I don’t know about you, but when I need a craft to do with my kids, I usually need something that can be ready for their little hands to do in mere minutes and doesn’t require a great deal of supervision. There are two main reasons for this: I am not great at planning ahead, and I usually need something to occupy the kids while I cook dinner.
This craft is perfect for both!
All you need is green pipe cleaners and beads.
We also used a little bit of green yarn to create loops for hanging the ornaments, but it’s not really necessary because the pipe cleaner itself will form a little loop that can accommodate an ornament hanger.
First, I blew my kids minds by pouring a bunch of beads on a paper plate. Choices! So many choices!
They took a few minutes and sorted out some star-shaped beads for the top of each ornament.
Next, we folded a bit of the pipe cleaner over the yarn, making a little loop. We began by stringing from the bottom of the pipe cleaner up, starting with the star.
After you string the star, bend the pipe cleaner to the right or left to keep the star in place then continue stringing the other beads onto the pipe cleaner, bending it as you go to create a tree shape, like so….
My kids had fun choosing the beads and deciding the order. My oldest made themed trees, like the one above. Another one she made had beads with letters on them.
My preschooler spent a good bit of time stringing the beads, which was a great activity for improving motor skills.
And, the result?
Great additions to our Christmas tree!