ghosts, witches, black cats and pumpkins are suitable. A very fun activity is crafting with papier-mâché. This allows children to make three-dimensional pumpkins or masks that the children can use on Halloween evening. The papier-mâché pumpkins are a perfect replacement for the candy bag.
Other accessories for the costume can also be made themselves with the help of the children. How about, for example, making angel wings, fairy wings or a magic wand with children. Otherwise, you can also decorate the house with homemade paper garlands. You can also make spiders with the children. You can quickly create matching spider webs by knotting string that can decorate walls, doors and windows. If you want to design a suitable mask for the children's costume, then let the children take part in this craft project. Then the little ones can be particularly proud of their costume.
Crafts with children at Christmas
The Advent and Christmas seasons also offer a variety of craft ideas for children. And since it officially begins with the first Advent, you can start with a homemade Advent wreath. You can make an Advent wreath with the children together. Use artificial or natural materials such as pine greens and pine cones and decorate the wreath with berries, small Christmas tree balls or other Christmas elements. Before the first of December, you should also think about an Advent calendar. Homemade ones have the advantage that they can be filled individually and used every year. The calendar for the child can also be made together with the child. But dad and mom would also be happy about a homemade Advent calendar. The project is quite complicated for the child themselves, which is why you as an adult should help if you make an Advent calendar with children.
Next it's Santa's turn. To celebrate the festival in a native way, you can also make a Santa Claus with children. Use, for example, paper plates or toilet rolls and colored construction paper and paints. The Santa Claus boot is also great as a decoration, as it can replace the real boot or just be used for decoration. Make a boot out of papier-mâché or decorate an old rubber boot with paper, fabric or glitter. For example, you can display a Christmas bouquet that you can decorate with the children.
Make Christmas tree decorations
The Christmas tree decorationscrafting with childrenis a great idea because a wide variety of materials can be used and there are many projects that are anything but difficult. Snowflakes can be made from twigs, wire, popsicle sticks or buttons, or Christmas tree baubles can be painted and filled. Salt dough is very popular because the children can knead it and cut it out as desired using cookie cutters and even paint it after baking. Finished balls can be decorated with fingerprints and remain a beautiful memory for years to come. You can make angels with the children, which can not only be used to decorate the Christmas tree, but are also suitable as window decorations. The same goes for stars and other Christmas motifs. You can make stars with children from natural materials such as twigs or rings. But popsicle sticks, wire with beads and felt are also perfect. Come up with something clever!
Christmas gifts and greeting cards
Christmas is again an occasion for homemade greeting cards and why not also for homemade gifts. Children can give adults a special treat in this way. When you make Christmas cards with the children, the same principle applies as for Easter cards: use suitable motifs and colors such as red, green or gold. Glitter makes the cards look even more interesting. But other elements such as buttons, plush wire or yarn can also add fun and original accents. You can imitate Santa Claus' beard with cotton wool and homemade stamps can be used for Christmas motifs.
Even the Christmas presents from the children are much nicer and especially fun when they are homemade. Depending on the age of the child, the help of parents is an advantage. So dad can help make a gift for mom and vice versa. If you're making Christmas presents with children, it doesn't have to be anything complicated. Even Christmas tree decorations can make an original gift, or you can let your child paint a pretty picture or make figures out of buttons and wire. Footprints and handprints are a great decoration and reminder for the whole year and can be used as wall decoration.
Ideas for everyday life
There are of course plenty of craft ideas for children for the time between all the festivals, so you can always find the best activity when the weather is bad. Girls, for example, really enjoy jewelry, so you can make necklaces, bracelets, bangles, rings and earrings every now and then. You can make jewelry with children by using wire, string or rubber bands and decorating them with beads and pendants. Air-drying clay and other types of craft clay, as well as shrink wrap, are also suitable for this purpose. But you can also make different games just as well. Finger puppets, for example, are a good idea. Let the children help as much as they can, even with more complicated projects.
If you are looking for gift ideas that you can make with the children, keychains are also a good option. With the right materials, these aren't that difficult to make, even for little ones. You can make keychains with children using beads, fabrics, leather, wire and even iron-on beads. For the same purpose, you can also make a dream catcher with children. You can also calm children who are afraid at night with a homemade dream catcher and at the same time create a pretty decoration. With a birdhouse for the garden, you can teach children to do good for nature. You can make a birdhouse with children as well as create a simple feeding station that you can build from a simple plastic bottle and wooden spoons. And little bookworms will be happy if you and your children make a new bookmark together, because you can then use it with pride. As you can see, you can also find great and useful craft projects between the holidays.
