The winter season can be magical for your toddler, but if you live in an area that gets cold, you’ll likely be spending a lot of time indoors. Use those winter months as an opportunity to get crafty and creative by trying out some new indoor winter activities that your preschoolers will love on those cold, winter days. 

Although nothing can quite beat being outside and playing in the snow, having a few winter arts and crafts activities lined up for when it is just too cold outside is a great way to keep young children entertained. These activities will encourage their creative side while also allowing them to focus on other important childhood developmental skills. 

Getting Crafty This Winter Season

On those days that are just too cold to spend time outside, winter art and craft activities are one of the best ways to keep your kids entertained and off the screen. While every season is a great time to get creative with your kids, the winter months bring some particularly vivid inspiration in nature, like snowflakes and pinecones.

Here at Vivvi, we believe in encouraging kids to incorporate arts and crafts into their daily routines. Not only is it a great way to let them use their imagination to the fullest, but it also builds on important developmental skills such as problem-solving, fine motor skills and communication skills. 

7 Creative Preschool Winter Arts and Crafts Activities

Before you get started with our list of the best winter crafts for kids that you can do at home with your preschoolers, gather up some household materials. We’ve put together Vivvi’s Favorite Materials List which is filled with items you can find around your home that your child can use in their winter art and craft activities. Happy crafting!

1. Snowman Snow Globe

Nothing says winter more than a loveable snowman. So, why not combine one of our favorite snow sculptures with an iconic winter decoration: a snow globe? This winter craft activity is fun for all ages and will have your children entertained for hours on end.

All you need is a paper plate, colored paper, contact paper, sticky tape, scissors and a stapler. Start by getting your preschooler to paint the paper plate while you cut out the snowman’s hat and nose from colored paper. Take the contact paper, cut it into a rectangle and peel off the backing. Encourage your child to decorate the contact paper using sequins and glitter. 

Next, fold over the contact paper and cut out the middle of the paper plate. This will become your snowman’s face. Glue on the snowman eyes, a mouth, and nose. While your child is decorating the face, place the contact paper inside of the paper plate ring. 

Once this is done, staple the snowman’s face to the paper plate body. Finish off any last minute decorations and, voila! Your child has their very own snowman snow globe. 

2. Winter Scent Lab

Another great winter activity for preschoolers is a winter scent lab. This activity will teach your child about nature and objects while also engaging their sense of smell. For this activity, all you need are empty glass jars, water, and anything that has a strong scent that reminds you of winter (e.g. cinnamon, pine tree, peppermint, cocoa etc).

First, place each of your scented items into an empty glass jar and fill it with water. Leave sitting for 24 hours or until the water has become scented by your items. Remove each jar’s item and use food coloring to dye the water. Then, print out an image of each of the items you collected, and get your preschooler to guess which smell matches which item. 

3. Pine Needle Sensory Experience

Since playing outside isn’t always an option in the winter, this winter art and craft activity will help bring nature indoors to them. Sensory bags are a great way to teach young children, especially toddlers, about the world around them, and in the winter, that often includes fir and pine trees. 

First, bundle up your family and collect some sprigs of pine or fir tree (if you’ve got another tree nearby, feel free to improvise!). If your little one is too small, you may want to do it for them. Place the sprigs into a plastic bag or bottle with some water and glitter. Your children may choose to also include other winter-related items such as snowflake decorations or snowman stickers. 

Once the container has been sealed, your toddler can shake and squish to their heart’s content. 

4. Cotton Ball Snowflakes

Like snowmen, snowflakes are another regular sight during the winter months and each is prettier and more unique than the last. Let your child design their own snowflake for a great winter activity that sparks their creativity.. 

To make cotton ball snowflakes, all you’ll need is some glue, blue-colored construction paper, cotton balls, and a paintbrush. First, pour some glue into a small bowl and paint a snowflake shape onto the blue paper. 

Then under your supervision, get your toddler to make their own snowflake. Encourage them to glue the cotton balls onto the blue paper in whatever pattern they like. Once they are done, cut around the snowflake and hang in your window for you and your child to admire. 

5. Egg Carton Penguins

Is your child a fan of everything animal-related? Bring winter animal inspiration into your winter art and craft activities! When we think of ice and snow, our minds are automatically drawn to penguins. These animals live in a winter wonderland all year round. Another fun preschool winter arts and crafts activity is making egg carton penguins. 

This super easy art activity is fun for all ages. For materials, all you need is an egg carton, white and orange colored paper, black paint, glue and googly eyes. 

Using scissors, cut a cup out of the egg carton and make eyes, feet, beak and a belly out of the colored paper. Place the egg cartons on a piece of paper and allow your child to paint them black. Once they are done, leave aside to dry completely. Now, for the fun part!

Place some glue on each piece of paper and glue the eyes, belly and beak to the egg carton. Fold the feet and glue these to the inside of the egg carton. Once this is done, you’re left with an adorable little penguin friend. 

6. Handprint Winter Trees

This craft activity is great for little fingers, especially after coming back from a winter nature walk. This winter activity can get a bit messy, but it will be sure to leave your family with plenty memories of joy and laughter. 

Using some construction paper and a pencil, trace around your child’s hands. Color their hand shape in using brown paint. This will be the tree. In a dish, squeeze out various winter-inspired color paints such as whites, blues and purples. 

For each color, give your child a Q-tip to use or let them use their fingers. Then start decorating the tree. Let them experiment with different colors and create their very own winter tree. 

7. Snowy Pinecone Owl

Pinecones are another great material to use when making winter arts and crafts with your preschoolers, and this snowy pinecone owl is proof of that. All you need are pinecones, white and orange felt, cotton balls, googly eyes and some glue. 

To get started, stuff the pinecone with the cotton balls to make the owl’s feathers. Using the white felt, cut out oval shapes for the owl’s wings and head. Then cut a small beak out of the orange felt. 

Once this is done, glue the beak and googly eyes on one of the oval pieces to make the owl’s face. Now we are ready to construct the owl. 

Glue the face and the wings on to the pinecone. When you’re done, you’ll have a perfectly adorable snowy pinecone owl. 

Let Your Child Get Creative: Supporting Early Learning Skills at Home 

There are plenty of winter arts and crafts activities for toddlers that you can do right in the comfort of your own home. Vivvi has always been about bringing fun childhood learning experiences directly to you, even if you don’t live near one of our campuses. If you’d like to learn more about our In-Home programs, make sure to contact us! It will certainly add some warmth to your cold winter days.

Vivvi provides child care and early learning for children ages 0-5, with unrivaled flexibility that works for today’s families. Our inquiry-based curriculum is facilitated by warm, experienced teachers in bright, open spaces that let children make big connections to the growing world around them. Find your nearest Vivvi here.