Looking for christmas crafts for preschoolers with little faces, bright colors and plenty of festive details? These ideas include handprint reindeer, paper elves and colorful Christmas lights.
You can keep things simple with stickers or choose an ornament to decorate together.
Let your little one take the lead on colors and decorating. Adults should handle tricky cutting, hot glue and hanging. Supervise small decorations closely, skip beads for children who still mouth objects and choose age-appropriate paints.
Christmas craft ideas to try together
handprint reindeer ornament
We’re starting off strong with this adorable handprint reindeer. I love the big red nose and the little colorful lights winding around the fingers.
For your own version, let your child make the brown handprint on a nonbreakable blank. An adult can add the face and looping black line afterward.
peek-through Santa face
How cute is this Santa frame? The tall red hat and fluffy white beard surround the open middle, leaving room for a little face.
Have an adult prepare the plate opening first. Your preschooler can help decorate the hat and beard before holding it up for a picture.
sparkling stick snowflakes
If you love colorful Christmas decorations, this one is for you. These stick snowflakes are covered in glitter and shiny shapes, with different colors on almost every arm.
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You don’t have to stick to white or silver. I especially love the blue and purple decorations mixed together.
Grinch handprint ornaments
That little Grinch smile is so good! The green hand shapes have red Santa hats above their yellow eyes, with tiny colored lights around the edges.
This is one to decorate together rather than expect a preschooler to copy alone. Let them fill in the bigger colors while you help with the small facial details.
reindeer and snowman chains
Don’t want to cover everything in glitter? No problem! These brown and white paper chains have plenty of character with just a decorated top link.
The reindeer’s wide antlers are my favorite part. The snowman gets a black hat with a tiny wreath, but you could use a drawn flower or star instead.
tiny pinecone trees
I love these little green trees with their white-tipped edges. The red and gold-colored decorations look so pretty tucked between the pinecone scales.
Treat this as a grown-up-assisted project. Your preschooler could help paint while you handle the bases, small decorations and any hot glue.
elves with zigzag legs
How adorable are these little elves? The folded arms and legs are my favorite part, especially with those big shoes at the ends.
Try red and green for the bodies and pointed hats like the pair here. An adult can help with the accordion folds while your child draws a smiling face.
shiny green liner tree
If you’re looking for a tree picture without lots of tiny decorations, go with this one. Three shiny green, pleated layers get wider toward the bottom, with a splash of gold sparkle at the top.
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I’d keep the dark background. That pale green looks so pretty against it.
footprint snowman cards
Those little toes at the bottom are just too cute! Each white footprint becomes a snowman with a black top hat, brown branch-shaped arms and a dotted smile.
A blue outline helps the white print show up on the card. For a similar keepsake, use paint intended for skin contact and let the print dry before decorating.
patchwork window tree
This window tree may just be one of my favorites here. I love the overlapping green patches and the yellow star at the top.
Have an adult prepare the outline, then let your child arrange translucent green pieces inside it. Keep a few lighter spaces if you want that same patchwork look.
gingerbread people with bows
I am obsessed with these smiling gingerbread ornaments. The pink cheeks and oversized sparkling bows are adorable beside the little white icing-style lines.
Let your child choose a different bow and button color for each one. A drawn bow would be a cute alternative to the raised decorations shown here.
name bead candy cane
Want to add a name to your Christmas decorations? This candy cane mixes red beads with white letter beads, with the name running around the curve and down the stem.
For a child ready to work with beads under close supervision, you could lay out the letters together first. This one is a decoration, not a sweet treat.
big dot sticker tree
Don’t want a paint-covered table? Look no further because this sticker tree is for you.
The tall outline has colorful dots scattered from the yellow star right down to the bottom.
Put your own tree picture at your child’s height and let them choose where the stickers go. There’s no need to line up every little dot.
torn green wreath
This is such a cute way to use green scraps. The uneven pieces overlap around the wreath, with little red sparkles and a big bow at the bottom.
An adult can prepare the ring while your preschooler tears and arranges the green pieces. Keep the rough edges.
They’re part of what makes this one lovely.
red mitten ornament
I love this bright red mitten with its white snowflakes and zigzag stripes. The fluffy-looking cuff is an adorable finishing touch.
Offer your child a prepared mitten shape to decorate. If the tiny snowflakes are too fiddly, try larger white circles or simple sticker shapes instead.
stars on a branch
If you want something a little different from a tree ornament, this hanging star display is so pretty. Decorated stars hang at different heights beneath a branch, mixed with pink ribbons and pom-poms.
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Your child could decorate the stars while you assemble the hanging pieces. Display the finished decoration out of reach of little hands.
angel with pleated wings
How sweet is this little angel? The closed eyes and tiny pink smile keep the face simple, with a bright yellow halo above it.
The white cup-shaped body has gold-colored stars around the bottom. I’d leave plenty of white showing, just like this, so the wide pleated wings remain the main detail.
red green and white candy cane
This is another beaded candy cane, but there are no letters this time. I love the repeating red, white and bright green colors with the twisted red-and-white hanging loop.
For preschoolers ready for supervised bead work, try choosing the next color together. An adult should secure the ends before putting it on display.
handprint antler reindeer
That big red nose is adorable! This bag reindeer has wide googly eyes and two hand-shaped cutouts for antlers.
Trace your child’s hands for your own version, then help cut them out. You could draw the eyes and nose instead if you’d rather skip the loose decorations.
colorful painted lights
Last but definitely not least, we have these colorful painted Christmas lights. I love the bright little dabs along the looping black line!
For a similar picture, draw a winding cord and let your child add colored dots with age-appropriate paint. The different shapes and sizes are what make this one so cute.