Christmas Decorations for Preschool

Nature Centerpiece for the Winter

In your classroom you probably have a table that is used for the extras.  It just sets there to collect books, papers, backpacks or anything that might just need a place to be.  Why not make this your Christmas table for the month.  Let your preschooler’s help you create a nature centerpiece that will adorn the middle of your table and set it off just for the Christmas season. 

Take your preschoolers on a nature walk.  Look for pine and oak trees close by.  Have them collect pine sprigs, acorns, pine cones and various types of leaves to take back and make their centerpiece from.

Once you have collected all the things nature has to offer for a beautiful centerpiece you will need to determine how you want your centerpiece to look. A large candle or a Christmas basket filled with candy will adorn the middle of your centerpiece. Whatever you decide to do be sure the children know this is what their centerpiece will go around and be the center of the attraction.

Have the children help you arrange the pine sprigs around your center item.  Show them how far out you want their centerpiece to go by making a circle around the center item with tape or a string.  This will help guide the children from going too far out on the table and using up all your available space. 

Once the sprigs are placed around the center item then the kids can start decorating.  Help them to place glitter glue on the tips of pinecones to liven them up and add color to their centerpiece.  They can place acorns around the springs and use the leaves to fill in empty areas.  Fall leaves will also give the centerpiece color. 

If you have some bows or small ornaments that the children could place around in the sprigs this would help to give the centerpiece a more festive look.  Use spray snow for the finishing touch. 

Now the children have their very own winter table to place Christmas cookies, candies and other wonderful goodies on.  

Decorate Candles for Christmas

Everyone loves the smell of a Christmas candle.  There are so many different scents available.  Unfortunately it’s hard to have Christmas candles in a classroom due to safety reasons.  Here is a way your preschoolers can decorate candles to place in your room and still have the scents of Christmas around them without having to light them. 

Start by purchasing enough candles for each child to have one to decorate.  You can find pretty inexpensive candles at craft shops, department stores or even your local dollar store. These candles do need to be free standing.  Be sure to purchase different shapes and scents for your candles. Most Christmas candles no matter what the scent can also be found in red and green colors.  This will help create different looks and smells all through your classroom.  Be sure to snip the wick all the way down to the top of candle to ensure no one can actually light the candle.

For the children to decorate you will need Christmas stickers or pictures.  Christmas tags can be great for this type of project.   Just cutout the actual Christmas picture for the children to attach to the candle.  You will also need red, green, silver and gold ric rac, bright colored sequins, snow glitter and a glue stick.

Now for the fun part, decorating their candle.  Let the children attach any or all of the items completely around the candle.  They can glue ric rac around the top and bottom of their candle.  Pictures or stickers can be glued all the way around the candle and glitter can be applied for the finishing touch.  Just place a little glue on the item to be attached and on the candle.  This will insure whatever is glued to the candle will stay secure.

Use red and green construction paper to make the base for the candle.  Place the candle on the piece of paper and trace around the bottom of the candle about 2 inches out.  Cut out the base and glue it to the bottom of the candle.  Let the kids decorate the base also with stickers, colored pencils or glitter. 

Now you have Christmas candles you can decorate your classroom with and not have the worry of burning candles that won’t be safe.  The kids will love the decorations and everyone will want to stop in to smell the wonderful Christmas scents your preschoolers have created in their classroom.

Christmas Printables

Click here for Christmas Printables

Decorate With a Candy Train

One of children’s greatest highlights at Christmas is the Christmas train.  Watching the train go around and around with the lights and cars filled with packages will fill a child’s heart with delight. If you’ve got very little space in your classroom to place a Christmas train, it’s still easy if you make a candy train.  Your preschoolers can help you make your train and you can place the train in your classroom for everyone to enjoy.

Making the train is easy to accomplish and all you need are a few different types of candy.  Rolls of life savers, individual candies such as peppermints, cinnamon disks or butterscotch candy, individually wrapped caramels, Hershey Kisses, red hots, lemon drops, regular and peanut M&M’s and pieces of red licorice can make the best candy trains. You will also need some glue.

Start with a roll of lifesavers.  This will be the actual train car.  Next have your preschoolers glue on the wheels.  Individually wrapped peppermints, cinnamon disks or butterscotch candies make the best wheels.  Glue these onto the front and back of both sides of the lifesaver roll. 

Next glue a Hershey’s kiss to the top of an individually wrapped caramel.  Attach this to the front of the train car with glue. Have the children place red hots, M&M’s and lemon drops to the top of the life saver roll for items that are being carried by the train car.

Once the glue on the train has completely dried you can attach each car together to make your full train.  Tearing the licorice into strips can accomplish this part.  Attach one strip to the back of each train car, except for the very last car, with glue.   Now attach another strip of licorice to the front of each train piece.  Now your train is connected together.  Place the train in your classroom for all to see.  If you have a short string of white or blue Christmas lights you can place them around the train as well to add a bit more glow and festivity to the scene.  Oh yea and let the children have a fun time eating any candy that is left over. 

Garland Style Christmas Tree

Most classrooms have a traditional Christmas tree in the corner decorated with wonderful ornaments and lights and surrounded by packages.  How about other places in your classroom where you have decorated but feel like a very small tree would just set it off perfectly?  How about a tree completely made by your preschoolers?  It’s fun and easy to do. 

Start with a large piece of green construction paper.  Make a slit in the bottom to about the middle of the paper.  Now fold it into a cone shape and glue the sides together.  Place the cone on a piece of brown or black construction paper and trace around the bottom of the cone.  Cut out the base and glue it to the bottom of the cone. 

Take a piece of garland that will fit the cone from the top to the bottom. Wrap it around the cone.  Be sure to glue the garland to the cone in many different spots to insure it will stay in place.

Now you will need more construction paper, crayons, colored pencils, Christmas stickers, glitter pens, small red bows, glue, scissors, dark green thread and a small hole punch.  With all of this your preschoolers can make paper ornaments to place on the garland tree. 

Have them cut out different shapes in the construction paper.  Then decorate the shapes with any of the craft items to make the Christmas ornaments.  They can apply stickers, add glitter or just draw and color pictures on their ornaments.  Make them fancy by adding bows and glitter snow.  They can even make snowflakes with your help. 

Once the ornaments are completed, help the children place a small hole at the top of the ornament with a hole punch.  Place the thread through the hole and tie it off.  Now they can place their homemade ornament on the Garland tree with an ornament hook, preferably plastic hooks instead of metal.  Before you know it they have created their own Christmas tree, decorations and all with the very own little hands and huge imaginations.