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Autumn and Winter Crafts Activities

Get crafty and cosy with our autumn and winter inspired crafts that you can do at home.

 

Tree Print Paintings

Explore the beautiful textures and patterns of natural resources with these colourful and expressive paintings. 

Resources required:

  • Paper
  • Poster paint (or any type of runny paint you have)
  • Evergreen tree trimmings

Instructions:

  • You could start this activity off by going on a nature walk and collecting fallen branches and leaves from evergreens to use at home. It's a great way to explore nature and get hands on with the world around us. Alternatively, you could cut clippings from an evergreen tree in your garden if you have one.
  • Dip your leaves and branches into any colour paint. 
  • Press down and print onto paper, or use them as a paintbrush, moving them across the paper to explore pattern and mark making.

Ways to extend this activity:

  • Can you create a repeating pattern with your prints?
  • Find 5 different types of natural resources to use as paint brushes to create different marks. Look at how they are different. What colours can you see? Do they have different scents?

Colour Popping Paper Lanterns

Celebrate the festivities of light by making colourful paper lanterns and bringing some brightness into these dark winter evenings. 

Resources required: 

  • Large piece of coloured paper /card/ cereal box (or get creative and decorate paper with paint/crayons/felt tips) 
  • Glue/tape 
  • Scissors (or just tear the paper slits) 
  • Stapler (or use glue/tape) 
  • Sparkly stars/other decorative resources (optional) 
  • Foil ribbon/wool (optional) 
  • Battery tea light (optional) 

Instructions: 

  • Fold the two long sides of your card together 
  • Cut slits along the folded edge of the paper (stopping about an inch from the edge) 
  • Glue sparkly stars onto the paper 
  • Open the folded paper and join the two short sides together with a staple 
  • Attach foil ribbon with a staple to make a handle 
  • If desired place a battery tealight inside to illuminate you colour popping paper lantern 

Cardboard Tube Birdfeeder

Make the most fun and enticing birdfeeder this winter to help your chirpy feathered friends when their food supplies are running low. Using just a toilet roll tube, coconut oil and a handful of birdseed. A great way for you and your children to get to learn more about native birds.

Resources required: 

  • Empty toilet roll tube 
  • Coconut oil/ peanut butter/sunflower seed butter/vegetable shortening  
  • Birdseed/cheerios cereal 
  • Paper plate 
  • Wool/ribbon 
  • Butter knife 

Instructions: 

  • Use the butter knife to spread a thick layer of coconut oil onto the toilet roll tube 
  • Roll the toilet roll tube onto a paper plate full of birdseed 
  • String a loop of wool through the toilet roll tube 
  • Go outside and hang your amazing bird feeder on a tree branch or bush and watch the birds feast away 

Winter Wonder Snow Tree

Let it snow! Let's create stunning winter wonder snow scenes using coloured paper and black card to create beautiful silhouette imagery. The finished scenes can be hung on your windows for everyone to admire.

Resources required: 

  • Cotton wool balls/white pom poms 
  • Large piece of paper/card/or use card from a cereal box (or get creative and decorate paper with tissue paper) 
  • Black card (get creative and use old magazines and hunt for pages with lots of black) 
  • Scissors 
  • Glue 

Instructions: 

  • Cut black card into branch like strips  
  • Glue these onto the large coloured paper to shape into a silhouette tree 
  • Glue the cotton wool balls along the branches of the tree to make snow 
  • Hang up and enjoy looking at your beautiful snow tree 

Festive Colourful Pinecones

This winter go on a pinecone hunt with you children and look for scattered pinecones under a conifer tree, in woods, parks or gardens. Bring them home and simply adorn them with mini pom poms to make colourful ornaments to enjoy this festive season.

Resources required: 

  • Mini pom poms/cotton balls 
  • Pinecones 
  • Ribbon/wool 

Instructions: 

  • Decorate your pinecones by pushing mini poms poms into the grooves 
  • Cut ribbon to your desired length and tie onto the top of each pinecone 
  • Hang onto a tree and admire your colourful festive creations 

Paper Plate Winter Wreath

This winter get messy and creative with making a colourful winter wreath, for everyone to pause and admire.

Resources required:

  • Paper plate
  • Green paint/felt tips (get creative and use old magazines and hunt for pages with lots of green) 
  • Paint brush
  • Pom poms
  • RIbbon/wool
  • Scissors
  • PVA glue
  • Sequins (optional)

Instructions:

  • Cut out the inside circle of your paper plate.
  • Paint it green on one side.
  • Once dry, glue pom poms and sequins onto the wreath.
  • Tie some ribbon around the top.
  • Hang up on your door or window and admire your creativity.

Festive Cone Trees

Get green fingers with making some festive forever green trees from rolling paper plates, paint and colourful tissue paper.

Resources required:

  • Paper plate
  • Tissue paper/pom poms
  • Green paint/green felt tips/ green crayons
  • Paint brush
  • Scissors
  • PVA Glue
  • Cellotape

Instructions:

  • Find the centre of your paper plate and cut out a quarter slice of your plate.
  • Paint your paper plate with green paint.
  • Then roll your paper plate into a cone shape and seal with cellotape/glue.
  • Once dry, glue scrunched up tissue paper all over your forever green tree.
  • Put in your favourite place and enjoy your mini festive tree.

Paper Plate Baubles

Have yourself some festive fun and make your own baubles to decorate your home. A fun and simple activity for you to make and enjoy with your kids.

Resources required:

  • Paper
  • Tissue paper/foil/felt/coloured paper (get creative and use old magazines and hunt for pages with lots of colour)
  • Black paper
  • Glue
  • Scissors
  • Cellotape
  • Foil ribbon/pipe cleaner

Instructions:

  • Cut out your favourite shapes from coloured tissue paper.
  • Use glue to decorate your paper plate with the shapes you have cut out.
  • Cut out a small square from black paper.
  • Use cellotape to attach a loop of foil ribbon onto the back of the small black square.
  • Glue the black square onto the top of your bauble.
  • Hang your colourful bauble from your window or festive tree.

Cardboard Gingerbread Person

Create a delicious gingerbread person with brown cardboard. Using different embellishments complete your gingerbread person into an amazing ornament. You could even make a family of gingerbread people to transform into the most amazing garland.

Resource required:

  • Brown cardboard/cereal box
  • White paint/white crayon/felt-tip
  • PVA Glue
  • Scissors
  • Craft googly eyes (optional)
  • Old buttons (optional)
  • Ribbon for bow tie (optional)
  • String/wool (for gingerbread people garland)

Instructions:

  • Get creative and draw a gingerbread person onto your cardboard.
  • Cut out the shape with scissors. 
  • Decorate with 2 googly eyes or draw some eyes with paint or felt-tip.
  • Glue small buttons onto your gingerbread person and finish with embellishments of your choice. Perhaps some red ribbon for a bow tie would look nice!
  • Use some white paint to add final touches to your gingerbread person.
  • Enjoy displaying your gingerbread person up in time for the new year.

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