Holiday Craft Ideas for All Ages

Arts and crafts are not something exclusively for children or grandmoms, it is an activity that can be enjoyed by all ages. The holiday season is one of the best times for crafts because there are so many possibilities. From Christmas ornaments to table decorations, crafting is also a great way to spend time with family. Gather the supplies you need, and go visit your grandma at her senior living campus, or your younger nieces and nephews and enjoy craft-making together.

If you aren’t sure what to make, here are some ideas that can be made from things you find outside or at the grocery store.

Pinecone Crafts

As the weather gets cooler, you’ll probably begin to notice a lot of pinecones on the ground, especially in more wooded areas. Instead of crunching them with your shoe, pinecones can be turned into beautiful crafts that you can enjoy throughout the holiday season. After you and your family have gathered enough pine cones, you want to bake them in the oven to kill any insects stuck inside and open them up. Bake your pinecone collection at 250 degrees for about an hour, then after they cool you can decorate them to your heart’s desire.

Using white paint on the edges of the pinecone can give it a snowy look, however, you can also get a little more creative. Use paints, glitter, and anything else you and your family want to decorate the pinecones. Once they have dried, you can tie a string around the top and use them as ornaments, or place them in a shallow bowl as a centerpiece.

If you want to share your craft with the wildlife outside, you can cover your pinecones in peanut butter and roll them in bird seeds. Now you have adorable, homemade bird feeders so everyone in your home can watch the birds from a window.

Oranges and Cloves

Oranges and cloves are all you need for a beautiful and fun craft idea. You can stick the pointy cloves into the sides of the orange in any design you like, and they will smell great when you are finished. If everyone does one or two oranges you’ll have a nice variety of unique designs. These oranges can also be tied with a string and hung off of the tree or anywhere in your house, or they can also be placed in a bowl. If you choose to give this a try, make sure you are careful with the cloves because they can be very pointy.

Popcorn and Cranberry Garland

When I was a child, we decorated our Christmas tree with this edible, homemade garland each year. It is a simple task that gives your tree a homey, natural feeling. All you need is plain popcorn, whole cranberries, a needle, and some kind of sting. For the string, you want something that is thin, like a fishing line or thread so it can easily go through everything.

Tie the needle to one end of the string, and you are ready to begin poking it through popcorn and cranberries. You can put the two on the sting in any order, for example, one cranberry, two popcorn, then another cranberry. This is a good activity for the family because it can be done while watching a movie, listening to holiday music, or just talking and enjoying each other’s company.

Jenn Walker is a freelance writer, blogger, dog-enthusiast, and avid beach goer operating out of Southern New Jersey.