The Perfect Holiday Toddler Craft Time Ornament Making Activity

Last year, As we were staring down the barrel at baby #2’s arrival, I started to panic. What on Earth am I supposed to do with a two year old when I just need to sit and nurse? How am I supposed to keep her busy? What if she doesn’t want to nap?! Enter the holiday ornament busy bucket (aka: busy box).

Of all the toddler crafts that I’ve ever done, this is absolutely one of my favorites. Ornament busy buckets hold a kid’s attention for an unbelievably long time. They make great keepsakes. They’re perfect for working on fine motor skills and they’re great for creativity. What more can you ask for?

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What is a busy bucket?

The concept of a busy bucket is to keep a kiddo busy, buying their caretaker time to accomplish a couple of tasks. I knew exactly what kind of items to put in my daughter’s. She loves beads and crafting with me, so I headed to the craft and dollar stores to stock my buckets.

Given the holiday season, it only seemed logical to gear our busyness toward our tree decorations. Given she was about to go through a major life change (becoming a big sister!), we decided to let her decorate the tree as she pleased. This way she would have control over something in her surroundings. With this in mind, we put garland and ornament making on the menu. 

Supplies

Here’s what I stocked in the buckets or added as I went through my own craft supply. If you don’t have a solid starter stash, consider investing in a kids craft kit. We’ve received a number of Kids Made Modern kits and they are fantastic!

(Please note that some of these items are choking hazards. Always remain present and consider your child’s safety when selecting items.)

• Fun foam – Readily available at craft stores or as part of crafting kits!
• Nuudles – Nuudles is just the brand we bought at the time, but they’re are basically colorful, compostable packing peanuts. They’re great for threading, but are great for lots of other play, too. Just dampen and stick together!

• Noodles – Rotini and penne are perfect for threading!
• Plastic stitching sheets – We cut these into fun shapes for decorating. You can find a free template for ornament shapes on my post of upcycled baby clothes ornaments. 🙂

• Large wooden beads – Pony beads work well, too! The larger the hole, the less frustration!
• Craft lace – These plastic strings fit perfectly through the holes on the stitching sheet. (Plastic needles are too large for the holes on the plastic sheets.)

• Pipe cleaners – Also great for threading, for making snowman arms, or for reindeer antlers!
• Googly eyes – Buy lots. Googly eyes never get old. 🙂
• Poms – Readily available at craft stores or as part of crafting kits
• Felt – We reused the colorful circles we used as gumballs on my pregnant Halloween costume. They worked great for snowmen and threading! I just snipped a slit in the middle if she wanted to thread them.
• Clothespins – You can never really have too many clothespins.
• Stickers – Tread carefully with stickers or they may end up on everything!
• Jingle bells – Readily available at craft stores or the holiday section of the dollar store.
• Sequins – Readily available at craft stores or as part of crafting kits!
• Yarn – Yarn is great for hair or stringing. We like to find ours secondhand. 🙂

**Tip: To keep yarn from fraying, cut several longer pieces and use glue to make a point OR wrap with masking tape and cut at an angle. **

• Buttons – Who doesn’t love buttons?
• Plastic needles – You will definitely use these over the years. I love having plastic, big-eyed needles on hand.

• Glue – You standard white glue will work!
• Straws – Cut into small sections and they’re great for threading.
• Craft sticks – Great for making snowflakes, trees, or providing stability for felt snowmen.

Garland making

The garland making kept her busy for quite awhile. I thread a big plastic needle with some  colorful yarn and between the noodles, Nuudles, poms, bells, straw pieces, and felt circles there was lots to add. 

Did it fill the tree? No. 

Did it fill her time? Yes. 

Did she have fun? Yes. 

Was it perfect? Absolutely.

Ornament Making

Ornament making became quite the family affair! After we were home from the hospital with Baby Brother, we spent nearly three days at the kitchen table making ornaments, necklaces and bracelets for family and friends. We also made her a crown that she still regularly wears a year later. 

With all those supplies (and you can find most of them at the dollar store), the possibilities are endless! Here are some of our creations (and comparable projects we’ve received from our nieces over the years) for inspiration. 

Have you ever created busy buckets? What are some of your favorite things to include? Please tell me about them in the comments below!

— Funky Crunchy Mama