Christmas Crafts for Teens

While the younger children are writing letters to Santa for their Christmas gifts and excitedly counting down days, the teens of the family are lounging on the couch texting their friends about how bored they are.

Teenagers are long past feeling the magical glow of the holiday season and quality time with the whole family. Rekindle some of that excitement by drawing your teenagers into the decorating and some added family time with some Christmas activities, creative projects and easy Christmas crafts.

IMAGE CREDIT: PEXELS

Metal Christmas Trees Is One Of The Best Kids Christmas Crafts

Along with various decorative embellishments and fun crafts, you'll need a length of armature wire for this craft which can be purchased at art and hobby stores. The length depends on the size tree you want to make. Find a bottle that has a cone-shaped neck. An old-fashioned coke or ketchup bottle would work. Carefully wrap the wire around the cone part of the bottle as tightly as you can leaving no space between the coils. 

When you've wrapped the whole wire around the bottle, lift the wire up off of the bottle and pull the coils apart, arranging and spacing them as you choose. Bend the very top part to point upwards. This is where you'll place the star. Here you can allow your teen some creativity. They could cut the star out of construction paper or craft foam and decorate with glitter. 

They could cut a star out of cardboard and wrap it with tin foil to give it some shine. Once they've completed their star, hot glue it to the tree. To decorate the tree, let your teen's creativity be her guide. Use beads, bits of broken jewelry, very small craft jewels, sequins, anything shiny. Hot glue them to the tree.

Holiday Place Mats For The Home Decor Are Lots Of Fun

Give your teen some vinyl place mats and holiday stencils (cookie cutters work if you don't have stencils) and fabric paint. Have them paint Christmas symbols on the place mats, perhaps add family member's names as well. Don't want to buy place mats? You could also have your teen paint holiday pictures on construction paper and use clear contact paper to laminate it.

image credit: pexels

Salt Dough Ornaments For The Holiday Spirit

True, this is a craft that could also be done by small children, but the greater motor control and coordination of the older kids guarantees some genuinely beautiful keepsakes. Cut the dough out with holiday cookie cutters. Be sure to leave a hole at the top to put a ribbon through for hanging later. Once baked, the shapes will need to cool completely before decorating. Now the fun part. 

These shapes can be decorated with paint, markers, glitter, decoupage, sequins, or any number of other things. Try using scraps of Christmas wrapping or fabric. Smear the shapes with decoupage medium and then carefully cover them with the wrapping or fabric smoothing out all of the lumps and wrinkles. Add a second coat of decoupage medium and allow it to dry.

The great thing about working with teens is that their greater muscle control and understanding of concepts opens up a world of festive crafts that the younger kids just can't do yet. Some crafts can be adjusted to different levels, like salt dough diy ornaments , but added challenges, like decoupage as opposed to glue and markers, is sure to engage the minds and creativity of those older kids who are looking for a reason to believe in Christmas again.

Snowmen Ornaments For Kids Of All Ages

Snowmen ornaments can be created from ping pong balls, Styrofoam balls or tiny round gourds and make great handmade gifts. If using gourds, paint the gourd white using acrylic paint. For the carrot nose, break off the end of a toothpick and paint orange. Insert the blunt end into the ping pong ball, Styrofoam ball or gourd. Use a small dab of white glue on the end to secure if needed. Using black acrylic paint on two round eyes, and a big red smile. Glue on a small top hat, available from the craft store, and using a needle and thread add a loop at the top of the hat for hanging.

Applesauce and cinnamon can be combined to make fragrant, inexpensive, fun ornaments for Christmas. Start with a ½ cup of ground cinnamon. Add applesauce, not chunky, to the cinnamon, one teaspoon at a time, mixing well after each addition. Continue until the cinnamon and applesauce forms dough. Knead until smooth. 

Roll out with a rolling pin to ½ inch thick and cut out with small cookie cutters. Using a toothpick or skewer through the top to make a hole for hanging. Little gingerbread men work especially well. Or roll the dough into 1 inch balls and insert a skewer through the center to form a hole. Bake in a low oven 250 degrees for 10 - 20 minutes depending upon the thickness. Dough should be hard and dried out, be careful not to burn. Allow the ornaments to dry , add a pretty ribbon and hang on the tree.

Personalized Christmas ornaments make a wonderful gift. Like Hannah Montana, cats, music, or sports? Using inexpensive paper napkins, modge podge, a Styrofoam ball, and a little diamond dust one can create any kind of ornament desired. First visit the party section of your local dollar store and select the napkins that will be used to make their own ornaments.

Also need is the craft medium, Modge Podge, used for gluing and decoupage, and a fine glitter like substance called diamond dust. Both these mediums go a long way. Also purchase Styrofoam balls and white pipe cleaners.

Begin by cutting the picture or design from the napkin. Brush Modge Podge over the Styrofoam ball and carefully place the cut out picture or design. Allow to set up for a minute or two, the coat the entire ball with a second coat of Modge Podge. Allow to rest for a minute or two, and then add a third coat. While still wet, sprinkle with diamond dust in a thin layer. Insert a short piece of pipe cleaner in the top of the ball to use as a hanger. Allow the ornament to dry. This is a fun, one of a kind ornament that can be made by tweens and adults alike.

Christmas Crafts For Teens Should Produce Something Of Their Taste

From a Christmas decorative cell phone case, a personalized celebrity Christmas ornament, fashionable holiday apron to cute Christmas bulb earrings and cool Christmas gift tags, teens will enjoy crafting their creations just as much as using them. Here's how to create the above listed Christmas crafts for teens.

Christmas Decorative Cell Phone Case For Family Members

Items needed would be one plain cloth cell phone case, fabric glue, a bag of your teen's favorite green and red beads, one sheet of newspaper, 5 toothpicks, and two bowls.

This easy step-by-step fun Christmas craft is simple to follow. Have your teen place the beads into a bowl. Have them place some glue into another bowl. Lay the newspaper down onto a table. Lay the cell phone case down onto the newspaper. 

Have your teen dip one toothpick into the glue and dab it onto the cell phone case. Have them take another toothpick to pick up a bead by it's hole and place it onto the glue that lays on top of the cell phone case. They should be able to move the bead and guide it so that the holes are not showing from view. They should continue to the next bead and so on. Once the cell phone cover is covered in beads on one side, allow to dry. 

After this have the teen proceed to the next side, and again, once that is covered, allow to dry. Make sure that any windows to the cell phone case are not covered in any beads. This way they can see who's calling in. Once your teen has all sides covered in beads and it is completely dried, they have created a wonderful Christmas decorative cell phone case of their own.

Here's a tip, the teen can also spell their name out in a solid bead color to personalize their Christmas cell phone case.

Celebrity Christmas Tree Ornaments Is A Fun Project

Items needed would be a photo of their favorite celebrity (an action star, or a movie star, it could even be a musician), scissors, one white or solid colored round Christmas ornament, one sheet of newspaper, one bowl, one medium paint brush, standard glue, one package of snowflakes (found at your local craft stores), and one ornament hook.

I love these and it's easier than it sounds. Have your teen cut out their picture in a round or square formation so that it can fit onto the ornament. Lightly glue the picture onto the ornament. Allow to dry. Your teen should place the snowflakes into the bowl. Simply have your teen brush the ornament with glue (over the newspaper) without touching their picture and dip it into the bowl of snowflakes. 

Have them sprinkle the snowflakes or turn the ornament until the entire ornament is covered in snowflakes except where their picture is located. Allow to dry. Place a hook onto the ornament and tie the bow where the ornament meets the ornament hook. Your teen has created a beautiful celebrity Christmas ornament of their own.

A Fashionable Holiday Apron Is An Easy Craft To Make

Items needed would be one white apron (found at most craft stores), red and green fabric paint, and a small to medium paint brush.

Simply have your teen paint whatever they wish onto the apron with the red and green fabric paint by using the paint brush then allow to dry. They can paint their names, holiday greeting words such as Merry Christmas, they can also paint green holly with red berries. If they may need stencils, they can also find them at your local craft store.

Christmas Bulb Earrings At Christmas Time

Items needed would be a small bag of mini-Christmas bulb ornaments the size of 1" (found in most craft stores), one bag of earring hooks (also in craft stores), and two small 3" thin red ribbon strips.

Easy as 1, 2, and 3. Have your teen take out two matching pair of Christmas bulb ornaments and take off the strings located at the tops. At the end of the earring hooks you will find a round connecting piece. Thread the Christmas bulb opening closest to the bulb itself into the ring end of an earring hook. Have your teen do the same for the other. Take the one thin strip of red ribbon and tie a bow where the ring end meets the hook. Have your teen do the same for the other. Cut off any loose ends. Your teen's Christmas bulb earrings should look cute as they can dangle from their ears during the holidays.

Christmas Tags For The Christmas Season

If your teen likes many colors mixing and twirling, they will enjoy this Christmas treat! Items needed would be one piece of white construction paper, standard red paint, standard green paint, one paper towel square, hole puncher, 6" piece of thin green ribbon, scissors, and one toothpick.

Simply have your teen cut the white paper into smaller squares. They should place one bead of red paint onto the square and one bead of green paint next to it. Have them swirl the paints around each other without mixing them. They may notice the artist in them as their Christmas tag turns out pretty cool and artsy. Allow to dry. Have them punch a hole on the top left corner to place the ribbon through. Tie the ribbon onto a gift. All they have to do now is put who it is for and who it is from. Another great Christmas morning craft idea for teens.

Credit: Unsplash.

Christmas is a fun time for crafters of any age. Young crafters can have fun creating decorations and crazy little projects for their own home as well as creating one of a kind gift for friends and family. Some of the most treasured Christmas decorations or ornaments are those created with love by someone close. Christmas crafts need not be expensive and can often be made from objects found around the house or yard.

Holiday crafts for teens and diy projects with some basic craft supplies can be fun, easy and great ideas for young children. Does your teen have any crafting plans for Christmas holiday? Have them try these, you may not regret it!