In our classroom in December, we love to make holiday presents for parents from kids.  I’ve got several homemade gift ideas that work for all of your students, whether they celebrate Christmas or not.

1. Christmas Tree

During our holiday party last year, students made these ornaments in a small group.  I loved they were able to show their creativity as they decorated their trees.

Materials Needed

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• popsicle sticks (4 per tree)
• sequins
• sparkly foam stickers
• sparkly ribbon
• sparkly pipe cleaners
• hot glue
• white glue

Steps

I had a parent helper hot glue the trees and ribbon topper ahead of time.  The topper is just a piece of sparkly ribbon folder over so that it can be hung from the Christmas tree.  Lay the rest of the materials on the table and let students grab what they need for their tree.

Duration

This craft takes 10-15 minutes, depending on the child.

2. Disguise a Santa

I love sending this home as a family art project or you can have students create a Santa in class.  It’s perfect for a family gift or a decoration for the classroom or at home.  *For students who don’t celebrate Christmas, there is an alternative “Old Man Winter” option.

Materials Needed

• Santa/Old Man Winter template
• cardstock
• supplies to decorate

Steps

Print the template on card stock so that it’s durable.  Let students decorate their person, however they’d like.

Duration

This craft takes 25-45 minutes, depending on the child and the disguise.

3. Ornament

This is a new project we did in class last year and the students really loved them!

Materials Needed

• paint pens
• plastic ornament (I like to wait for the Michael’s Sale and use my 50% off coupon or teacher discount)
• sparkly ribbon
• paper filler

Steps

Have students draw a snowman, reindeer, menorah, or Christmas tree on the ornament.  For friends who don’t celebrate, let them make their own design. Have them include their name and year at the bottom of the ornament.  Let students choose some paper filler to put inside.  Use the sparkly ribbon to tie a bow on top.

Duration

This craft takes about 10 minutes.

Picture Frame Gift

A few years ago, I had students who celebrated Christmas, Hanukkah, and a few who didn’t believe in celebrations.  In order to make sure that no one felt left out, we made gifts that were inclusive to everyone.

Materials Needed

• picture frame
• paper
• white paint
• glue or glue stick
• oil pastels (for menorah and/or self portrait)

Steps

I called students back in small groups.  We painted the cardboard that came with the picture frame, white.  While it was drying, some students made a Christmas tree, others did a self portrait, and some made a Menorah using this video.  While some of my students were glueing their strips of paper for their tree, the other students were using oil pastels for their drawings. Once the drawing/tree was done, we glue it to the white cardboard and put it in the frame.  *Make sure the paint is dry!*

Duration

This craft takes about 30 minutes.

I hope these holiday presents for parents from kids will work great in your classroom!