Your kids will love getting involved in some Christmas craft and learning to make beautiful, colourful Christmas ornaments! You can hang them on your Christmas tree, in doorways and even outdoors with this fun Christmas craft with kids activity.
This is a fun, crafty activity that any kid can participate in. You can make ornaments of any shape and size and hang them around the house, or even on the trees outside to create a festive look for your garden.
What you’ll need to create wool wrapped Christmas ornaments
It is so easy to create colourful ornaments and you only need three items!
- Cardboard; you can use any type of reasonably stiff cardboard, we have used a nappy box
- Wool, string, ribbon or twine; a combination of all is fine too and will create a funky effect
- Scissors
Start by cutting out shapes from the cardboard
You can use a star, a circle, a Christmas tree, even a doughnut, experiment with odd shapes too, use your imagination.
Start small as the bigger your cardboard base, the more wool you will need and the longer it will take to wrap.
Once you have your shape, make a few shallow cuts around the shape, this will help the wool to stay in place as you are beginning to wind it around. If you have a shape with pointed edges make sure you make some cuts at the very tip of each point.
You will find that if you skip this step that the wool will slide off the rounded or pointed edges. Once you get going, the wool will create its own ridges and will stay in place the more wool you add.
Now to start wrapping your Christmas craft shape
Start in any section of the shape you like. Secure your wool into one of the cuts you have just made and hold the end in place with one hand as you wrap with the other. It can be a bit tricky at first, but you will soon get the hang of it.
Start wrapping the wool around the cardboard base in all directions, there is no need to have a pattern, just wrap any way you feel like it making sure all parts are being covered.
If you are using different colours, or different types of wool or string, wrap the first section about 10 times, then cut the string off.
Grab the new colour or type of string and tie it to the end of the string attached to the shape. Do this each time you want to change colour. Remember to hold the string tight at all times or it may slip off a section meaning you will have to redo your work.
Now continue wrapping. Repeat this process until the entire cardboard base is covered and there is no cardboard peaking through.
Make sure you haven’t tied yourself up in the whole process too!
Once you have covered the whole shape cut the last of the wool off and tie it securely to the wrapped wool then cut any excess off.
Create a braided string to hang the ornament
Next you’ll create the string that the ornament will hang from.
Cut three equal lengths of string, approx. 1 metre long. You can use three different colours of wool or the same colour if you prefer.
Tie the three pieces of wool together at one end, making a loop for hanging. This will also be handy when you are braiding the wool together.
Hook the loop over something secure, even your toe will do if you are sitting on the floor. Start braining the wool together making sure you are keeping it tight the whole time to create an even braid.
Once you have made the braid as long as you want tie it off at the end leaving some loose wool to secure onto your ornament.
Now tie the braided string onto the ornament
Grab your ornament and hold it by a few strands of tightly wrapped wool. Hold it up to make sure the ornament its straight when dangling from those strands. When you are satisfied, wrap the braid around those strands and tie it tightly cutting off any excess.
Christmas craft ornaments to decorate the house and garden.
Make as many as you like and decorate your whole Christmas tree or even the trees outside. Try out different shapes and sizes and see if you can get faster each time.
These ornaments also make terrific presents for family members and friends who will enjoy taking them home to hang them on their own trees.
Enjoy the creative process and fine tune your fine motor skills at the same time. We don’t know who will enjoy it more, you or the kids.
Want to add to your Christmas craft collection and skills? Check out these gorgeous handmade Christmas cards that kids can make too!
Looking for more Christmas Brisbane fun?
Check out our list of Christmas Markets Brisbane here.
What have you got planned for Christmas lunch? If the idea of outsourcing is appealing be sure to read our guide to the BEST places for Christmas Lunch.
We’ve got your comprehensive list of where to see the BEST Christmas lights in Brisbane here.
