Winter Holiday Family Zone

An adult and child doing arts and crafts

Join SAAM online for a holiday-themed family celebration! We are delighted to bring you festive activities that you can enjoy at home. Get in the holiday spirit with winter-themed crafting and coloring sheets featuring artworks from SAAM’s collection! Show us your creativity! Please share a picture of your completed creations by using #SAAMFamilyZone on social media.

Crafting

Nutcracker Ornament

image of nutcracker craft made of popsicle sticks

Supplies Needed: 

  • 6 regular craft sticks 
  • 1 mini craft stick 
  • Black, red, blue, yellow, and white paint 
  • Glue 
  • Scissors 
  • Paper 
  • String 

Instructions: 

- Line 5 regular craft sticks up side-by-side. 

- Glue the mini craft stick across the middle, connecting all 5 craft sticks. 

- After the glue has dried, paint the top half of the sticks and the mini craft stick to create the hat. 

- Paint the nutcracker’s face, sketching first with a pencil if you need to. 

- Cut the tip off the remaining craft stick to create the nose, then glue it to the face. 

- Cut a beard out of paper and glue it below the mouth. You could also use paper to make hair. 

- Secure string to the back of the ornament. 

Pipe Cleaner Ballerina

Image of dancer craft

Supplies Needed: 

  • 1 Coffee Filter 
  • 3 Pipe Cleaners 
  • Water 
  • Washable Markers 
  • Scissors 

Instructions: 

- Using washable markers, color the coffee filter however you like. 

- Using your hands (or a spoon), drop water over the coffee filter to create a water color effect. 

- Let the filter dry 

- While the filter is drying, bend 1 pipe cleaner in half, making sure not to pinch the fold. This will be the ballerina’s head. 

- Place the other pipe cleaner where you want the neck to be.  

- Twist both ends of the second pipe cleaner around the first pipe cleaner.  

- Continue winding the pipe cleaner up and down the middle pipe cleaner to create the body until 2-3 inches remain on each side to create arms. 

- Bend the bottom pipe cleaners to create feet. 

- Once the coffee filter is dry, fold it in half and keep folding it until it is a small triangle. 

- Cut the tip to form a small hole. 

- Unfold the coffee filter until it is only folded in half.  

- Cut a small slit on either side of the middle hole. 

- Put the ballerina’s arms through the slits and head through the hole. 

- Cut a small segment of the third pipe cleaner off and use it to fasten the coffee filter around the ballerina’s waist. 

- Fluff up the skirt and enjoy! 

Mouse King

Image of mouse king craft

Supplies Needed: 

  • 2 toilet paper rolls 
  • Yellow and Pink Paint 
  • Markers 
  • Scissors 
  • Stapler 
  • Glue 

Instructions: 

- Flatten one of the toilet paper rolls and cut two circular mouse ears, keeping it folded so you can cut out both ears at once. 

- Unfold the roll and cut a small crown out of it. 

- Paint the ears and crown and wait for them to dry. 

- Push the top of the second toilet paper roll in, creating a triangular shape, and flatten it. 

- Once the ears are dry, position one ear on each side of the triangle shape and staple to secure. 

- Using a marker, draw the mouse’s face. 

- Glue the crown in the space between the ears. 

- Decorate the mouse’s body however you like, paint buttons like the example, make a jacket out of construction paper, or create your own design!

Winter Card

An image of a homemade holiday card.

Supplies Needed:

Instructions:

- Print out our winter card template

- Cut out card, snowman, and glove outlines from the template

- Color in your snowman or gloves

- Glue your cutouts to your card and add a festive seasonal message if you like

Paper dancer

A paper ballerina dancing

Supplies Needed:

Instructions:

- Print out of our template and cut out the ballet dancers.

- Now for a snowflake tutu. Fold a piece of printing paper in half vertically and then cut along the fold.

- Starting from one end of the strip you cut, fold triangles until you have a cone shape.

- Cut off the top of the cone in a zig-zag pattern.

- Cut off a small bit of the bottom of the cone. Be sure to arch your cut.

- Cut shapes into your cone. Triangles, squares, whatever you like. When done, open the cone.

- Wrap your new snowflake around a ballet dancer to create a tutu. Or, cut the snowflake into smaller pieces to decorate a ballet dancer’s leotard instead. Have fun with it!

Toy Soldier

An image of a arts and craft project to make a toy soldier.

Supplies Needed:

  • 1 toilet paper roll
  • Construction paper
  • Scissors
  • Glue
  • Markers

Instructions:

- Cut 3 strips of construction paper: 1 for your toy soldier’s face, 1 for their hat and 1 for their uniform. Make sure that each strip is long enough to fully wrap around the toilet paper roll. Feel free to use whatever colors you like for these—be creative!

- Carefully glue the strips one by one around the toilet paper roll.

- Draw a face on your toy soldier in the center panel of the paper.

- Decorate the hat and uniform however you would like. You could cut buttons out of construction paper, add a belt, or doodle unique patterns.

Coloring Pages

Enjoy coloring pages featuring seasonal artworks from SAAM’s collection.