I also find it super interesting to see what different children will do with the same materials. Some children seek to create very specific images, while others focus more on exploring the materials.
15 Christmas Art Projects Inspired by Famous Artists
This holiday season, why not add a mini art lesson to your Christmas crafts with these fantastic famous artist-inspired Christmas art projects for kids! If your kiddos aren’t as into handprint crafts or other classic Christmas crafts, learn a little bit about a famous artist instead and apply their work to a unique Christmas or Winter art project instead.
CHRISTMAS ART PROJECTS
Go ahead and combine Christmas and Famous artists for artist-inspired Christmas art projects! Not only do kids love these projects…they are also an easy way to add Christmas crafts to your agenda this season.
I’ve got a kiddo who doesn’t necessarily love the traditional Christmas craft but has no problem when we add a famous artist to the mix. Below you’ll find fantastic ideas for a variety of artists for both winter and Christmas activities. Check back often, the list will grow every holiday season!
WHY STUDY FAMOUS ARTISTS?
Studying the artwork of the masters not only influences your artistic style but even improves your skills and decisions when creating your own original work.
It is great for kids to be exposed to different styles of art, and experiment with different mediums, and techniques through our famous artist art projects.
Kids may even find an artist or artists whose work they really like and will inspire them to do more of their own artwork.
Why is learning about art from the past important?
- Kids who are exposed to art have an appreciation for beauty!
- Kids who study art history feel a connection to the past!
- Art discussions develop critical thinking skills!
- Kids who study art learn about diversity at a young age!
- Art history can inspire curiosity!
Christmas Process Art
In that vein, I’ve gathered some engaging process-based Christmas art for preschoolers.
Some of the Christmas process art projects do have an end-goal in mind. But they all focus more on the art process than the final product.
I’ve broken the ideas down into three categories – ornaments, tree art, and decorations/gifts. The collage images include the ideas in order from top to bottom, left to right.
Preschool Ornaments
Let’s start things off with some fun ornament ideas! Many preschoolers absolutely adore making ornaments to take home to their families. Not all do, though, and that’s okay.
If you have some ornament-loving kids in your class, why not try some of these Christmas process art ideas?
The kids can use various materials to make their own Ish-inspired ornaments. I love a good art project based on a favorite children’s book.
Tinfoil Christmas tree ornaments give the kids the chance to explore multiple materials and techniques. The different materials and textures are sure to engage the children.
Woven cookie stars give the children’s fine motor muscles a workout as they create. You could easily change the shape of the cardboard if the kids prefer star ornaments.
Little ones will get a kick out of all the shaking involved in making process art ornaments to hang on the tree. These are perfect for action-oriented toddlers and preschoolers.
Tinfoil process art Christmas ornaments let the kids explore an interesting bit of art while creating holiday decorations. What a great way to work on mark making practice, too.
Make embossed yarn ornaments with the children. They’ll love using permanent markers to make these.
Use metallic paper to make some mosaic ornaments with the kids. Cut out different shapes if you want to incorporate some math skills, too.
Grab some sticks and yarn to create these beautifully colorful twig string ornaments. I love how simple and open-ended this project is!
Clear ornaments are the perfect canvas for these glue and salt ornaments. I bet you could even add a touch of watercolors to the salt for a pop of color.
Christmas Tree Art Ideas
Next up, here are some Christmas process art projects centered on trees. They can be used as decorations around the classroom, sent home as gifts, or just for fun.
Add some Christmas-themed materials (ribbons, bells, etc.) to pine tree art to create Christmas tree process art. It’s a great collaborative art project for your students.
Decorating three-dimensional fine motor Christmas trees can lead to some great table decorations for the holidays. Or just let the children decorate and then remove all of the decorations.
Invite the kids to create their own giant Christmas trees with various open-ended art techniques. You can choose almost any materials for this project.
Use a salad spinner for an easy and fun Christmas tree art activity. Let me tell you, the kids LOVE this process!
The kids can use a variety of fun art techniques to create a cardboard Christmas tree garland. I love how colorful and bright they turned out.
Turn a small tree into an art project with this rainbow tree process art idea. I am seriously IN LOVE with this idea and can’t wait to try it out!
Reverse fingerprint Christmas trees allow the children to get hands-on with their art exploration. Bonus – the kids can use their art as cards if they want.
Let the kids create fine motor trees using glitter glue, buttons, and pompoms. I love how these trees stand up, too!
Make pine cone Christmas trees with just a few simple materials. The kids can make it look however they want!
Christmas Gifts and Decorations
Here are a few more Christmas process art ideas. These are focused on decorations and gifts the kids can make.
Use a marbling art technique to make homemade Christmas cards with the kids. Then have the children write or dictate messages to their families inside the cards.
Make some transient art with a Christmas contact paper art invitation. Be sure to take pictures along the way!
Put some bling into family gifts with these sparkly Christmas paintings. The kids’ will love all the glittery goodness.
Break out the bows so the children can make colorful painted canvas presents for their families. I love that these look like colorful presents!
Cork painted wreaths let the kids paint to their hearts’ content while making decorations. These would be great up in the classroom or the kids’ homes.
The kids will adore exploring their senses with sensory collages inspired by a sweet book. I can just smell all of the Christmas!
Pour painted rocks make for colorful decorations or thoughtful gifts from the kids. I love how this technique can be used to make rocks and canvases concurrently.
Whip up a batch of Christmas puffy paint and let the children create as they see fit. The options are limitless!
Make some jingle bell art with the kids’ favorite Christmas loose parts. What a great way to incorporate the sense of hearing into an art project.
Process Art Materials for Christmas
Depending on how well-stocked your supply closet is, you might have everything you need already.
If not, here are a few suggestions to get you started (I may get commissions for purchases made through links in this post):
Then you just have to decide which Christmas process art project to start with! I know, it’s a tough choice!
Done-For-You Preschool Resources
Let Preschool Teacher 101 make your life a lot easier with ready-to-go lesson plans and preschool resources.
Click on the photos for more information about each resource. Be sure to join the membership waiting list while you’re there.
Christmas Art Projects Round-up
I adore Christmas and all the traditions and festivities surrounding it. Creating paper Santas and collage angels were a favorite activity when I was a child. But today, fewer schools are allowing Christmas based activities and mine is one of them.
So instead of posting a Deep Space Sparkle Christmas art lesson, I’m posting my favorite finds for 2013. I look for projects that link to sites that offer tutorials so hopefully the links will stay active.
The above Santa Plate from Fun Art 4 Kids is one of my favorites. If I could do an art lesson for Christmas, this might be the one I’d do. Wouldn’t this make an adorable keepsake for your child?
1. This Nativity Scene is beautiful. Younger children can create this with the help of an adult while older kids would have the freedom to draw their own versions. This lesson has many homes. The image above was found on Housing a Forest.
2. Christmas Card Collage from Arteascuola: Although this sample was create by an adult, I think children would love the collage format of this card. I could see children as young as four or five creating cute little snowmen or Santas.
3. Origami Stars from Krokotak: I haven’t done an origami lesson with my art students but I know a few teachers at my school who love it. These star banners are simply lovely. In fact, I think I’ll gather some paper and give them a try today.
5. Gingerbread House from A Faithful Attempt: Gingerbread-themed projects can be tied to literacy, so it’s one project you could do if you weren’t certain of your school’s policy on Holiday art. I love the idea of creating a gingerbread house with this cool tone background.
6. Three Wise Men from That Artist Woman: I love this project. It has beautiful art elements and ties in the religion which many of us are not allow to do. These would make lovely holiday keepsakes, too. Can you see that they are hung on dowels? Lovely!
7. Golden Holiday Trees from Kids Artists: Hands down the most beautiful and arguably, the least religious or Christmas-themed of the bunch. There’s a great tutorial for this lesson, so make sure you visit the site.
8. Cute-as-pie Elves from Pink and Green Mama: Oh my goodness. Aren’t these little elves the cutest little things ever? If you are into crafts, I would think these elves could fill a while morning of crafting with your children. Fun!
Do you have a favorite Christmas project that you do every year? Please share!
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