Christmas is the most beautiful time of the year! This red-and-white Holiday season is near, and there are much fun and engaging Christmas activities for you and your baby to try. There are a lot of activities today that also require learning while letting your little one play.
This is a win-win situation, right? So why not incorporate these sensory learning activities while making exciting Christmas crafts this season?
Christmas Crafts Ideas for Your 1-year-old
Crafting is a new and a whole lot of experience for your baby. It is a perfect opportunity for your 1-year-old to move and hold things, call “mama” for help, and walk and stand up. They can now start observing and communicating in their little way with other people. With these significant achievements, they will enjoy a lot more of this set of Christmas craft-making!
Courtesy of Hans
Christmas Tree in a Bag
Have this great alternative for a natural Christmas tree decoration! This Christmas tree decorating activity is made inside a Ziploc bag, which makes it clean and safe for the baby. This is another good sensory experience for your baby because all the decorations can be seen and moved inside the bag. They are free to create, roam their tiny fingers, and enjoy colorful decorations for their mini Christmas Tree in a bag!
Courtesy of EvgeniT
Wrapping Paper Painting
Let your baby enjoy painting with some leftover wrapping papers! This holiday season, wrapping papers can be found everywhere. You can use some extra or the already used ones. Also, prepare paint, a tray, and a blank canvas.
Just crumple the wrapping paper into small balls and let your baby dip the small balls in the tray filled with paint! Your baby can start painting on the canvas and wait for your baby’s incredible artwork.
Courtesy of Pexels
Thumbprint Ornament
Christmas ornaments are hanging around the corner. They are meaningful towards Christmas, so why not let your baby make a personalized one? Make it super memorable with your baby’s thumbprint on it! It’s simple to make, and you just need a set of Christmas balls, paint, and a marker. Enjoy seeing your baby’s reaction when he just finished a Rudolph the Reindeer thumbprint on his Christmas decoration!
Courtesy of Jill Wellington
Gingerbread Man
Another symbolic decoration for this most awaited Holiday is this Gingerbread man. This iconic ornament can bring great joy once you make an inspired play dough from it. This will also get an excellent bond for you and your little one, and your baby might become a well-known baker someday! Your little angel will also have a good grasp of cognitive skills since he can help you cut using a gingerbread man cookie cutter.
Courtesy of Mylene 2401
Salt Dough Handprint
This Christmas activity will be memorable because your baby’s hand is imprinted on a cute salt dough craft! Your baby’s sense of touch and understanding of putting those small hands on the dough will make it more meaningful. Have this hand-printed craft and hang it from your Christmas tree as a sign of the coming inspiring season.
Courtesy of Jill Wellington
A Pom-pom Joy Sign
Here comes one of the most awaited mini-Christmas decorations ever! Dark colors of red and green will highlight this sign, plus it is also best for your baby’s hands to feel these soft pompoms. Another great thing is that the sign can be anything you like, but it is highly recommended to have a short word! Joy, holy, love, and so on are the best words to describe Christmas.
Courtesy of Fradellafra
Nutcracker Blocks
Never forget this timeless, adorable Nutcracker. Design 4 or more wooden blocks with the whole body of a Nutcracker, and let your little one play and stack it up! Let your baby gather all the blocks and let this Nutcracker be alive. You can make your baby learn and try to build the blocks correctly.
Courtesy of Deborahmiller56
Sensory Sticks
This is excellent practice for your little one’s five senses. They can observe these sticks by hearing, seeing, smelling, tasting, and touching them. You only need popsicle sticks and a lot of items that can determine their senses. Great examples are:
- Tiny bells
- A small Santa sticker
- A small flower
- A small piece of garland
Attach or have these items glued with the sticks. For a prize, you can give your baby a gingerbread man! It is for the sense of taste, after all.
Photos by The Best Ideas for Kids
Christmas Characters Popsicle Sticks
Crafts will never be complete if no popsicle stick is used on them. These sticks are easy and fun to use, and your baby might already be fond of them. Sticks can also be paired with any materials and design, and a good idea here is to create Christmas characters on them! You can have a snowman, snowflakes, and so on. This will be an exciting craft for your kid!
Courtesy of Congerdesign
Do-It-Yourself Christmas Gift Bags
Let all the fun out with your baby in designing dozens of gift bags! Christmas is also about giving, and the gift receiver will be grateful for these DIY Christmas gift bags for your baby. There will be lots of glitter, paint, sequins, and bows around the table and, of course, a lot of fun and new learning activities for your lovely child.
Make a Christmas Card Craft
Receiving a Christmas card this Christmas is one of the best feelings in the world. There will be a lot of Christmas designs, cute stickers, and heartfelt messages that one will always keep in the long run. The feeling when you receive one might be the best, but the bond with your baby that you can have while making one is beyond words.
These are the adorable Christmas Card ideas that you and your baby can enjoy doing:
Christmas Reindeer Card
Courtesy of Cocoparisienne
Snowman Card
Courtesy of Mollyroselee
Shining and Glittering Tree Card
Courtesy of Cifer88
Bright fingerprint Card
Courtesy of Mariya_m
Pom Pom Wreath Card
Courtesy of Hollanddesign
Handmade Christmas Card
Courtesy of Ironbark
Frequently Asked Questions on Christmas Crafts for 1-Year-Olds
How can I make my 1-year-old Christmas fun?
It will be fun if you and your baby will decorate Christmas ornaments, paint, and create a Christmas card. Crafting can also be much more fun if you engage your baby with sensory activities where they can practice all of their senses. They will enjoy it if they explore various things already, and they will be eager to grow up to learn more!
What kind of crafts can a 1-year-old do?
They can make a Christmas card, design their own Christmas tree, and make their do-it-yourself Christmas crafts! Examples of these are: imprinting their hand on an object, having their fingerprints on one of the Christmas decorations, and they can also design a Christmas-shaped play dough!
What to do when a 1-year-old is bored?
You can play with them while practicing their physical and cognitive skills! Playing alone might make them bored and tiring, but enhancing their talents can make them happy and more curious simultaneously. They won’t get bored and will be eager to touch and observe Christmas decorations, walk and run around the Christmas tree, and paint many green and red colors!
How do I stimulate my 1-year-old?
You can introduce your baby to new Christmas decorations and materials. There are a lot of kid-friendly objects that are safe for them to try on. There are a lot of colors, designs, and sizes that can excite them even more just by looking at them. You can let their hands get dirty and make colorful and meaningful Christmas crafts that they will keep looking for another year to come.
How can I make my 1-year-old Christmas magical?
You can decorate your home with glittery and shiny Christmas decorations. You can also make homemade Christmas crafts like Gingerbread man play dough, Nutcracker blocks, and Reindeer-inspired cards. Designs such as a snowman, Santa Claus and his sled, and the snow itself are already magical, so all of these are highly recommended.
How do you entertain a one-year-old in the winter?
You can entertain your baby by cozying up with hot cocoa while crafting. Christmas crafts with snowmen and snowflake decorations are also the best to keep them entertained. You can also let them paint their homemade Christmas gift bags for a more enjoyable activity at home. Another great thing is to exercise more of their motor and communication skills with these handcrafted activities.
Does a 1-year-old understand Christmas?
It is early for them to understand the concept of Christmas, but they are now learning more at this age. They are more exposed to objects and materials that are kid-friendly. They may get excited with the Christmas lights, but because of the lights, they might need to be with the Christmas concept.
Can a one-year-old be bored?
Yes, they can be bored sometimes. They can yawn, look and get away, and they can cry if they are bored. These cues are seen mainly by the parents, but this is easy to solve since they are not older kids yet. You can introduce to them new fun and engaging activities, and you might align them with the preferences that you have observed from them.
What can a 0-1-year-old do?
They can understand a lot more at this age because they are beginning to experience their skills development. They are now nurturing their brain’s growth through their sensory play. They are now ready to explore more things and to remember them slowly. They can now stand up, run a little, hold small items, have messy paint, and so on.
How do I know if my 1-year-old is overstimulated?
If they keep on yawning and get easily upset. They are overstimulated if they are tired enough and want to sleep rather than play. They might cry if they can feel this for a very long time. Overstimulation also has a clue of moving their fists and if they do a lot of kicking.
