Fun Winter Crafts for Kids

Make winter-themed crafts with supplies you may have on hand.Snowman Ornament image by KateC from Fotolia.com

Show children how to make simple winter crafts with materials from around the house or left over from other projects. With a little adult help for young ones (depending on their age range or motor skills), kids can complete decorative items to play with or to give as gifts to friends and family. Keep a craft box handy to keep supplies that can be used for a variety of winter crafts.

Plastic Bottle Snowman

Collect white plastic bottles in different shapes and sizes. These can include liquid soap, flavored creamers or small milk bottles. Fill half the bottle with sand, pebbles or cat litter to add weight and stability. Hot glue (by an adult only) plastic buttons or googly eyes on the top part of the bottle and a "carrot" for a nose cut from orange foam sheet. Use a black permanent marker to draw the mouth. Punch a tiny hole on each side of the bottle to insert brown pipe cleaners for arms (secured with a few drops of hot glue). Tie a strip of colorful patterned fabric around the neck for a scarf. Kids can also use colored permanent markers to add decorative details such as buttons down the front, ornaments, a heart or words such as "Merry Christmas."

Give children white poster board cut into 12-by-18-inch rectangles to stamp with Christmas-themed rubber or clear stamps. Toddlers can more easily hold sponges cut into simple holidays shapes. Pour acrylic paints in colors including green, red, blue and yellow onto plastic plates. Let the children decorate their place mats as they wish. Also give them water-based markers, cut-out images, glue sticks and stickers to add to their artwork. Have each child sign his name. After drying, cover each place mat with clear contact paper and trim the edges; this makes cleaning easy after each use.

Let children bake a variety of cookie cutter-shaped birdseed cookie feeders. To make four of these, in a bowl combine 1 1/2 cups of birdseed, 2 tablespoons of flour and enough water to make a crumbly, but slightly moist mix. Lay four cookie cutters (sprayed on the inside with oil) on a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil. Use a spatula to scoop the birdseed mixture into each cookie cutter, leaving a little space in the center. Insert a 2-inch piece of straw in the center and finish filling in the cookie cutter. Pat the top down flat. Bake in the oven at 200 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove the cookie cutter by slipping the side of a butter knife between the cookie cutter and the filling. Twist and remove the straw. Finish baking the feeders another 30 minutes. Let cool completely and harden overnight. Insert a 2-foot-long piece of string through the hole and hang in the backyard or give to friends or family for their trees. Toss any birdseed leftover on the cookie sheet on the ground near the hanging feeders.