Winter break is long enough for “What can I do now?” to become a household catchphrase. A small collection of paper, crayons, and clean cardboard can keep the answer changing without turning every afternoon into a supply run.
These 14 screen-free crafts for winter break mix drawing, building, weaving, storytelling, and projects families can use for play afterward. Start with one that matches the supplies and adult help available. Some children can continue familiar steps after a demonstration; that does not mean every project suits unsupervised use.
Set Up a Small Winter-Break Craft Box
Gather plain and colored paper, crayons, pencils, suitable scissors, tape, and paper adhesive. Add clean lightweight cardboard, a few small boxes, paper lunch sacks, and yarn when available. Paint is needed only for the folded-print idea.
Adults should inspect recycled materials, remove staples and unwanted fasteners, and handle stiff-cardboard cutting and difficult openings. Match tools to the children, protect the table, and follow paint and adhesive directions. Use a drawing-only project when drying space or cleanup time is limited.
1. Torn-Paper Snowy Landscapes
Materials: Blue and white paper, brown scraps, crayons, and adhesive.
Make it: Tear two white strips into uneven hills and overlap them on blue paper. Add a brown tree, drawn branches, and a white moon. Use torn scraps for falling snow. Keep it going: Children can make different skies and horizons; combine the finished pictures into one winter gallery.
2. Color-Pattern Paper Chains
Materials: Paper strips and tape or paper adhesive.
Make it: Join one strip into a loop. Thread the next strip through it before joining its ends, then repeat. Choose a two-color sequence or invent a new pattern. Keep it going: Make short sections separately and join them as a family. Adults should place the display clear of doors, required signs, and heat sources.
3. Woven-Paper Mats
Materials: Two paper colors, scissors, and adhesive.
Make it: Fold a base sheet in half. Cut evenly spaced slits from the folded edge, stopping before the opposite edge to keep a border. Unfold and weave contrasting strips over and under, reversing the sequence each row. Attach loose ends. Keep it going: Adults can prepare the slits. Use broad strips for an easier start and display the finished mat as paper artwork.
4. Cardboard-Loom Weaving
Materials: Cardboard, yarn, and scissors (adult prep).
Make it: An adult cuts matching shallow notches along two opposite cardboard edges. Wrap yarn between the notches to create parallel strands. Guide another yarn over and under them, reversing the sequence on the next row. Keep it going: Start with widely spaced strands and a few rows. Keep the work on its loom so children can return to it another day.
5. Paper-Bag Character Puppets
Materials: A paper lunch sack, crayons or markers, paper scraps, and adhesive.
Make it: Keep the sack flat with its folded bottom flap at the top. Add eyes to the flap and a mouth beneath them, then add paper ears and a drawn outfit. Keep the moving flap free of glue. Keep it going: Let attachments dry before using the puppet. Invent a short show; Crayola’s puppet-show prompt offers another way to extend the play.
6. Tiny Winter-Break Books
Materials: Two sheets of paper, tape, and drawing tools.
Make it: Stack the sheets and fold them together in half. Add short pieces of tape along the outside folded spine. Draw a cover, then fill the pages with a story, a comic, or favorite moments from the break. Keep it going: Children can dictate captions, draw without words, or leave pages for a family member to complete.
7. Fold-and-Test Paper Bridges
Materials: Paper, two low stacks of books, and a lightweight paper object.
Make it: Set the book stacks a short distance apart. Span the gap with a flat sheet, then try a similar sheet folded into an accordion. Place a small paper star at the center and compare what happens. Keep it going: Make this a shared experiment. Change one feature at a time, keep the book stacks stable, and avoid heavy test objects.
8. A Recycled-Cardboard Town
Materials: Small clean boxes, cardboard, paper, tape, and drawing tools.
Make it: Decorate boxes with paper doors and drawn windows. Tape flat triangle roof shapes behind their top edges, then arrange the buildings on a cardboard road mat. Add a park, library, or bus stop. Keep it going: Adults handle box cutting. Keep buildings movable so the family can redesign the town and invent stories together.
9. A Crayon Texture Collection
Materials: Paper, crayons, and clean textured materials.
Make it: Place paper over corrugated cardboard or a large dry leaf. Rub gently with the side of a crayon while holding the paper still. Change texture or color on a fresh section. Keep it going: Compare the patterns or turn the rubbings into collage paper. Crayola’s rubbing instructions demonstrate the same basic technique.
10. Folded-Paint Prints
Materials: Paper, paint labeled for paper crafts, and table protection.
Make it: Fold a sheet in half and reopen it. Place a few small paint dabs on one side, fold the paper closed, and press gently. Open it to reveal the mirrored design. Keep it going: Keep paint amounts modest and leave the print flat to dry. Afterward, add drawn details or make a second print with different colors.
11. Paper-Strip Snowflakes
Materials: Three narrow paper strips per snowflake, crayons, and adhesive.
Make it: Cross three equal-length strips at their centers to create six arms. Glue the centers and add drawn V marks or short lines near the tips. Leave flat until the joins hold. Keep it going: Make several sizes for a winter display. This version avoids cutting through a thick folded stack.
12. Pleated Paper Fans
Materials: A paper rectangle, drawing tools, and tape or adhesive.
Make it: Decorate the paper, then accordion-fold from one short edge to the other. Fold the bundle in half at its midpoint, join the inner edges, and gently spread it into a semicircular fan. Keep it going: Use wide folds and lightweight paper. Arrange several fans on a backing sheet as a colorful wall display.
13. Design-Your-Own Board Games
Materials: Paper or cardboard, drawing tools, and paper scraps.
Make it: Draw a winding path with a clear start and finish. Fold small paper tents as playing pieces. Make move cards marked 1, 2, and 3; players draw a card, move, and return it to a shuffled pile. Keep it going: Agree on rules before playing. Children can add a story theme or revise the route after a family test game.
14. Draw-and-Tell Story Cards
Materials: Small paper cards and drawing tools.
Make it: Draw one clear picture on each card: a person, animal, place, object, or weather scene. Shuffle the cards, choose three, and tell a story that connects the pictures. Keep it going: Add new cards throughout the break. Family members can take turns contributing one sentence, or children can turn a favorite story into a booklet.
Choose by the Kind of Afternoon You Have
- For a small work area: Choose a snowy collage, booklet, texture collection, or story cards
- For a shared family project: Build the town, test paper bridges, or design and play a board game
- For a project to revisit: Leave the weaving on its loom or add new pages and story cards over several days
- For libraries and after-school groups: Offer two activities with shared supplies and label work before pieces spread across the table
Put out one project’s materials at a time and save useful scraps in a shallow box. Allow children to change the design or stop before the sample is finished. Craft time does not need a production quota, especially during a break.
Make Something, Then Use It
The best follow-up is often already part of the project: stage the puppet show, play the new game, rearrange the town, or read the tiny book aloud. Keep a few flexible supplies ready and let one finished craft suggest the next afternoon’s idea.
About EconoCrafts
Since 1956, EconoCrafts has helped schools and after-school programs, summer camps, recreation centers, senior centers, nursing homes, hospitals, churches, VBS programs, libraries, and families run successful arts and crafts programs. We supply affordable art supplies, ready-to-use craft kits, and engaging activities that make planning and leading creative projects easier. Whether you’re organizing one classroom activity or an entire season of programming, EconoCrafts helps you spend less time preparing and more time creating.
