Simple Keepsakes & Christmas Ornament Crafts for Toddlers
We love a mismatched, hodge-podge Christmas tree, filled with a mix of store bought and homemade ornaments, so we are all over the Christmas ornament crafts made by our kids! If you’re with us on that, you’ll love these ideas. If you’re not so excited about that mix-and-match look—or your family doesn’t celebrate Christmas—these ideas can still buy you tons of entertaining toddler time! Want to take these crafts even further? (Or get them out of your house? 😂 ) They’re the perfect gift for grandparents! And you can even sub them out as gift tags or Christmas cards for the whole fam.
In our book, there’s really no downside to busting out the keepsake and Christmas ornament crafts around the holidays—as long as they’re simple and relatively mess-free, like the crafts on this list! No matter what your family’s holiday style is, we know that if you have littles at home, you’ll love making these keepsake and Christmas ornament crafts together.
P.S. Don’t miss the free, printable keepsake/Christmas ornament craft we’ve included for you!
5 Simple Keepsake & Christmas Ornament Crafts
We love making keepsakes and ornaments with our kids, but we’re not into elaborate crafts that we basically end up doing ourselves. So our promise to you is that these crafts are truly easy—not just claiming to be doable, then surprising you with 100 steps and 15 supplies you don’t have!
Here are 5 adorable, simple, and truly doable keepsakes and ornaments your little one can help with that make excellent, memorable gifts!
#1 Handprint Reindeer Ornament
Katie first made this ornament when her oldest was one. We love it because it’s a great way to remember how tiny their little hands were when you decorate the tree years later! Also, because it doesn’t ask much of your child, it’s a great craft to do when they’re at that age where craft supplies tend to end up in their mouths. All you need for their participation is a handprint, and you handle the rest.
SUPPLIES:
Brown Construction Paper
Brown Paint
Festive Ribbon or String
Googly Eyes
Pom Pom
Hold Punch
Laminator (Optional)
INSTRUCTIONS:
Lightly coat your child’s hand in brown paint, then stamp it onto brown paper.
Let the paint dry, then cut their handprint out, leaving a bit of a margin.
Write your child’s name and age on the back (or let them do it, if they’re old enough).
Laminate the handprint (if you choose to).
Add googly eyes and the black pom pom as the nose, creating the reindeer’s face.
Punch a hole in the top of the handprint, and string the rope through.
Repeat as many times as you want to for gifts!
Easy Hack: Trace their hand if you want to skip the paint, and draw on eyes if you don’t have googly eyes at home!
#2 Plastic Snow Globe Photo Ornament
This craft couldn’t be easier or more affordable. Plus, it makes a beautiful gift! It doesn’t require much child participation either, so it’s perfect if you have a baby or a young toddler who isn’t too interested in crafts yet. If your children are a bit older though, they can absolutely help!
SUPPLIES:
Plastic Snow Globe Ornament
Printed Photo
Crinkle Paper
Festive Ribbon
INSTRUCTIONS:
Pick up a plastic snow globe ornament from a local craft store.
Print out a cute photo of your little one.
Remove the ornament topper and fill the snow globe with shredded crinkle paper.
Roll the photo like a scroll, and place it inside the ornament. It will fan out once you put it inside.
If needed, use a pencil to help you place the photo where you want it.
Close the ornament topper on and tie with a festive ribbon.
#3 Christmas Tree Photo Frame Ornament
This is a great one for toddlers because there’s SO much they can help with, like painting and decorating the popsicle sticks! But we recommend doing it one in smaller chunks, to make it a perfect fit for their attention span. (That’s why we’ve broken the instructions down into smaller time blocks for you!)
SUPPLIES:
Printed Photo
3 Jumbo Popsicle Sticks
Green Paint
Craft Supplies For Decorations (Pom Poms, Bells, Stickers)
1 Piece Of Felt
Hot Glue
Construction Paper or Sponge Foam (for the trunk)
Festive Ribbon or String
INSTRUCTIONS:
During the first time block you set aside, have your toddler paint the popsicle sticks green. Then, once they’re dry, you can get your toddler’s help as you assemble the popsicle sticks using hot glue, making them look like a tree. Finally, add the tree trunk with hot glue.
The next time block, have your toddler decorate the Christmas tree with the craft supplies you selected. Note: You may have to go back later and use hot glue if the decorations are falling off!
Once it’s all dry, add your photo and attach the string.
#4 Pony Bead Star Ornament
This one is best for older toddlers—little ones that can attempt stringing beads. You can also have them help you make a little tag for the ornament by either decorating it (if they’re younger) or writing their name on it (if they’re older). The tag can be really fun to make if they are learning how to write their name, because it lets you preserve their work and see it every year!
SUPPLIES:
Pipe Cleaner (We used a glittery gold one, but you can use whatever)
Beads (Just make sure the openings are wide enough for a pipe cleaner)
Jingle Bell
Craft Supplies for the Tag
Festive Ribbon or String
INSTRUCTIONS:
Give your toddler a pipe cleaner, and let them string as many beads onto it as they like.
Bend the completed pipe cleaner masterpiece into a star shape and tie the ends together.
Cut out a tag shape, and let your child either decorate it or write their name on it.
If they’re not old enough to, write their name and age on the back.
String the star, the tag, and the jingle bell together using a festive ribbon.
#5: Wee Talkers Keepsake (Freebie!)
We might be a little biased, but this keepsake ornament is a fav Christmas craft of ours! And we think it would be perfect for non-Christmas celebrations, too. It’s made up of a string that’s as long as your child is tall, and a simple paper print out and a cute poem.
We love this super-simple keepsake so much because it’s really amazing to untie the string each year and remember how tiny your little one was then. It’s also a lovely gift for grandparents or family members.
We have a free downloadable print-out for you, so you can easily make a little 2023 version of this keepsake for your family and have something so sweet to look back on.
SUPPLIES:
Festive Ribbon or Yarn (Enough to measure how tall your child is this holiday season)
Laminator (optional)
Hole Punch
INSTRUCTIONS:
Choose your favourite design (there are 3 choices) and print it out.
Cut out the design you chose.
On the back, you can add your child’s photo, have them color it, or list out some of your favorite memories from the year.
Laminate the ornament (if you’d like to).
Grab your festive yarn or a nice ribbon and measure out your little one from head to toe.
Punch a hold in the keepsake, and string the ribbon through, tying it into a bow or a loop.
Display the keepsake, gift it, or hang it on the Christmas tree.
Download Our Keepsake Freebie
If you haven’t yet, don’t forget to download our free keepsake/Christmas ornament craft printout. We know you’ll love making it with your little one(s) this year, and looking back on it in the holiday seasons that follow!
And if you make any of these crafts, leave us a comment or send us a DM on Instagram! We’d love to see what you made.
Happy holidays!