Recycled Christmas Ornaments & Decorations Kids Can Make

Did you know lots of items found in your recycling bin can be used to make adorable Christmas ornaments and decorations? Making homemade recycled Christmas ornaments and decorations is a fantastic way for kids to express their creativity while also learning about sustainability. Reusing recyclables from around the house to create upcycled art and crafts is a great way to teach children how something that's been used can still be transformed into something beautiful, rather than being discarded.

These handmade decorations help the environment, are a budget friendly gift option and can also become a personal, heart warming tradition to include in your holiday celebrations. In this post, we’ll share fun and easy ideas for creating eco-friendly Christmas decorations kids can help make. Lots of these would also be great to make as affordable class take home gifts.

DIY Milk Jug Jack-o-lanterns

Keep your empty milk jugs and upcycle them into easy DIY jack-o-lanterns by following our instructions below. This simple, creative project is perfect for kids and adults alike, and it’s a great way to recycle while getting into the spooky spirit for Halloween. Just like we made milk bottle ghosts, you can make milk bottle jack-o-lanterns in a few minutes using basic craft supplies.

DIY Milk Bottle Ghosts

Transform your old milk bottles {or milk jugs} into spooky ghost lanterns with this fun and easy DIY craft. These upcycled ghost lanterns will add a haunting glow to your home or yard. They're perfect for Halloween and can be made in just a few minutes. 

Fun Fireworks Crafts & Activities for Kids

Fireworks crafts are a great way to celebrate holidays like New Years Eve, 4th of July and even birthdays, without the noise and sensory overload of watching real fireworks. You also don't need to leave your house and the fireworks will last longer than a few seconds.

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E is for Egg carton: Sensory Alphabet

If you're a teacher or parent looking for a fun and interesting way to teach your children the letter E, this sensory E is for egg carton craft is perfect. Sensory letters {also known as tactile letters} are an engaging and effective way to teach children the letters of the alphabet.

A sensory alphabet is an exceptional tool that merges the tangible experience of touch with the abstract world of letters, making the learning process not only more fun but also more immersive for children. Follow our step by step instructions below to create your own sensory letter E, I've also included a free printable letter E template.

33 Christmas Toilet Paper Roll Crafts for Kids

We love using toilet paper rolls for lots of different crafts at our place, there's literally hundreds of different crafts, games and DIY toys that can be made from toilet paper rolls. We've used them for Halloween toilet paper roll crafts so it makes sense to put together a list of Christmas toilet paper roll crafts as well.

These Christmas cardboard tube crafts can easily be done by preschoolers or school children as a classroom art project. Make these cute gingerbread men, elves, Christmas trees, reindeer, Christmas decorations and of course Santa himself. Use them to decorate the classroom or your home for Christmas or in small world play.

Rudolph Toilet Paper Roll Craft

With his shining red nose that saves Christmas, Rudolph the red nosed reindeer is the most famous reindeer of all. Children can make their very own Rudolph with this simple toilet paper roll reindeer craft. Upcycle a humble toilet paper roll, with a few other basic craft items, by following our step by step instructions to bring Rudolph to life.

We love toilet paper roll crafts in our house because toilet paper rolls are the most readily available craft resource and they're free! Plus they're recyclable so they're good for the environment. Check out our favourite Halloween toilet paper roll crafts and Christmas toilet paper roll crafts.

Santa Paper Cup Puppet {+ Free Template}

If you're looking for a cute Santa craft to try this Christmas, make this paper cup Santa puppet. With just a few basic craft supplies your kids can make a Santa puppet that waves his arms up and down. Follow our instructions below to learn how to make an articulated Santa puppet using paper cups and our free printable Santa template.

DIY Recycled Bird Feeders To Make With Kids

This huge list of DIY bird feeders will give you lots of inspiration to use different recyclables and materials you probably have at home already to create homemade bird feeders with your kids. Making a homemade bird feeder with kids is a great DIY recycled craft activity as well as a way to encourage children to learn more about nature and the native birds in your area. 

21 Easter Egg Paper Crafts for Kids {with Free Egg Templates}

Find an Easter egg craft that's perfect for your children or students from this list of easy Easter egg crafts for kids. This post includes lots of different process art and craft techniques including different ways to paint, paper craft and decorate easter egg templates, plus they all include free printable Easter egg templates. 

The finished Easter eggs can be hung on display on an art wall, or used to decorate the classroom as part of an Easter display. A lot of the artwork can also be upcycled into other items for family and friends once you've finished displaying it.

DIY Elf Lemonade Stand {exactly like The Duck Song}

A duck walked up to a lemonade stand, and he said to the man running the stand. Hey! {bum bum bum} Got any grapes?

Chances are if you have school aged children then you've heard the duck song approximately 400 000 times and it gets stuck in your head for hours. I feel your pain!

We've been doing Elf on a Shelf for a few years now and in an effort to not repeat easy elf ideas from previous years, Elfie's had to get a little more creative. This year she's recreated some of the kids favourite pop culture things like among us and Pokémon, so naturally the duck song got added to her list. Thankfully it's really easy to make a duck song lemonade stand and I'm going to show you exactly how I made it so your elf can do it too.

38 DIY Advent Calendar Ideas for Kids

As a child the magic of Christmas isn't just about Christmas Day itself, there's also so much joy and excitement throughout December knowing Christmas Day is getting closer and closer. One of the easiest ways to build that excitement is with an advent calendar. You don't have to automatically go out and buy a chocolate filled one from the store though, there are plenty of ways to get creative and make your own unique DIY Advent Calendar that's special to your family.

I've searched the web and put together a list of 38 different DIY Advent Calendars the kids will love. There's so many different types of DIY advent calendars including tree shaped countdowns, Christmas villages, book advent calendars and printable Christmas countdowns. You don't have to be super crafty to make them either, as long as you can follow directions and know your way around scissors and glue you're set.

DIY Egg Carton Carrot Patch Letter Matching Game

When my daughter first started school she knew a lot of the alphabet already, but was having difficulty distinguishing between some uppercase and lowercase letters. To help her learn the last few letters I decided to make a DIY letter game that we could play at home.

I wanted to design a game that was hands on and also a fun way to learn letters, so she wouldn't lose interest. It was close to Easter and we had lots of foam carrots from the dollar store, so I made a carrot patch letter matching game. You can recreate it for your own kids or students by following the steps below.

Recycled Egg Carton Flowers

If you love doing recycled crafts at your place then you'll love these recycled egg carton flowers. The kids and I made them for Grandma for Mother's Day. They're an easy and affordable craft to make for birthdays, Mother's Day or just to have on display in the house. An added bonus is they'll never droop or wilt.

25 DIY Mother's Day Gifts Kids Can Make

When it comes to Mother's Day gifts I know the ones I cherish the most are the sentimental gifts from the kids, rather than store bought items. I love a good hand written letter, homemade card or Mother's Day questionnaire and have a soft spot for pasta necklaces {even when they don't fit}. 

Mother's Day doesn't have to mean a mad dash to the shops with Dad, or spending heaps on gifts at the Mother's Day stall at school, there are so many practical DIY gifts kids can make themselves for Mum {or Grandma} at home. I've put together 25 easy Mother's Day gifts kids can make for mum, there's something for everyone whether she's into jewellery, flowers, gardening or candles. Lots of these gift ideas are also suitable to do at school or daycare as a whole class activity.

How to make DIY Plastic Egg Sensory Shakers

Want to know the thing I love most about Easter? No, it's not chocolate {although that is a bonus!}. What I love most are the plastic eggs. Weird I know, but they're just so versatile for play, and they're so cheap! Today I'm going to show you how you {and your kids} can turn plastic Easter eggs into sensory music shakers with just a few items from your pantry or craft drawer.

DIY Toilet Paper Roll Heart Stamp Painting

If you're after an inexpensive, easy to set up Valentine's craft activity for toddlers, preschoolers or school kids then look no further because heart stamp painting is about as easy as it comes. The best part is you can make the heart stamp yourself from empty toilet paper rolls or cardboard tubes you have at home. Heart stamping is also a great art activity for daycare, kindy or school and can be used to make Valentines gifts for family and friends.

10 Easy Ways to Repurpose & Upcycle Kids Art

I know the thought of throwing out any of the kids masterpieces can be heart-wrenching, especially if you're a sentimental person like me who wants to keep everything, but at some point you'll have to face the reality of culling the hoards of pictures, paintings and letters that make their way into your home. 

However, just because you decide you don't want to store or display some of the kids artwork, doesn't mean it's destined for the recycling bin. In fact there are many creative ways you can upcycle kids art. I've put together a list of 10 easy ways to upcycle kids artwork and give them new life.

Kids drawings, paintings and even letters can easily be turned from scribbles on paper into practical objects. With a tiny bit of effort your scrap pile of art can be turned into free gifts for friends and family, homemade decorations and even functional items like placemats and envelopes. 

25 Halloween Toilet Paper Roll Crafts for Kids

When the kids want to do craft at the drop of a hat and I need a simple and quick solution, I grab some empty toilet paper rolls from our stash. They're free, readily available {without leaving the house} and there's so many different crafts you can make with them. Literally hundreds, and for any theme. Today I'm going to show you how to make 25 Halloween kids crafts using toilet paper rolls {or cardboard tubes if you don't want to use toilet paper rolls}.

These Halloween toilet paper roll crafts are all really simple and can easily be done by preschoolers or school children as a classroom art project. Make these cute ghosts, monsters, black cats, bats and even a haunted house. Use them to decorate the classroom for Halloween or take them home to use in Halloween small world play.

16 Mother's Day Cards Kids Can Make at Home or in the Classroom

Of all the Mother's Day gifts I've ever received my favourites are definitely the handmade cards or questionnaire lists my girls have made themselves. Sure a notebook or pretty soap from the school Mother's Day stall are lovely, and I appreciate all the thought that went into picking them out, however nothing tugs at my heart strings more than something they've made.

I live for all the pretty Mother's Day craft ideas that come home from kindy or class, no matter how cliché they may seem. Give me a painted canvas or collage card any day. Whether you're a teacher looking for a crafty Mother's Day classroom activity, or dad looking for a special Mother's Day gift the kids can make themselves, then have a look at these 16 Mother's Day card ideas. They're sure to make mum or grandma smile and they don't even require a trip to the shops.