Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Stages

7 great Christmas crafts your 14-year-old will think are cool

Create memories this holiday with these Christmas crafts for teens

Marie Holmes
By

There’s always a lot of cheer surrounding the Christmas holiday, but quite a bit of craziness, too. The holiday season doesn’t have to be all about shopping, and just because your kids are teens now, it doesn’t mean you can’t spend some quality time doing holiday crafts together.

These Christmas crafts for teens will keep young people in the spirit of the season using items you may already have on hand at home or can acquire without much trouble or expense. Some of them make lovely homemade gifts for family, friends, or teachers.

Christmas activities for teens, such as creating ornaments or special presents, are also a wonderful way to connect with your teenager. Don’t worry if you’re not crafty. You don’t have to be. We’ve got seven DIY Christmas crafts teens will actually enjoy making.

homemade dried orange sliced ornaments hanging from a tree

Christmas activities for teens

Connecting with teens is not always easy and the holidays are the perfect time to carve out some one-on-one time. Doing a craft together is an effective way to bond with your teen. You may be surprised at how much teens open up and what they are willing to talk about while their hands are busy. Give one or more of these Christmas activities for teens a try this holiday season to add a new element to your family’s holiday traditions.

Dried orange slices

This simple, fragrant German tradition makes for lovely tree ornaments. Orange slices can also be used to decorate candles, wreaths, or other holiday items. All you need is a few oranges, a knife, some ribbon, and an oven for these DIY ornaments. 

  • Preheat the oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • Slice oranges into 1-centimeter-thick slices.
  • Arrange orange slices directly on a wire rack (use a pan on a rack below to catch any drippings).
  • Keep slices in the oven for 2 to 3 hours, turning them several times, especially at the beginning, to prevent them from sticking to the rack.
  • Add ribbon to hang from the tree or attach to other holiday decorations around the house.

DIY bird feeder

To make these simple, cute bird feeders, you will need the following ingredients:

  • 4 cups of birdseed
  • 2 1/4-ounce packets of unflavored gelatin, or 5 teaspoons
  • 3 tablespoons of corn syrup
  • 1/2 cup of water
  • Cooking spray
  • Parchment-lined baking sheet
  • Skewer
  • Thick-sided cookie cutter (star or another holiday shape)

Once you’ve collected the materials, follow these simple directions to make bird feeders birds and squirrels will appreciate during those long winter days.

  • Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
  • Add the wet ingredients and mix thoroughly, using your hands if necessary. 
  • Spray the thick-sided cookie cutter with cooking spray and press the birdseed mixture into the cookie cutter.
  • Use a skewer to make a hole in the birdseed for your ribbon.
  • Gently remove the cookie cutter and allow bird feeders to dry overnight. String a ribbon through the hole in order to hang the bird feeders outdoors. 

Peppermint bath bombs

These fragrant bath bombs make another handmade and inexpensive holiday gift your teen can give to friends or teachers. These are the ingredients to mix up holiday peppermint bath bombs.

  • 1 cup of baking soda
  • 1/2 cup of citric acid
  • 1/2 cup of corn starch
  • 3 tablespoons of Epsom salts
  • 2 teaspoons of sweet almond oil
  • 3/4 teaspoon of water
  • 15-20 drops of peppermint oil
  • Food coloring (optional)
  • Baking molds or empty plastic ornament balls

Once you have your ingredients, you and your teen can get mixing.

  • In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients: baking soda, citric acid, cornstarch, and Epsom salts. 
  • In a small bowl, mix wet ingredients: almond and peppermint oils, water, and food coloring (if using.) 
  • Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
  • Pack the bath bomb mixture into the empty ornament balls (for round bath bombs) or baking molds of whatever shape you like.
  • Let ornament balls set for two hours, then remove and place on a towel to dry overnight.

If you’re using baking molds, simply let the bath bombs dry overnight. Drying times will vary based on the humidity in your area. 

Rope tree basket

Want to cover up your Christmas tree stand with something a little sleeker? Grab an empty cardboard box big enough to contain the tree stand, wrap it neatly in coils of rope, and use a hot glue gun to stick the rope in place. Voilá: Your Christmas tree stand disappears, and you and your teen created something cool together.

Paint chip wreath

There are hundreds of creative wreath ideas, but here’s one to appeal to a young artist interested in the study of color. Grab 40 or so sample paint chips. These are usually available for free at paint stores. Then, cut the sample paint chips into leaf shapes. Fold the leaves in half and use a hot glue gun to attach them to a wire wreath frame. Creating a paint chip wreath is a great opportunity for a teen to experiment with shades and color combinations. It also makes for an interesting decoration or a handmade gift for the grandparents.

Holiday card tree

Are the holiday cards starting to pile up on the mantle or the refrigerator? It can be difficult to find a functional and innovative way to display holiday cards. Here’s a fun craft designed to organize all those cheerful missives from friends and family. Arrange the cards on the wall, using tape or blue tacky, in the shape of a Christmas tree. Start with one card at the top, and two in the next row, working your way down the wall. For a twist, find some vintage holiday cards to add to the mix. Watch how many guests stop by to admire the holiday card tree and the cool cards.

Twig ornaments

What is the holiday season without some ornament-making? To bring a bit of the outdoors to your tree, collect small twigs and hot glue gun them into creative shapes. Add some artistic blocks or stripes of color by wrapping embroidery thread around portions of the twigs for a final result that is both rustic and cheery. This is a wonderful Christmas craft for teens to do on a family fun night during the holiday season.

DIY birdseed ornament for the holidays

Get into the holiday season

It’s so easy to get caught up in the chaos of the holidays, especially when kids get older. Teens may be too old to sit on Santa’s lap, but they still enjoy doing Christmas activities. Engaging in crafts is a wonderful way to share some holiday spirit with your teen. It’s also an avenue to connect with them. You’re never too old for the feeling of satisfaction that comes from making something with your own two hands. Doing crafts is a great stress reliever too.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
5 vegetarian baby food recipes that are easy to make
Check out these vegetarian baby food recipes that everyone can enjoy
Happy baby eating from a red bowl

Vegetarian lifestyles have come a long way in the past decade, thanks in part to more focus placed on healthier approaches to meals. This is also because now more than ever, parents are prepping their own foods at home and leaning less on drive-throughs and "quick-stop" type meals that carry little dietary benefit. Parents are skipping the store-brand vegetarian baby foods altogether, while doing their weekly food shopping, opting instead to buy fresh produce to prepare their infant's meals at home, versus buying them pre-made and jarred.

To help bolster those dedicated parents' recipe boxes and fill their pantries with healthier and customized baby foods, we’ve put our heads together to bring you five vegetarian baby recipes that are tasty, exciting, and easy to make right at home.

Read more
10 foods to avoid while breastfeeding (and some good, nutritious ones that help prevent colic)
What to include in your diet while breastfeeding and what to leave out
Mom breastfeeding newborn in bed

Breastfeeding gives your baby one of the healthiest starts in life. In fact, your baby gains valuable nutrients naturally while building up the immune system. Still, it’s only natural to wonder if anything could possibly go wrong. Most likely, you and your baby will not experience any drawbacks, but just in case, we’ve brought you information about foods to avoid while breastfeeding, as well as which ones to include to ensure that your baby is gaining vital nutrients.

Gassy foods to avoid while breastfeeding to prevent discomfort and tummy aches
You might wonder how to pinpoint which foods to avoid while breastfeeding. To find out, you'll need to watch your baby's reaction after mealtimes. If you notice a repeated pattern between what you’ve eaten throughout the day and your baby’s issues with gas, then you can try removing a particular food to see if your child’s condition improves. Additionally, you might try omitting the following foods to start off.
Leafy greens
In some cases, vegetables like kale, spinach, and darker lettuces might cause your baby to get gas. This might seem ironic, considering how healthy vegetables are, but you might need to wait a few more weeks or even months before eating leafy greens if you notice a connection between your baby’s tummy ache and the salad you had for lunch.
Beans
Beans contain a chemical called Raffinose that works the digestive system a bit more than other foods. The result is usually burping or flatulence. So, if you suspect this chemical is passing through your breastmilk, then you might add beans to your list of foods to avoid while breastfeeding.
Peppers and spicy food
Just like spicy foods with chile or paprika or different types of peppers can produce a gassy effect for adults, the same can happen to your baby. In fact, you’ll be able to tell right away if these spices and peppers are the culprits behind your baby’s discomfort.
Garlic
Garlic may be one of the most difficult ingredients to give up, but if you see a correlation between your child’s bouts of gas and the buttered garlic you had off of the grill, then you might take a break from this wonder herb since not all infants can tolerate garlic, which also affects the smell and taste of breast milk.
Foods with milk or soy proteins
Although this rarely happens, milk, cheese, and other dairy products might give your baby gas. Likewise, edamame, tofu, and soy milk might pose an issue with food allergies. In this situation, your pediatrician can provide more insight into the possibility of an allergy to milk or soy. Likewise, he or she can recommend some substitutes that still provide an adequate supply of calcium.

Read more
6 of the best toddler cereals to offer your child that aren’t packed with sugar
Choose one the best toddler cereals instead of sugar-packed ones
Toddler being spoon-fed breakfast

Cereal has been a mainstay of family breakfasts for over a century and it’s easy to see the appeal. It’s quick, convenient, inexpensive, and widely popular with kids. Of course, part of the reason little ones love cereal is that most brands are sweetened with added sugars and other not-so-healthy ingredients. The bright colors mask the ridiculous amounts of sugar hidden behind those adorable little marshmallows.

Let’s face it -- cereals like Froot Loops, Cocoa Puffs, Trix, and Fruity Pebbles sure do taste good, but they are essentially just desserts (or worse) masquerading as breakfast. You would be better off feeding vegetables to your child if only your kiddo would eat them. But we have good news! There are plenty of alternatives on the market to serve toddlers without overloading them with sugar. Let's go over six of the best toddler cereal options to set your little one up for the day the right way.

Read more