10 WINTER CRAFTS FOR KIDS: EASY AND FUN SEASONAL PROJECTS

The temperatures are dropping, the snow is falling, and your little ones are bursting with indoor energy. As a parent, this can be a hectic time! In between cooking cozy crock pot meals and scrolling through gift guides, you’re stuck wondering how you could possibly entertain your kids in the meantime. Good news… All you need are winter craft ideas!

Of course, kids love cutting out unique snowflake shapes and creating interactive, indoor snow masterpieces. And, ultimately, their excitement is what really matters. However, the relationship between art and child development serves a far greater purpose! Centering crafts around the seasons is a fantastic way to foster cognitive growth, fine motor skills, critical thinking, and creativity. Plus, it’s a meaningful way to create traditions and celebrate the season! 

For a little inspiration, I’ll be sharing some of my favorite winter crafts for kids. I’ll provide easy, step-by-step instructions for each craft, and share why they’re so beneficial. From toddlers to middle school-aged kiddos, there’s something in this list that children of all ages can enjoy!

10 Winter Crafts for Kids: Easy and Fun Seasonal Projects

Winter Activity Pack

What better way to ring in the season than with a Printable Winter Activity Pack? Even if it doesn’t snow where you live, kids can still ski through mazes, build snowmen, and trace falling snow. 

It’s not just about using dot markers and colored pencils, though. Each page is designed to support an array of developmental benefits! Think improved motor and problem-solving skills, hand-eye coordination, and patience and persistence. It’s as enriching as it is exciting.

For even more options, check out my Printable Activity Packs page!

Paper Snowflakes

Believe it or not, there are so many things you can do with paper snowflakes. And trust me, this craft is much easier (and more versatile!) than you may think. Start by folding up a piece of paper, just like I discussed in “How to Make a Paper Snowflake.” It may be tricky the first time or two, but once you get the hang of it? You’ll have little DIY snowflakes everywhere!

Then, once you’ve cut all of your unique snowflake shapes, it’s time to decorate! Kids can use pencils, markers, glitter, sensory sequins, pom-poms—the options are truly endless. It’s an excellent craft for fostering hand dexterity and a sense of accomplishment.

Snow Globe without Glycerin

Come wintertime, my house is decked out with snow globes. For kids, they’re like musical sensory bottles—just wind it up, listen to the music, and watch the glitter fall. However, how much more fun would it be to make a snow globe? And, just as I shared in my DIY snowglobe recipe, this homemade version doesn’t include glycerin!

Start by grabbing an old mason jar and decorating the inner lid. Use hot glue to attach things like snowmen, gift boxes, or mini Christmas figurines. After that dries, fill your jar up with corn syrup, water, and glitter. Now just replace the lid, flip, and shake!

Not only does this craft make for a special keepsake, but it’s an exciting way to enhance sensory processing through both tactile and visual stimulation!

Homemade Indoor Snow

This homemade indoor snow is my go-to during the colder months. It’s all the fun of real snow, without the chilly fingers and runny noses! All you need is baking soda, sugar, corn starch, cream of tartar, and a little bit of water. Combine, mix everything well, and ta-da! You have craftable, kid-friendly snow. 

Some of my favorite activities include a snowman creation station, holiday cards, and paper plate winter scenes. No matter which craft you choose, fake snow offers tactile stimulation, temperature exploration, and both cognitive and fine-motor development. It’s a win for both parents and little ones!

DIY Mini Christmas Tree

It’s no secret that decorating the Christmas tree is equal parts exciting and stressful. You want the whole family involved, but assembling fragile ornaments isn’t exactly kid-friendly! So instead, include your littles by creating this mini Christmas tree. 

Start by making an L-shaped leg towards the bottom of 4 gold pipe cleaners to create the “trunk.” Next, take 24 green pipe cleaners and trim them so each set of 4 is slightly shorter than the last, then fold them in half. Twist each set onto the trunk from longest to shortest, and finish with a gold pipe cleaner bow. This craft boosts creativity, imagination, and hand-eye coordination. 

Need a little extra help? Check out my DIY mini Christmas tree visual tutorial! And for similar activities, I have plenty more over in my DIY Christmas crafts for toddlers post.

Salt Painted Winter Wonderland

Sometimes, the simplest crafts create the biggest smiles. Fortunately, that just so happens to be the case here! Taking inspiration from my salt-painted flowers post, we’re using that same structure—we’re just creating a simple, wintery village.

Using a permanent marker, trace the outline of a winter scene onto watercolor paper. Feel free to be as creative as you want! Next, outline everything with glue and add salt on top. Finally, use a syringe to drop food coloring-dyed water over the salt with whichever colors you want. Once everything dries, kids can go in and paint the empty spots!

Each step of the craft is fantastic for finger and hand strength, hand-eye coordination, and creativity. And, of course, it offers the perfect amount of winter fun!

Life-Sized Snowman Craft

You read that right—we’re crafting a life-sized snowman using paper plates! Not only is this activity a great way to teach little ones to follow instructions, but it also lets them explore their creativity and imagination. 

Start by gluing three paper plates together. I love adding white felt over the top of each plate for additional tactile exploration, but that’s entirely optional. Now, get creative! Use pom-poms for the eyes and mouth, foam paper for the nose, and chunky yarn for the scarf. The exciting thing about this craft is that you can make your snowman totally unique—using different colors, textures, and materials. 

Snowflake Suncatcher

Remember the paper snowflake craft from earlier? We’re using the same idea here, we’re just turning those into colorful, eye-catching suncatchers! As if kids didn’t love the idea before, they’ll never want to stop crafting now.

Follow the same steps as you did previously, using a piece of paper to create unique snowflake shapes. I recommend making them a little bigger for this craft! Next, add glue along the edges and place a piece of transparency film over top—shiny side down. Cut around the outline, and let your little ones color in the “empty” spots with markers. 

That’s all there is to it! This craft encourages patience, focus, shape and color recognition, a huge sense of accomplishment, and lots of smiles! 

Clay Ornaments

There’s something so special about displaying homemade ornaments around your Christmas tree—or throughout your house! And when you use a versatile, durable, kid-friendly material like clay? You get a craft that lasts. 

Start by flattening air-dry clay with a rolling pin. Not too flat—you don’t want it to crack too easily. Now, use holiday cookie cutters to create festive, wintery shapes, and color everything with acrylic paint. Once that dries, paste on whatever embellishments you want—glitter, pom-poms, buttons, sequins—and seal it all off with Mod Podge!

Believe it or not, like I mentioned in “Clay Craft Ideas,” this project is incredibly versatile. Aside from stimulating sensory exploration and cognitive development, it truly is a lot easier than you’d think! And with a little help, even your littlest ones can make an ornament you’ll have forever. 

Handprinted Penguins

It doesn’t get much better than hand-painted crafts, right? They’re adorable, quick, and so easy to pull together. Start with a light blue sheet of paper—construction paper or a painted white page both work!

Cut two snowy hills from a white foam sheet, making sure it’s the width of your page, and glue them down. Next, trace your little one’s hand on black construction paper, cut it out, and glue those tiny hands upside down. Ta-da, you have your penguins!

Of course, don’t forget their white tummies, orange beaks, and tiny googly eyes. I love sprinkling in pom-poms and tiny snowflakes in the background, but decorate however you’d like! This handmade craft is creative, exciting, and stimulates sensory exploration.

Keep your kids entertained this season with fun winter crafts!

As parents, it’s easy to feel like wintertime doesn’t offer much for little ones. However, with the right crafts and activities, you’ll never run out of things to do! From DIY snowglobes to simple paper plate snowmen, all you need is a little creativity and lots of excitement. And the best part? Not only will your little ones be excited about crafting, but they’ll also be working on essential developmental skills, too! 

For even more ways to foster creativity and nurture independence, check out our new book, Playful by Design! This step-by-step resource guides parents through planned play-spaces, toy-rotation systems, and enriching, self-directed play. It’s never been easier to maintain, declutter, and catch your breath!

That isn’t all, though. On the Mothercould blog, you can find engaging craft ideas, hands-on sensory activities, and kid-friendly recipes for snack and mealtime. And finally, don’t forget to join the Mothercould In Your Pocket resource for 60+ printable recipes, quick how-to videos, and printable activity packs.