I know I always say this, but I am so excited about today's craft! Christmas kids crafts are always fun, but this one is definitely a new favorite for me. So, grab a mug of peppermint hot chocolate, put your feet up, and get ready to fall in love with a paper cone Santa Claus!
A week until Thanksgiving, and then we're in full-blown Christmas mode! Yikes! Why do I always feel behind when it comes to the holidays? One of these days, I'll get ahead. At least I can help you get ahead with a great idea to keep the kids busy over Christmas break. Ready to get started? Here we go!
RELATED: Kids' Santa Christmas Ornament, Felt Christmas Ornaments, Christmas and Winter Ideas and Projects
Paper Cone Santa Claus Kids Craft Idea
Materials:
- 12 x 12" red scrapbook paper
- 8.5 x 11" white paper or card stock
- Small white pom pom
- Tiny pink or red pom pom
- Black gel pen (I like Paper Mate Ink Joy Gel Pens)
- Elmer's glitter glue (we used red, green, gold and silver)
- Elmer's CraftBond quick dry dual tip glue pen (I tried lots of different glues, and this one worked the best. It has a cool tip that helps spread the glue, and it dries with no winkles.)
- Scissors and a pencil
- A large circle for tracing (I used a food storage bucket lid)
- Optional -- free printable paper pieces (linked later in the post)
Special thank you to Elmer’s glue for sponsoring this Christmas kids craft. I received materials and compensation for using their products to create a fun project for you. All opinions are my own. I only endorse products that I believe my readers will love!
Instructions:
Make a paper cone
Find the largest circle you can that fits inside a 12 x 12" piece of paper. The lid of a food storage bucket was perfect, but a large plate will work, too. The bigger the circle (and the tighter you roll your cone), the taller your Santa will be.
- Trace your circle and cut it out. Fold the circle in half and then cut along your folded line. (You now have paper for two cones.)
- Gently fold your half circle in half, but don't crease it. Just pinch the part where the straight side folds in half. This will mark the center of the top of your cone.
- Roll your paper (the mark you made is the tip of the cone) until you have a nice cone shape. The tighter your cone, the taller your Santa. (Don't make the cone too fat, or the printables won't fit.)
- Glue down the edge to complete your cone, and allow it to dry for a few minutes.
Add the paper pieces
Now it's time to add the paper parts of Santa. You can free hand cut these pieces out of white paper or card stock or download my free printable. The printable includes three different beards, the hat brim, hair/head, and face. (You'll have to cut the mustache on your own.)
Click the download image below to download your patterns.
Add the paper pieces in this order: Hair/head (that's the wide strip), pink face (cut the face shape out and trace it onto pink paper), beard, hat brim.
Finish the face and decorate!
Using a gel pen, add eyes and mouth. Now add a tiny red or pink pom pom for Santa's nose. Add a mustache. Finally, grab the gel pens and decorate!
Shop this project:
Can you tell which Santas were made by kids and which one was made by an adult? It's easy. The timid Santa with just a little bit of glitter was made by me. The fun Santas with glitter galore were created by kids. Kids definitely know how to rock the glitter glue! I love that they aren't afraid to add their own style and personal touches to their Christmas crafts.
And, if you're wondering, a toilet paper roll makes a pretty good stand for a Santa that wants to be taller. (If you're not wondering -- it still makes a pretty good stand!)
What do you think? Does this Santa fit in the Christmas kids crafts category or the adults Christmas crafts category? I'm thinking both. Bring on the glitter glue. I want to make some more!
If you want to use this craft for your school Christmas party or the kids' table at Christmas dinner, consider tracing and cutting the cones out ahead of time. There should be plenty of time for the rest of the craft.
Thanks for stopping by today. Check out more fun crafts for Christmas by clicking on the images below.
Joyce
Heidi, I just LOVE this! I've been thinking about the kids' table for Christmas and these would be delightful. If you wanted to construct the main part and just have the kids apply accents, that would work for something to do before dinner. VERY cute and easy idea! Thank you!
Heidi
Thanks so much, Joyce! You could definitely make the cones ahead of time. That would make this project perfect for a kids' table or a craft at school. (I might just add that hint in the post! Thanks!)
Nancy Horn
That is so creative and I would love to share this with my son's first grade class. I'm the class mom and I would love to do this with his classmates. We're jewish, but I love Christmas!
Heidi
Thanks, Nancy. I don't know if you noticed in the comment above you, but Joyce suggested that you could make the cones ahead of time to make this quicker for a large group. You might not need to make the whole cone ahead, but you could definitely cut the shapes for the cones to save some time. I think there will still be plenty of time to make the cones. They only need a few minutes to dry. I'd better add this idea to my class Christmas party ideas post! Thanks for the reminder.
April J Harris
It's always good to get ahead for Christmas! Love this fun craft. The Santas are so cute and I love how straight-forward they are to make with your printable. These make a wonderful Christmas decoration.
Heidi
Thanks, April. I never feel like I get ahead. My kids do get to do crafts a few weeks ahead of every holiday, though. At least they feel like they are ahead!
Leah
My daughter loves to do crafts. She would really enjoy some of these!! I'll have to show her!
Heidi
You should definitely show her, Leah. I don't know if she's a kid or an adult, but I think this craft is fun for both!
Audrey McClelland
I love these so much. They're so easy for the kids to make, and they look like something right out of a store.
Heidi
Aw, thanks, Audrey! They were really fun to create and put together. I hope others enjoy them, too.
Jenn
These are adorable! I am going to bookmark this for when the kids are on break during the holidays for a craft!
Heidi
Thanks, Jenn. I hope you and your kids have fun making them together.
Robin G.
I LOVE these! How fun! I'm always looking for fun holiday crafts and this is an easy and cute one. I also love the other holiday crafts you shared!
Heidi
Thanks, Robin. Christmas crafts are so much fun. (Maybe it's because Christmas just makes me happy!)
Emily
These are so cute! My kids were just asking to do a Christmas craft, and I was wondering what to have them create. This is such a great idea, thank you for sharing!
Heidi
Thanks, Emily. Glad I published a new craft just in time for an idea for your kids. (I love your Christmas tree topiary, by the way.)
Carrie
These are absolutely adorable.. I am going to try to gather up the supplies and see if we can make them! I know the kids will definitely enjoy it!
Heidi
Thanks, Carrie. The nice thing is that you don't need many fancy supplies for this one. (That's my favorite kind of craft.)
valmg @ Mom Knows It All
Those Santas are really cute! It sounds like it's simple enough that even I could do it.
Heidi
Thanks, Val. It's a really simple craft. With the printables, I think just about anyone could do it!
Marcie W.
These Santa cones are super cute! Now if only I could cut and arrange the other paper pieces as well as you did.
Heidi
Thanks, Marcie. If my kids can do it, so can you! (Don't worry. There's a free printable with all the shapes, so I'm sure you'll do just fine.)
Seattle Travel Blogger
This is a very cute kit.
It is well thought-out and has well spelled out directions.
Heidi
Thanks. It was a lot of fun to design and put together.
Calculadora Gestacional
haha, it's really cute. Definitely a great idea to decorate the house at Christmas
Heidi
Thanks, Calculadora! I think we'll have a lot of these Santas decorating our house this year.
Victoria @DazzleWhileFrazzled
Super cute! My daughter would love to make something like this. Visiting from Link Party Palooza.
lisa
Oh help! I can't get the white trim pieces to be the right size so they will stick to the red cone and not pop off--do you have any ideas? I used a 12" paper, cut a large circle from it and cut that in half for my cone.
Thank you for any help you can give me.
Lisa
Heidi
Hi, Lisa. It's hard to tell exactly what the problem is without seeing it, but here are a few ideas: If the white piece is too short, try rolling your cone tighter. I made that piece larger three times before making the final printable because it really does depend how wide you make your cone. (If the glue is already dry, and you can't make the cone more narrow, trace the trim piece on another piece of paper, but extend the sides to make the piece longer.) If the white piece is the right size, but it keeps popping off, try a stronger glue. I really like the one I suggested. I tried tape runner first, and my pieces popped off. I hope that helps!
Nancy
These are so cute! I love how simple they are and that you have kids assembling them. Thank you for the great idea.
Antonella | White House Crafts
These are so cute! Thank you for sharing them at The Crafty Corner, and I will be featuring them at the next party, which is this Wednesday! I hope you'll join us again :)
Sapana V
Wow.. this is really cute and simple to make.
Jenny
Great because I tried it out and it worked!
Heidi
I’m glad you enjoyed the craft, Jenny. Have a merry Christmas!