Christmas Craft Advent Calendar 2026: 25 Days of Easy Crafts

You need: Strips of paper (about 1 x 6 in), tape or glue

Make 24 links, one per day left until Christmas, and tear one off each morning. Write a tiny job or joke inside each link.

💡 Grown-up twist: use old book pages or scrapbook paper for a vintage look.

You need: 1 cup flour, 1/2 cup salt, about 1/2 cup water, cookie cutters, straw

Knead, roll to about 1/4 in, cut shapes and poke a hanging hole with a straw. Bake low (about 250°F / 120°C) until hard, often 2+ hours, or air-dry for a few days, then paint.

💡 Kids: press a thumbprint or handprint into one and add the year.

You need: Printer paper or coffee filters, scissors

Fold a square into a triangle three times, snip shapes along the edges and unfold. Tape them to a window.

💡 Grown-up twist: fold six times for a true six-point flake.

You need: Pinecones, felt or paper scraps, googly eyes, glue

Turn a pinecone into an owl, hedgehog or tiny tree. Glue on felt ears, wings or a pom-pom star.

💡 Bake foraged cones on a tray (low oven) or let them dry first to drive out any hitchhiking bugs.

You need: Ground cinnamon, applesauce, a little white glue, cookie cutters

Mix into a stiff dough, roll, cut and poke a hole. Air-dry for a few days, flipping daily. Your house will smell amazing.

💡 Not edible, so keep away from little snackers and pets.

You need: Cardstock, brown paint, markers, a red pom-pom

Paint a palm, press it upside down: fingers become antlers. Add eyes and a red nose. Fold into a card.

💡 Grown-up twist: do the whole family's hands as one herd.

You need: 6 craft sticks per flake, glue, paint, sequins

Glue three sticks into a star (an asterisk), add three short pieces between, paint white or silver and add sparkle.

💡 Hang with fishing line so they float.

You need: Two colors of paper, scissors

Make Danish-style woven heart baskets (julehjerter): cut two U-shapes with slits and weave them over and under. Fill with candy.

💡 Kids: start with 2 slits; experts can go to 5 or more.

You need: Cardboard or paper cones, green yarn, glue, beads

Glue the yarn end at the bottom and wrap up to the tip. Add bead 'lights' and a paper star on top.

💡 Use leftover scraps for a stripy tree.

You need: Wooden clothespins, glue, brown paint, tiny pom-poms

Glue two pins back to back so the legs point up as antlers. Paint, add eyes and a nose. Clip onto the tree.

💡 Make a whole set for gift toppers.

You need: Kraft paper, a potato or eraser, craft knife (grown-ups), paint

Carve a simple star, tree or dot into a potato half and stamp a pattern across plain kraft paper.

💡 Two colors offset by half a stamp looks very fancy.

You need: Last year's Christmas cards, hole punch, string

Cut the pretty fronts into tag shapes, punch a hole, write on the back.

💡 A scalloped scissor or tag punch makes them look shop-bought.

You need: Cardstock, scissors, glue

Cut two identical stars, fold each point in half (valley), then fold the inner angles (mountain) so it pops. Glue two back to back.

💡 Pinterest trend tip: layered paper stars are big this year.

You need: Brown felt or kraft paper, white paint pen or rickrack, string

Cut gingerbread people, add icing details with white pen, and string them hand in hand.

💡 Grown-up twist: stitch felt ones with white embroidery floss.

You need: Jar, tissue paper squares, decoupage glue, LED tealight

Brush glue on the jar, layer tissue paper like stained glass, top-coat and let dry. Pop in a battery tealight.

💡 Use LED lights only, never a real flame with paper.

You need: Oranges, a low oven, twine

Slice thin (about 1/4 in), blot dry and bake low (about 200°F / 95°C) for several hours, flipping now and then, until dry. Thread with cinnamon sticks.

💡 Thinner slices dry faster and glow more in the window.

You need: Yarn, a fork or pom-pom maker, cardboard ring

Make a pile of pom-poms (wrap yarn around a fork, tie the middle, snip the loops) and glue them to a ring.

💡 A great TV-night craft.

You need: Pinecones or cardboard tubes, sunflower or nut butter, birdseed, string

Spread on the butter, roll in seed and hang outside. Draw the visitors tomorrow.

💡 Use sunflower butter for nut-free homes and classrooms.

You need: Cardstock, scissors, markers

Fold a card, cut two short parallel slits on the fold and push the tab inside to make a step. Glue a drawn tree or gift onto the step.

💡 Make three steps of different sizes for a whole scene.

You need: Small jar, waterproof figurine, distilled water, glitter, a few drops of glycerin, waterproof glue

Glue the figure to the inside of the lid and let it cure. Fill the jar with water, glycerin and glitter, then screw the lid on tight (glue the threads if you like).

💡 Grown-ups: hot glue alone may not hold under water; use a waterproof epoxy.

You need: Pipe cleaners, red and white pony beads

Thread beads in a red-white pattern, fold the ends over and bend into a hook.

💡 Perfect for little fingers practicing patterns.

You need: Square green paper

Fold a simple tiered origami tree (search 'easy origami Christmas tree') and decorate with stickers or dot paint.

💡 String several for a garland.

You need: Small embroidery hoop, faux greenery or felt leaves, ribbon

Wrap or glue greenery around part of the hoop, add a bow and a tiny handmade ornament from earlier in the month.

💡 Grown-up twist: stitch a name inside the hoop on fabric.

You need: Paper bags, stickers, your tags and stamps from earlier

Decorate small bags and fill them with cookies or cocoa for neighbors, teachers or delivery drivers.

💡 Use your stamped wrap (day 11) and tags (day 12).

You need: Clear fillable ornament or a paper circle, pen

Write the year and a favorite memory from this December, or slip in a tiny drawing, and hang it on the tree.

💡 Make one every year and watch the collection grow.