Christmas Centerpieces that Children Can Make

If you have some evergreen in your yard, this centerpiece can keep the children out of the house for a few minutes while you work in the kitchen.

Hand them some pruning shears and tell them to collect evergreen clippings -- pine, cedar, holly, anything green will do. (Obviously this is for older children and not for little ones. Do the cutting yourself if your children are too young for shears or supply artificial sprigs.)

Use an ordinary plate as your foundation. Then place a pillar candle on a base of florist's foam. Then stick sprigs of fresh evergreen into the foam until it is totally hidden from view. Tie a bow and nestle it down among the greenery.

Optional decorations could be a pretty ornament, pinecones, smaller votive candles, or whole nuts scattered among the green sprigs.

Start with a pre-made metal ornament stand that will be sturdy and steady. Then let the children decorate it with ornaments that they create from whatever craft supplies you have on hand:

• paper
• craft foam
• glitter 
• pine cones
• styrofoam balls

Have a hole punch and some string handy for making hangers for each ornament. Then assemble the ornaments onto the stand in a pleasing arrangement.

You can also add bows to the centerpiece. Simply cut lengths of ribbon and tie them directly onto the arms of the ornament stand.

For extra glamor, place the ornament stand on a pretty plate or placemat. Or create a small fabric "tree skirt" for it with felt or gingham cloth.

If you have a few days to prepare your Chistmas centerpiece, make cinnamon applesauce ornaments in traditional Christmas shapes:

• stars
• stockings
• gingerbread man
• Christmas trees
• bells

Let them dry for a couple of days before adorning your tabletop display with them. These look prettiest strung with simple red ribbon.

Make an edible centerpiece that you won't have to store after Christmas is over.

This centerpiece will take several hours to make. First you bake star shaped cookies in various sizes. The kit featured to the right has a set of ten graduated cookie cutters for this project. Let the cookies cool, and then stack them from large to small, using icing to cement them together.

Then let the children decorate the cookie tree with more icing and candies.

The original meaning of Christmas -- Christ Mass -- is to celebrate the birth of Jesus, the savior of the world. What better centerpiece than a nativity that tells the Bible story of Jesus' birth.

Print out some templates and let the children color them in. Then have the children cut out the figures and affix them to cardboard bases or repurposed toilet paper tubes. Place the figures onto a tray and surround them with sprigs of greenery.

Free Printable Nativity (PDF)
Print this file onto paper, color, cut out and assemble for an easy nativity centerpiece.

Toilet Paper Roll Nativity
Save up those cardboard tubes inside of toilet paper for this cute craft. Free printables at Catholic Icing.

Papercraft Nativity
These boxy templates are already colored. Just cut and assemble.

Making Friends Nativity
I love these printable paperdolls. Affix them to cardboard stands or tubes to make a 3D display.