Whether it is time to celebrate Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day or even a holiday of your own creation or family tradition, having some ideas for easy holiday crafts for kids is a good way to make any celebration even more special.

Follow these simple directions to make three inexpensive gifts for almost anyone.

Note: some of these crafts require the use of a hot glue gun so adult supervision will be necessary.

Wreath of Love

You can personalize this for almost any holiday by changing the colors of the yarn wrapping and braid. Try red, white and blue for Memorial Day or Fourth of July, red for Valentine’s Day, green for St. Patrick’s day and so forth.

What You Need

• Wreath template: recycled cardboard, one large bowl (about eight inches in diameter), and one small bowl (about four inches in diameter)
• Approximately two ounces of 4 ply worsted wool or bulky yarn to wrap the wreath
• Three 1-yard strands of matching yarn to make a braided hanger
• Embellishments of your choice – we used assorted scrapbook embellishments
• Hot glue gun
• Glue sticks
• Scissors

What You Do

1. Flattened cereal boxes work great for making your wreath template.Lay the large bowl upside down on the cardboard and trace around the outside.
2. Center the small bowl inside the first circle and trace around the outside edge.
3. Cut out the wreath (an adult will probably need to cut out or at least start the cutting process for the inside circle as you need to poke a hole with the edge of the scissors or cut it with a sharp craft knife to get started.)
4. Using the hot glue gun under adult supervision, put a dab of glue on the back side of the wreath template, and lay the edge of the yarn over it.
5. Using the end of a pencil or paintbrush to keep from getting burned, push the yarn into the glue and hold it there for about 20 seconds.
6. Wrap the yarn around the wreath template until it is completely covered. Most kids get tired of this before the circle is completed, so be prepared to help them if they ask.
7. Use the hot glue gun to secure the yarn to the back of the wreath.
8. Let it dry and then snip off any remaining yarn.
9. Position the embellishments of your choice on the wreath moving them around until they are in a pleasing pattern.
10. Use the hot glue gun (if necessary) to affix the decorations to the wreath. (Our decorations had double-faced tape affixed to the back surface.)
11. Tie a knot into one end of the three, 1-yard strands of yarn.
12. Have someone hold the knotted end and braid the three strands together to form a long rope.
13. Braid to within about three inches of the end of the yarn strands, and tie a knot to secure the braid.
14. Slip the wreath onto the braid and tie the ends together to form a hanger.

Bejeweled and Flowered Flip Flops

This craft project is designed for older kids – ages 8 and up and requires adult help because you will need to use hot glue to attach the flowers and adornments to the flip flops. While it might take a little strategizing to figure out how to do it without mom finding out, her surprise when she opens these bejeweled sandals is well worth it. Grandparents or other relatives or an older sibling might be willing to lend a hand to help pull this off as a surprise.

What You Need

• One pair of flip-flops
• One bunch of artificial flowers of your choice (you will use two flowers for this project; reserve the rest for another project)
• One package each of sticky jewels and adhesive jewel dots or embellishments of your choice
• Scissors
• Hot glue gun
• Glue Stick
• Paint brush or pencil

What You Do

1. Clip off two flowers – one for each flip flop.
2. Put a dab of hot glue on the top of the flip flop strap.
3. Place the flower atop the glue being careful not to get burned.
4. Use the pencil or the end of a paintbrush to push the flower into the hot glue.
5. Let the glue dry for several minutes before continuing.
6. Affix the jewels to the sides of the flip flop strap in a pleasing pattern.
7. Repeat the process on the other flip flop.

Tip:  Use some of the leftover flowers to decorate the wrapping paper when you wrap this footwear up for mom.

Star Memento Plaque

Moms will treasure a personalized memento like this one for years to come. She can display it at home or office using the easel and enjoy happy thoughts whenever she looks at it. 

What You Need

• Five inch foam circle
• Child’s picture
• Cut-out shape to frame picture (we used a star shape)
• Decorations of choice (stickers, scrapbooking embellishments and so forth)
• Scissors
• Ruler
• Pencil
• Glue
• Easel (for displaying finished plaque)

What You Do

1. Lay star shape over child’s picture. (We made a color copy of the photograph so we could keep the original intact.)
2. Using a pencil, lightly marked the areas of the photo that will need to be cropped. Optional: use the ruler to make straight lines if preferred – we just “eyeballed” the distance.
3. Leave about a 1/4 margin around the picture so it will fit into the frame without leaving any gaps.
4. Cut out the photo and tape to the wrong side of the star shape.
5. Glue the star shape/photo onto the foam circle and let the glue set for several hours or overnight to make sure it adheres properly.
6. Decorate the right side of the plaque with stickers, decorations and embellishments or even crayons, markers or paints.
7. Include an inexpensive easel with the gift so the recipient can display it easily.

Tip: Have the child write his or her name and the date created on the back of the plaque to make it even more special.

6 Interesting Facts About Mother’s Day You Might Not Know

1. President Woodrow Wilson designated the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day in 1914, which made it an official holiday.
2. The first Mother’s Day was May 9, 1914.
3. If your mother is living, you should wear a red carnation; wear a white carnation if she is deceased.
4. The first celebration honoring mothers was held in 1907 by Anna Jarvis, who wanted to honor the memory of her deceased mother. Jarvis was the driving force behind the establishment of Mother’s Day as an official holiday.
5. According to the USDA’s Floriculture Report of 2012, if you buy a carnation to honor your mother’s memory for Mother’s Day, it will most likely come from California, which is one of the largest providers of cut flowers.
6. The U.S Census Bureau estimates 85.4 million mothers in the US in 2009.

Fun holiday crafts for kids are great ways to create unique, one-of-kind gifts for those special people, and make wonderful rainy day or television-free activities. However, it’s important to always stay safe, so be sure to supervise your children while they are working on craft projects and provide the appropriate amount of help.

Red rose image by geralt via Pixabay under public domain license
All other images copyright 2013  by Donna Cosmato; all rights reserved