10+ Christmas Crafts from Household Items for Kids

What Christmas crafts can kids make with zero store-bought craft supplies? Twelve of them, using only things a typical household already has: cardboard, paper bags, old buttons, scrap fabric, dried pasta, newspaper, aluminum foil, toilet paper rolls, envelopes, and rubber bands. Each craft below lists its materials up front and takes 15 to 30 minutes.

What household items can become Christmas crafts?

Almost everything on this list comes from the recycling bin, the rag bag, the junk drawer, or the pantry. You will also use ordinary household basics: scissors, tape, school glue, markers, crayons, and a pencil.

How do you make each one?

1. Toilet roll Santas

Materials: empty toilet paper rolls, markers, cotton balls from the medicine cabinet, school glue, scissors, one old button per Santa.

• Color the top third of the roll red with a marker for the hat and draw a face in the middle band.
• Glue a cotton ball on top for the hat pom and a row of cotton balls along the hat brim.
• Glue a button below the face for the coat.
• Stand them on the mantel when the glue dries.

2. Paper bag stars

Materials: brown paper lunch or grocery bags, scissors, school glue, string or kitchen twine.

• Cut each bag into strips about 2 inches wide.
• Glue the strips into a stack at the center, accordion style.
• Fan the stack into a circle and glue the last two strips together to hold the star open.
• Thread string through one point and hang.

3. Newspaper gift wrap

Materials: newspaper sheets, tape, strips of scrap fabric for ribbon, markers.

• Wrap gifts in newspaper and tape the seams.
• Tie a scrap fabric strip around the package as the ribbon.
• Let kids draw stars and trees right on the paper with markers so every gift looks handmade.

4. Dried pasta snowflakes

Materials: dried bowtie or wheel pasta, a cardboard circle cut from a cereal box, school glue, string, tape.

• Arrange pasta pieces in a snowflake pattern on the cardboard circle.
• Glue each piece down and let the whole thing dry flat for at least an hour.
• Tape a loop of string to the back and hang it in a window.

Note for parents of toddlers: dried pasta is a choking hazard for kids under 3, so this one fits ages 3 and up with an adult at the table.

5. Foil icicle ornaments

Materials: aluminum foil, scissors, string.

• Tear off a sheet of foil about a foot long and cut it into strips.
• Twist each strip from one end to the other to make a skinny icicle.
• Tie string around the top of each icicle and hang them on the tree.

6. Button Christmas tree cards

Materials: cardstock or a cereal box panel folded in half, old buttons in green shades, school glue, a marker.

• Draw a simple triangle tree on the front of the folded card.
• Glue buttons along the triangle lines to fill in the tree.
• Write the greeting inside with a marker and send it in a saved envelope.

Choking note: buttons are a choking hazard for kids under 3. Keep little siblings away from the button bowl.

7. Scrap fabric garland

Materials: scrap fabric or old T-shirts cut into strips, a long piece of kitchen string or twine.

• Cut or tear fabric into strips about 1 inch wide and 8 inches long.
• Tie each strip onto the string with a simple knot, pushing them close together.
• Hang the finished garland over a doorway or along the mantel.

An adult handles the cutting if the fabric is thick; kids do all the tying.

8. Cardboard Christmas tree

Materials: a large cardboard box panel, markers or crayons, tape, scissors (adult use).

• An adult cuts a big triangle tree shape from the cardboard.
• Kids color it green, then draw on ornaments, a star, and presents underneath.
• Tape the tree to a wall for a decoration big enough to fill a hallway.

9. Envelope reindeer pockets

Materials: saved envelopes, markers, school glue, one old button or a circle of red paper per envelope.

• Seal the envelope and turn it flap-side up.
• Draw antlers above the flap, eyes on the flap, and glue the button on as the nose.
• Tuck a note or a small treat inside and hand it to someone you love.

10. Newspaper wreath

Materials: a cardboard ring cut from a box (adult cuts it), torn newspaper strips, tape or school glue, a scrap fabric bow.

• An adult cuts a ring shape from cardboard, about the size of a dinner plate.
• Kids wrap and tape newspaper strips around the ring until it is covered.
• Tie a scrap fabric bow at the top and hang it on the front door.

11. Fabric scrap snowmen

Materials: light-colored scrap fabric, newspaper for stuffing, rubber bands, old buttons, markers.

• Lay out two fabric squares, one bigger than the other, and pile crumpled newspaper in the center of each.
• Gather the fabric up around the newspaper and snap a rubber band around the neck of each ball.
• Stack the small ball on the big one, add button eyes and a marker smile.

Rubber bands are a choking hazard for babies and toddlers, so keep this craft at the big-kid table.

12. Paper bag gingerbread people

Materials: brown paper bags, scissors, markers, school glue, old buttons.

• Cut gingerbread-person shapes from the flat sides of the bags (an adult can fold and cut several at once).
• Draw faces and squiggles with markers.
• Glue on button eyes or a button row down the front.

What goes wrong and how do you fix it?

• The paper bag star collapses. The center glue joint needs a full minute of pressing. Hold it, count to 60, then fan it open.
• Pasta snowflake pieces slide around. Use a thicker line of glue and build the snowflake in two rounds, letting the first round set before adding the top layer.
• Newspaper tears while wrapping. Double up the sheets. Two layers of newspaper wrap just as well and hide the comics underneath the gift.
• Fabric strips fray when tied. That is fine. Trimmed-looking edges are optional; a shaggy garland looks rustic on purpose.
• A craft runs out of one material halfway. Every craft here has a backup: buttons swap for marker dots, string swaps for a twisted strip of paper bag, and cardboard swaps for a folded newspaper panel.

Where do you go from here?

• Toilet Paper Roll Christmas Characters: more cardboard tube ideas when the roll collection grows.
• Paper Star Ornaments from Grocery Bags: the grocery bag version of the star craft above.
• Magazine Paper Chains: another no-cost paper craft that fills a whole room.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What ages are these household crafts for?

Most fit ages 4 and up working with a parent nearby. Kids 8 and older can run the cutting and tying steps on their own, while preschoolers do the decorating steps: coloring, sticking, drawing, and tying. Anyone younger than 3 sticks to the coloring crafts and stays clear of the small-parts table.

How messy are crafts made from household items?

Low. The messiest steps are glue drying and newspaper ink on fingers, and both wash off. There is no paint and no glitter anywhere in this roundup, so cleanup is a quick table wipe. Newspaper ink wipes off fingers with a damp paper towel before it reaches the couch.

How long does each craft take?

Each craft takes 15 to 30 minutes of active work, plus drying time where glue is involved. The garland and the wreath take the longest because they use the most pieces. The pasta snowflake needs the most waiting, with about an hour of drying before it hangs.

Are these safe for toddlers and babies?

Several use small parts: buttons, dried pasta, and rubber bands are all choking hazards for kids under 3. Keep those crafts at the big-kid table and pick the coloring and tying crafts for toddlers. An adult handles scissors for kids under 5.

Be safe and have fun!