Make December Magical: 33 Free Christmas Classroom Craft Ideas for UK Schools
- Primary Fundraising Hub
- Nov 2
- 7 min read
December in schools is a whirlwind of glitter, glue, and Christmas cheer — but it doesn’t have to break the budget! We’ve pulled together 33 free (or almost free!) Christmas Classroom Craft Ideas, art clubs, and school PTAs across the UK.
These activities use everyday materials you probably already have — paper, card, wool, old jars, and scraps — to spark children’s creativity while supporting Art and D.T. curriculum outcomes.
And if you’re looking to take your festive crafting to the next level, our Create & Craft Gadget Shop is perfect for schools and PTAs wanting to combine hands-on learning with easy fundraising. It’s packed with all the tools and materials you need to make, sell, and celebrate creativity this season.
👉 Explore the Create & Craft Gadget Shop — available now at www.popcorneducation.co.uk/shop
⭐ EYFS & KS1 Christmas Classroom Craft Ideas
1. Paper Plate Angels
What You’ll Need: Paper plates, scissors, glue, gold/yellow card, cotton wool, and crayons.
How to Make It: Cut a triangle out of the plate to form the angel’s dress. Use the cut-out triangle as wings, gluing them to the back. Add a cotton-wool head, a paper halo, and draw on a face.
Curriculum Link: Exploring shape and form in Art; practising fine motor skills.
2. Handprint Reindeer Cards
What You’ll Need: Brown paint, card, googly eyes, red pom-poms, glue, pens.
How to Make It: Paint the child’s hand brown and print it on the card. The thumb becomes the reindeer’s head, fingers the antlers. Add eyes, a red nose, and a festive greeting.
Curriculum Link: Seasonal art and greetings design.
3. Pom-Pom Snowmen
What You’ll Need: Old wool, card circles, scissors, glue, black paper for hats.
How to Make It: Wrap wool around two card circles, cut around the edge and tie in the middle to make pom-poms. Stack two together, add eyes, scarf, and hat.
Curriculum Link: DT – Making models with textiles.
4. Santa Hat Cones
What You’ll Need: Red card, glue, cotton wool, staples or tape.
How to Make It: Roll red card into a cone, secure, and trim the base. Glue cotton wool around the bottom and one pom-pom on top.
Curriculum Link: Recognising 3D shapes (cone); following a set of instructions.
5. Tissue Paper Christmas Trees
What You’ll Need: Green tissue paper, glue, card, sequins.
How to Make It: Tear tissue into small pieces and scrunch into balls. Glue onto a triangle-shaped card base. Decorate with sequins for baubles.
Curriculum Link: Colour, texture, and collage techniques.
6. Nativity Pebble Characters
What You’ll Need: Smooth pebbles, paint, markers, varnish.
How to Make It: Paint each pebble as a nativity figure – Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus, etc. Once dry, varnish for shine.
Curriculum Link: RE link with the Christmas story.
7. Glitter Star Wands
What You’ll Need: Cardboard, foil or glitter, glue, and straws or sticks.How to Make It: Cut out two star shapes, decorate one side, then glue together around a straw. Add ribbon tails.Curriculum Link: Combining materials; creating props for role play.
8. Button Baubles
What You’ll Need: Old buttons, glue, coloured card, ribbon.
How to Make It: Cut circles from card, glue buttons in patterns, and attach ribbon to hang.
Curriculum Link: Exploring pattern and repetition in Art.
🎁 Lower KS2 Christmas Classroom Craft Ideas
9. Snowflake Window Hangers
What You’ll Need: Paper, scissors, string, tape.
How to Make It: Fold square paper several times and snip small shapes along the edges. Unfold to reveal intricate snowflakes. Hang with string in the window.
Curriculum Link: Symmetry and pattern.
10. Recycled Christmas Cards
What You’ll Need: Old cards, scissors, glue, plain card, and ribbon.
How to Make It: Cut pictures from old cards and arrange into new designs. Add ribbon and personal messages.
Curriculum Link: Recycling materials; greetings design.
11. Salt Dough Decorations
What You’ll Need: 2 cups flour, 1 cup salt, 1 cup water, cookie cutters, paints, and ribbon.How to Make It: Mix ingredients to form dough, roll and cut shapes. Bake at low heat until hard, then paint and add ribbon to hang.Curriculum Link: Properties of materials; following a recipe.
12. Wool-Wrapped Christmas Trees
What You’ll Need: Card triangles, green wool, glue, star stickers.
How to Make It: Cut triangles from card, cut small slits at the sides, and wrap wool diagonally until covered. Stick a star at the top.
Curriculum Link: Textiles and structure.
13. Cork Reindeer Ornaments
What You’ll Need: Old corks, pipe cleaners, pom-poms, googly eyes, glue.
How to Make It: Use one cork as the body and one as the head. Insert pipe cleaners as legs and antlers, then add eyes and a red pom-pom nose.
Curriculum Link: Constructing models; upcycling materials.
14. Festive Lanterns
What You’ll Need: Paper, hole punch, stapler, LED tea lights.
How to Make It: Fold paper in half, cut slits along the fold, unfold, roll into a cylinder, and staple. Add a handle and place an LED light inside.
Curriculum Link: Structures and safety in D.T.
15. 3D Snowmen from Cups
What You’ll Need: Paper cups, tape, white paint, card, glue.
How to Make It: Paint cups white, stack two, decorate with scarves, hats, and drawn-on buttons.
Curriculum Link: 3D construction and balance.
16. Penguin Rock Painting
What You’ll Need: Smooth stones, white and black paint, orange card.
How to Make It: Paint stones black, leaving an oval for the belly. Add orange beaks and feet. Varnish if desired.
Curriculum Link: Observational painting and design.
🎅 Upper KS2 Christmas Classroom Craft Ideas
17. Origami Christmas Trees
What You’ll Need: Green paper squares, optional card bases.
How to Make It: Follow simple origami steps to fold layered trees. Mount onto card for displays or cards.
Curriculum Link: Geometry, precision, and following sequential instructions.
18. Mini Felt Stockings
What You’ll Need: Felt sheets, thread, needles, ribbon, scissors.How to Make It: Cut two stocking shapes, stitch together around the edges, leaving the top open. Add ribbon loop and embellishments.Curriculum Link: Textiles; basic sewing techniques.
19. Cardboard Gingerbread Houses
What You’ll Need: Cereal boxes, scissors, glue, pens, paint.
How to Make It: Cut panels from boxes and decorate with ‘icing’ lines and sweets. Assemble into 3D houses.
Curriculum Link: Architecture and design; nets of 3D shapes.
20. Recycled Christmas Wreaths
What You’ll Need: Card circles, old magazines, ribbon, glue.How to Make It: Twist and roll strips of old paper to make flowers or coils. Glue around the circle base and add a bow.Curriculum Link: Sustainability; collage and pattern.
21. Shadowbox Nativity Scenes
What You’ll Need: Shoeboxes, card figures, LED tea lights.
How to Make It: Decorate the inside of the box with paper background. Add cut-out nativity characters and place an LED light inside for a glowing scene.
Curriculum Link: 3D modelling and lighting.
22. Snow Globe Science
What You’ll Need: Empty jars, glitter, water, glycerin, small models.
How to Make It: Glue a small toy to the jar lid. Fill jar with water and glitter, add a few drops of glycerin, screw lid tightly, and shake.
Curriculum Link: Science of viscosity and liquids.
23. Marbled Wrapping Paper
What You’ll Need: Shaving foam, food colouring, tray, white paper.
How to Make It: Spread foam, add food colouring drops, swirl with a stick. Press paper on top, lift, and scrape off excess foam to reveal marbling.
Curriculum Link: Exploring colour mixing and pattern.
24. 3D Pop-Up Christmas Cards
What You’ll Need: Card, scissors, glue, pens.
How to Make It: Cut two parallel slits on a folded card to create a ‘pop-up’ tab. Stick a festive shape onto the pop-up section. Decorate the rest of the card.
Curriculum Link: Levers and linkages; design engineering.
🏫 Whole-School & PTA Craft Projects
25. Class Christmas Tree Display
What You’ll Need: One large display board or real tree, class-made ornaments.
How to Make It: Each pupil contributes one handmade decoration, labelled with their name.
Curriculum Link: Collaboration and community celebration.
26. Festive Door Decoration Contest
What You’ll Need: Paper, card, recycled materials, creativity!
How to Make It: Each class designs a door based on a festive theme (snow scene, reindeer stable, winter forest). Award small prizes.
Curriculum Link: Teamwork and design.
27. Charity Craft Stall
What You’ll Need: Pupil-made crafts, display table, price labels.
How to Make It: Set up a festive stall at your Christmas fair, selling handmade items like baubles and cards. Donate profits to charity.
Curriculum Link: Enterprise and community action.
28. Recycled Art Challenge
What You’ll Need: Plastic bottles, scrap card, newspapers, imagination.
How to Make It: Challenge each class to make one large sculpture or display purely from recycled items.
Curriculum Link: Environmental awareness and design innovation.
29. Advent Art Calendar
What You’ll Need: 24 small artworks (one per day), backing board, envelopes.
How to Make It: Each day, open one envelope to reveal a new artwork created by a pupil.
Curriculum Link: Sequential art and anticipation.
30. Whole-School Craft Fair
What You’ll Need: Tables, displays, PTA support, crafts to sell.
How to Make It: Organise a festive fair where each year group makes crafts to sell. Great for fundraising with the Create & Craft Gadget Shop!
Curriculum Link: DT – making for purpose; enterprise education.
31. ‘12 Days of Christmas’ Display Boards
What You’ll Need: 12 display boards or panels.
How to Make It: Assign each class one verse to interpret artistically. Combine into a whole-school gallery.
Curriculum Link: Interpreting text through visual art.
32. Winter STEM Challenge
What You’ll Need: Paper, tape, marshmallows, spaghetti, fan.How to Make It: Pupils build a snowman structure that can withstand wind from a fan. Discuss which designs were strongest.Curriculum Link: Science and engineering.
33. Decorate the Tree for the Community
What You’ll Need: Decorations, tags, messages of kindness.
How to Make It: Create decorations for a local library, care home or hospital tree — each with a handwritten message from pupils.
Curriculum Link: Citizenship and community engagement.
✂️ Make It Bigger with the Create & Craft Gadget Shop
If your PTA or Art Lead wants to turn classroom creativity into real fundraising this December, our Create & Craft Gadget Shop makes it easy.
🎨 Ready-to-use kits designed for schools and clubs
🧵 Supports Art, D.T., and enterprise outcomes
💷 Raises up to £600 profit per school
🌍 Includes eco-friendly materials and easy instructions
🎁 Order early for guaranteed December 2025 delivery!
👉 Visit www.popcorneducation.co.uk/shop
Whether you’re scrunching tissue trees in Reception, stitching stockings in Year 5, or running a whole-school Christmas fair, these 33 free December craft ideas are designed to make classrooms buzz with festive creativity — all while staying budget-friendly.
With a little imagination (and perhaps a Create & Craft Gadget Shop kit or two), your school can celebrate creativity, teamwork and joy this December.
