Crafts are fun for holidays, and here's ten that don't need parental help!

I’m guessing all of these things – as I have no children of my own. I did, however, grow up with a mum who worked in family daycare, and then childcare centres, where eventually I worked myself. 

So here’s ten top craft activities that you can give the kids to do – and best of all, they don’t need your help! 

What you’ll need:

Fold the paper plate in half, and cut out the middle, leaving only the crimped ring. With the crimped ring, let the kids go wild decorating it with whatever you have around the house. And wa-la! You have a Christmas wreath to hang up somewhere. 

Handy tip: to make this task last a little bit longer, get the kids to go outside and find leaves, flowers etc to decorate it with. 

What you’ll need: 

Make a small cut in the top of the bag, tie the string onto a paddlepop stick and put the stick through the hole in the top, with the string trailing out the top. 

Decorate the paper bag with whatever you have around, take it outside and let the kids fly their new kite! Don’t forget to fluff the bag out a bit first so the wind gets caught. If the hole at the top is too big or the paddlepop stick isn’t holding – simply tape it to the top of the bag. 

Handy tip: Tie three or four bags together and fly multiple kites at a time! 

It’s the end of the year. Somewhere along the way, you’ve lost about 22,000 socks. Unfortunately, it was never two of the same that got lost. 

A fun way to make use of old socks (or ones with holes in them, or ones the kids took running through mud), is to make them into sock puppets. 

What you’ll need: 

It’s not hard – give the kids the socks, the glue and the decorations and let them go wild making the best (and worst) sock puppets you’ll ever see. 

Handy tip: Pipe cleaners make great mouths! 

Who doesn’t love craft you can eat? Marshmallow snowmen are always a hit, and you can make them with just about anything! 

What you’ll need: 

Again, a bit of a no-brainer. A plate, the marshmallows, something sticky to hold it together, and a whole load of fun! 

Handy tip: Musk sticks make great noses when broken up! 

A bit of imagination can go a long way, and empty egg cartons are just brilliant for craft! This is a great one for hot days inside at summer. 

What you’ll need: 

Make flowers out of the pipe cleaners, and push them into the foam balls to place into each section of the egg carton. Before long, the kids will have created a great crafty garden – perfect for a table centrepiece! 

Handy tip: Set jelly in the bottom of each part of the egg carton and use lollies stuck together with Nutella to make the flowers, and you’ll turn this from craft into dessert! 

Goop, beautiful goop. I have no idea what this is actually called – but in childcare centres it is fondly referred to as goop. 

It’s easy, it’s fun and it’s messy – everything kids will love! 

What you’ll need:

It’s as easy as that! The goop solidifies when it sits in a tub, but as soon as you scrape it up it will turn back to a liquid. Perfect for messy goop fights outside on a hot day under the sprinklers! 

Handy tip: Make the goop in different tubs, one for each kid, and give them a colour each. Let them loose for a colour war! 

This task will keep the kids entertained on and off for a whole day – unless they want to sit and watch the paint dry. 

It’s also a great way to decorate the house for Christmas! 

What you’ll need: 

After painting all of the plates green, leave them to dry. Once they’ve dried, add on decorations to decorate the tree. Then, stick it to the wall as we’ve shown in the video! 

Handy tip: Get the kids to put their presents for each other (bonus points if they’re handmade!) under each other’s tree.

I’ll tell you first up – this one takes forever. It’s best suited to patient kids over the age of eight! 

What you’ll need: 

It’s easy – take the pins, thread through the sequins, and place them into the ball. Continue on and on until the whole ball is done – and use a pin to secure the ribbon in a loop. 

The kids will have made a lovely tree decoration which you can keep for years to come. 

Handy tip: Don’t buy the smaller styrofoam balls, as the pins will be too long and it won’t work. 

It’s as easy as it sounds. Two holes cut through for eyes, and then decorate until the kids look like the best little monsters in the world! 

What you’ll need: 

After cutting the eye holes and glueing on the paddlepop stick, let the kids go wild with decorations for their own masks! 

Handy tip: a hole punch and some elastic will hold the masks to their faces instead of having to hold them up with the stick. 

Great for younger kids to stay entertained, or simple to give the kids something to do to fill in an hour, aeroplane/dragonfly pegs are a fast, cheap and fun activity! 

What you’ll need:

Let the kids go wild and create some great little pegs! 

Handy tip: use the pegs the kids create to hand up Christmas cards on a piece of string – they will love seeing them on display!