Crafts You Can Create with The Grandkids That Make for Great Holiday Gifts

As the fall and winter holidays approach, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to spend time with your grandkids. While screens seem to rule most of our days, spending quality time together doing holiday crafts can be a gift to everyone. To help, here’s a selection of kid-friendly crafts to do during your next family gathering.

DIY Holiday Crafts for Kids

We all have different talents and skill levels, so these things to do with kids range from simple gift baskets to multi-step holiday craft ideas.

Ice Cream Sundae Kit Gift

Materials:

• Inexpensive small white bowls bought either online or at your local big box store
• Sharpie Medium Point Oil-Based Paint Pens
• Rubbing alcohol and cotton swabs

Painting your bowls:

1. Prep your paint pens by following the package instructions.
2. Make dots with our paint pens in the desired pattern.

Painting tips:

• Use light taps of the paint tips to create ‘clouds’ of dots and make actual little circles with the paint pen tip to make bigger dots.
• Keep rubbing alcohol and cotton swabs on hand to easily erase any mistakes.

Bake to make bowls dishwasher safe:

• Set bowls in cold oven upside down directly on the oven racks.
• Turn to 325 degrees.
• When the oven reaches the temperature, set a timer for 25 minutes.
• After the timer goes off, turn the oven off and let bowl cool completely in the oven, with the door closed.

Add toppings (like chocolate or strawberry sauce, nuts and a jar of maraschino cherries) to your basket.

Breakfast Gift Basket

• Mix up pancake mix and add it to a half gallon canning jar with a zinc.
• Print off the pancake directions, glue them inside a card and tie onto the jar with baker’s twine.
• Round out the basket with a bottle of real maple syrup and fruit (berries, bananas, pears) and/or chocolate chips.

Flaxseed Pillow Warmers

Materials:

• 100% cotton, heavy-weight fabrics like ticking, florals, home decorating fabrics or denim
• Whole flaxseed (brown or gold), about 2 to 2-1/2 pounds for each rectangular warmer
• Sharp scissors
• Sewing machine
• 100% cotton thread
• Large wide-mouth funnel

Making your pillow:

1. Make a 12″ x 20″ pattern for a finished pillow of 5-1/2″ x 20 which is a versatile size for use both around your neck or on your back.
2. Sew the end and side seams. The sewing on this is super simple, with a total of three straight lines.
3. Fold the fabric with the right sides together and start sewing on one of the short ends (the folded side farthest from you), keeping the edge of the presser foot at the edge of the fabric for the seam allowance.
4. When you come to the corner, make sure the needle is in the fabric, lift the presser foot, and turn your fabric. Lower the foot and sew all the way to the other short end, keeping the same seam allowance and ending at the open short end.
5. Be sure to go back and forth a time or two (called “bar-tacking”) with the thread to lock in the seam.
6. Clip the corners of the seams you’ve just sewn to reduce bulkiness when it’s turned.
7. Turn the pillow right-side out.
8. Fill the pillow between 1/2 and 2/3 full (depending on the fullness you want. This allows for the movement of the seeds when heated in the microwave.
9. Pin open edge. Fold the open end inward 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch and pin.
10. Sew the folded end close to the edge. Use the inside of the presser foot as a guide and lock each end by going back and forth with the needle and thread.

Rose Paper Flower

Materials:

• Crepe paper streamers
• Glue dots
• Floral stems
• Green masking tape
• Pinking shears
• Scissors

Prep materials:

• Before making each flower, pre-cut green masking tape pieces for the flower base. You’ll need two pieces of tape for each flower.
• Cut a corner off each tape piece to make it a cone shape.

Making your flower:

1. Cut off a 3-foot piece of crepe streamer.
2. Gently stretch one edge of the streamer paper to make a ruffle effect.
3. Wrap two glue dots on a floral stem about 1-inch from the top.
4. Wrap the crepe paper around the stem, pleating the un-stretched side of the streamer as you wrap. Allow the stretched edge of the streamer to ruffle like flower petals.
5. Make sure to keep the wrapping near the top of the floral stem and push the flower up if it drifts down the stem.
6. Once finished, secure the flower to the floral stem with your two pieces of green tape.

Painted Wood Bead Necklace

Materials:

• 1 yard of leather or suede cording
• Five 1-inch wooden beads
• Masking or painter’s tape
• Paint palette of five colors
• Paintbrushes

Paint your beads:

1. Paint one bead solid in the darkest color of your palette and set aside to dry. (Tip: Drop your bead on the back tip of another paint brush handle for easy drying.)
2. Paint another bead solid in the lightest color of your palette.
3. Mask off 2/3 of the bead and paint.
4. Mask off another bead on the diagonal and paint.
5. For the final bead, paint three stripes around the bead. Tip: Paint one stripe and let dry. Then then mask off another stripe.
6. Once your dark solid bead is dry, paint on some simple dots.
7. Once all the beads are dry, place them on the cord in whichever order you want.
8. Tie a knot at the end and your necklace is ready to wear.

DIY Clay Bowls

Materials:

• Oven-bake clay (like Sculpey)
• Acrylic craft paint
• Stiff toothbrush
• Craft knife
• Ruler
• Clay blending tool (or you can use your fingers)
• A variety of small glass bowls
• Rolling pin
• Sheer pan
• Baking parchment paper

Prepare your clay:

1. Follow the package instructions to condition your clay.
2. Once you’ve warmed up the clay, make a ball and flatten it with a rolling pin on a piece of parchment paper. Roll to about 1/4 inch thick.

Make your bowls:

1. To make a base, place a glass bowl upside down on the clay and trace around the edge with a craft knife.
2. To make an oblong-shaped bowl, use the craft knife to trace the same bowl a few inches apart and use a ruler to connect the sides.
3. To make the sides, use the ruler to cut a strip long enough to wrap around the base.
4. Wrap the side piece around the base and use the craft knife to cut off any overlap.
5. Use the blending tool or your fingers to smooth the seams together on the inside, side and bottom.
6. Preheat your oven according to the package directions for the clay.
7. Place the bowls on parchment paper on a sheet pan and bake according to instructions.

Painting your bowls:

1. Use water to dilute a small amount of paint.
2. Dip the tips of the toothbrush into the paint and practice your spatter technique on a piece of paper, holding the brush a little above the paper.
3. Hold the toothbrush close to the bristles and use your thumb to spray the paint.
4. Try pointing the bristles down and tap the back of the brush.
5. To make bigger dots, tap the very tip of the toothbrush directly on the clay.

Note: You can paint your bowls before or after you bake them.

Block Print Tea Towels

Materials:

• Linoleum/rubber stamps (You can order these online or buy them at a craft store)
• White tea towels or bandanas
• Fabric paint
• Brayer or foam paintbrush
• Paper plate

Making your towel:

1. Squirt a little fabric paint onto a paper plate and roll the brayer until it’s completely—but thinly—covered. If you’re using a foam brush, don’t overload it.
2. Before you block print on the towel or bandana, practice stamping on plain paper or scrap fabric to see how much paint coverage you’ll need and how you want to space your design.
3. To print, carefully press the stamp onto the fabric and lift it off slowly. If you’re stamping more than once, apply more paint each time.
4. Let your design dry while you make more.

Design tips:

• Stamp your design once, in a cluster, in a row or all over.
• Keep the design aligned the same way for every stamp or rotate it one turn clockwise and make the second print right next to the first. Repeat to cover the whole surface.
• Use different, complementary colors. (Be sure to wipe the stamp clean before applying a new color.)
• Paint different parts of your stamp in different colors.

Craft Your Ideal Lifestyle at South Port Square

At South Port Square, we feature a variety of services and amenities, so you can tailor a lifestyle to fit your needs. For example, if you love DIY crafting, we feature an expansive arts and crafts studio offering creative classes for you to enjoy. To see our community for yourself, use our Community Assistant chat feature or contact us here.