Indoor Crafts for Kids to Make & Give

• Engage your kids in creative indoor crafts like painted picture frames, homemade bookmarks, and fingerprint drawings to make unique, heartfelt gifts.
• Encourage sensory and fine motor skill development with activities such as making time capsules, suncatchers, snowman rocks, and paper flowers.
• Foster imaginative play by building box robots and crafting clay creatures, using simple materials and steps suitable for various age groups.

It’s the season of giving! Some of the best gifts are homemade, especially by your little one. Here are 9 easy indoor crafts that encourage creativity and strengthen sensory and fine motor skills!

Painted picture frames

For ages 3 months and older

If your little one is just a newborn, they can still make artwork for friends and family!

• Put dabs of paint on a piece of white cardboard or canvas (if you plan to frame this, you can also use the cardboard from the picture frame or cut out a piece of cardboard or cardstock the size of the frame)
• Put the cardboard in a plastic bag; seal the bag.
• Place the bag in front of Baby and let them move the paint around to create a masterpiece! If Baby isn’t sitting up yet, they can do this during Tummy Time.
• Remove the cardboard and let the painting dry. If you’d like, place an image of Baby (aka the artist) in the center.

Homemade bookmarks

For ages 1 year and older

Everybody needs a bookmark! They’re easy to make and fun to decorate, and you can make them as simple or as embellished as you’d like.

• Cut out a rectangular bookmark. Standard size is 2 inches wide and 6-8 inches long, but do whatever size works best for your books!
• Have your child decorate it however they’d like! They can paint, draw, stamp, etc.
• If you’d like to add a tassel, punch a hole in the top and add a ribbon or yarn. You can add beads, braid it, etc.

Fingerprint drawings

For ages 18 months and older

Start with a fingerprint, and then let your imagination soar! Either create a picture, or tell a story with the images. You can also use these little fingerprint characters to decorate gift tags or cards.

• Place Baby’s finger on a stamp ink pad; make fingerprint stamps on a piece of paper
• Use a pen or markers to make whatever you want out of the fingerprints! Check out some ideas below.

Time capsule

For ages 18 months and older

Create a fun gift for family, or for your child to give to their future selves!

• Select a capsule container; you can use a jar, a box or any other container for safe keeping.
• Fill it with items that your child creates or selects. For example, have them draw a few pictures, write a letter, or make a nice craft. If your child is old enough, they could also write questions or make predictions for the future!
• Place it in the capsule and write the year you plan to open the capsule out the outside. You can get creative and decorate the capsule too!

Snowman rocks

For ages 2 years and older

Let it snow, without the snow! You can create one-of-a-kind seasonal decorations using 3 rocks and some paint.

• Use 3 rocks, preferably round in shape and somewhat similar sizes.
• Paint all 3 white. Once they dry, place them with the largest rock as the base, the middle size rock as the body, and the smallest rock as the head.
• Paint these rocks with snowman faces or however your little one wants to decorate them!
• If you’d like, glue on some 3D elements, like a pom-pom hat.

Paper flowers

For ages 2 and older

Flowers in the winter will bring a smile to loved one’s faces! You can also add the flowers to a wrapped gift to make it even more lovely.

• You can use a variety of materials to make paper flowers, such as coffee filters or tissue paper.
• If using coffee filters, to color them: fold the filter into quarters and dampen it. Put a few drops of food coloring on it, and then rub with wax paper to move the color around. Unfold and let dry.
• If using tissue paper, cut into circles.
• Fold into quarters and wrap a pipe cleaner around the base to make a flower!

Build a box robot

For ages 3 and older

A robot doesn’t need to be high tech! A cardboard box and some paint can bring this buildable creature to life.

• Select a box to be the base of the robot. This can be as small or as big as you’d like!
• Paint the box or wrap it in paper to give it a color.
• From here, let your creativity run wild! Add pipe cleaner antennas, googly eyes, feathers and more.

Clay creatures

For ages 3 and older

Make your own clay, and use that to create cute creatures for friends and family!

• To make your own clay, combine 2 cups baking soda, 1 cup cornstarch, and 1-1/4 cups water in a pot. Cook over medium heat until it thickens.
• Let it cool and then knead it with food coloring to dye it.
• Form clay into whatever little creature you want to create! Remember to let it dry in a sunny spot.

Enjoy the season of giving!

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