Take your kids on a celebration of Christmas around the world with these nine amazing crafts from different countries.

The gift of Christ is for everyone—everywhere. And on Christmas Day in almost every country around the world, the human race stops—if only for an instant—to give homage to the humble Savior who was born in a stable.

Since that blessed day in Bethlehem, people around the world have developed their own rituals and traditions to celebrate Christmas Day. Your children can learn about God’s heart for people everywhere as they make these crafts from around the world. (Instructions and materials listed are for one child only.)

8 Christmas Crafts from Around the World

Christmas Craft #1: Nativity Ornament

Christmas in France means the Nativity scene or creche. At Christmastime, churches and homes display the manger scene to remember the birth of Christ. In the community and in homes, children gather to sing and pray around the creche. In Marseille, they even have the famous Santon Fair before Christmas. (A santon is a little clay figure used in a creche.) Children can make this aromatic creche ornament, created by Judith Moy of San Gabriel, California.

You’ll need:

• a small wooden or cardboard star
• yellow paint
• a paintbrush
• glitter
• 5 cinnamon sticks
• Christmas cards with nativity scenes or a nativity scene rubber stamp
• colored pencils
• paper
• scissors
• potpourri
• 6-inch length of ribbon
• glue

Creating Your Nativity Ornament

Paint a small wooden star with yellow paint and sprinkle glitter over the wet paint. Allow the paint to dry. Then glue five cinnamon sticks into the shape of a house.

As the glue on the house dries, create a nativity scene by cutting out the nativity figures on a Christmas card, drawing the figures on paper, or cutting out a rubber stamped nativity scene on a sheet of paper. Glue the nativity scene to the dried cinnamon-stick stable.

Next, glue potpourri onto the sides of the stable for a rustic look—and nice smell. Then glue the star to the top of the stable. Insert a 6-inch piece of ribbon through the top of the stable. Tie the ribbon in a knot for hanging the nativity ornament.

Christmas Craft #2: Gift in Reverse

In some parts of Scandinavia, people observe a fun tradition of making gifts for animals at Christmastime. They place sheaves of wheat or barley on tops of tall poles, and they tack suet to tree trunks. Their gift gives birds a feast at Christmas too! Your kids will enjoy making an edible birdhouse to feed little creatures at Christmastime.

You’ll need:

• a pint-sized milk carton
• a 3/16-inch wooden dowel (6 inches long)
• peanut butter
• birdseed
• a plastic knife
• twine
• a hot glue gun

Alert: Be aware of peanut allergies, and adjust the craft if there are children with a serious peanut allergy. 

Making Your Birdhouse

On two opposite sides of the milk carton, cut a hole 2 inches up from the bottom of the carton. On the same sides as these holes, cut a hole in the top edge of the milk carton. Insert a dowel through the lower holes for the bird’s perches. Glue the dowel into place with a dab of hot glue at each hole. Then string a piece of twine through the top holes in the milk carton and tie a knot to create a hanger. Using a plastic knife, completely cover the milk carton with peanut butter and then roll it in birdseed.

Christmas Craft #3: Fabric Gifts

Kids love to make gifts for parents or other caregivers at Christmas. And because kids may lack their own financial resources, you can help ensure that parents have something under the tree! Use these interesting craft ideas from all around the world.

Adinkra Cloth

In Ghana, adinkra cloth is made by the Ashanti people. The fabric is divided into squares. Then the Ashanti people stamp symbols in the squares that express such qualities as patience, security, strength, and forgiveness.

You’ll Need:

• a 1-foot muslin square
• a fine-line black marker
• a ruler
• fabric markers or crayons

Making Adinkra Cloth

Use a fine-line black marker to mark off small squares over the entire piece of muslin. Use simple symbols such as a heart, flower, smiley face, triangle, or circle. Using fabric markers or crayons, create a symbol in each square. Allow the markers to dry.

Christmas Craft #4: Tie-Dye

Tie-dyeing has been used in India since 700 B.C. People in India used natural dyes from organic sources such as fruit, bark, roots, and flowers. Children will enjoy tie-dyeing a gift!

Alert: Requires close adult supervision.

You’ll Need:

• A 3-foot square of white prewashed fabric
• cold water
• fabric dye
• rubber bands
• scissors
• spatulas
• 2 large bowls
• a place to hang wet fabric squares to dry
• plastic zip-seal bags (for sending gifts home)

How to Tie-Dye

Prepare the dye in large bowls following the package directions.

Pinch up areas of the fabric and tightly twist rubber bands around the gathered cloth. Do this all over the fabric.

After all the areas are gathered, place the fabric in the bowl of dye. Stir and leave the fabric in the dye longer than suggested. Then lift out the fabric and rinse it in a bowl of clear water. Cut the rubber bands, squeeze out any excess water, and hang the fabric to dry.

Christmas Craft #5: Batik

Indonesian women have adorned themselves in beautiful batik sarongs, head scarves, and shawls for hundreds of years. The Javanese people actually developed this wax-resistant dye technique to try to achieve the same colorful prints unique to India. Wax is applied to the fabric in a design and then the fabric is dyed. The result is a colorful image.

Alert: Requires close adult supervision.

You’ll Need:

• a 3-foot square of white prewashed fabric
• cold water
• clothes iron (and an adult who will constantly supervise and use it)
• wax paper
• fabric dye
• crayons
• spatulas
• 2 large bowls
• a place to hang wet fabric squares
• plastic zip-seal bags (for sending gifts home)

Creating Batik Fabric

Prepare the dye in large bowls following the package directions.

Draw on the fabric with brightly colored crayons. Press down to ensure a thick build-up of wax. Once the picture is complete, place a piece of wax paper over a child’s wax drawing and iron the crayon drawings to help the wax set. Pull the wax paper away. Then set the fabric in a bowl of fabric dye for 30 minutes. Remove the fabric and rinse it in a bowl of clear water. Squeeze out any excess water, and then spread the fabric out to dry.

Christmas Craft #6: Piñata

At Christmastime in Mexico, a piñata means gifts. Blindfolded children swing at the hollow figure with a stick. If they hit the pinata, candy, small dolls, and trinkets shower down. Your kids can make a piñata and enjoy the sense of celebration and fun of this Mexican delight.

This craft will take four weeks. Do the papier-mâché part in three weeks and the decorating part the last week. If that timeframe isn’t feasible in your ministry context, you can send this idea home as a fun craft for families to make together. Assemble kits of all the needed supplies to give to families so they can work together and enjoy making—and breaking—their piñata!

You’ll Need:

• 14-inch inflated balloon
• newspaper
• plain bulletin-board paper
• 5 sheets of tissue paper
• 4 pounds of individually wrapped candies
• 24-inch length of string
• papier-mâché paste

Making Your Piñata

To make the papier-mâché paste, mix 1/2 cup all-purpose flour and 2 cups cold water. Add this mixture to 2 cups boiling water, and return to a boil. Remove from heat, and add 3 tablespoons sugar. When the mixture cools, it’s ready to use.

Place the balloon in a 10-inch bowl for stability. Tear newspaper into 1 1/2-inch strips with slightly rough edges. Drag a strip through the paste, wipe off the excess, and lay the strip on the balloon. Consecutive strips need to slightly overlap. Continue until the balloon is covered with one layer of strips, leaving a 2-inch square at the top as a candy opening. Allow the balloon to dry for 24 hours.

Around the tied off end of the balloon, wrap and tie off the string to use as a hanger. Keep the string pulled out during successive layering stages. Cover the balloon again with newspaper strips and papier-mâché paste. Allow to dry. For the final layer, cover the balloon with the plain newsprint strips. Allow to dry.

The next week, cut the tissue paper into 2-inch squares. Dot the corners of each tissue paper square with glue and place the squares on the balloon. Glue tissue paper streamers to the balloon.

Puncture the uncovered part of the balloon at the top of the pinata. If the pinata is completely dry, fill it halfway with candy. Cover the opening with tissue paper squares.

Christmas Craft #7: Marbled Paper

In Japan, a paper decorating technique was invented by floating ink on water and applying it to the paper. It’s called suminagashi and was only used by the imperial household. It’s also called marbling because the swirls of paint sometimes resemble marbled stone. Children can use this technique to make beautiful wrapping paper for Christmas gifts.

Alert: Requires close adult supervision.

You’ll Need:

• large sheets of white 20-lb. paper
• a large shallow tray
• water and dish soap mixture
• 2 paint brushes
• calligraphy or marbling inks (look for non-toxic versions)
• a skewer or toothpick
• wax paper
• rubber gloves

Making Marbled Paper

Fill the tray with 1 inch of water. Put on rubber gloves. Use a paint brush to drop or dab paint onto the water’s surface in the tray. Then use a second paint brush to dab some drops of the water and dish soap mixture. Swirl the paint with a skewer or a toothpick. Lay a large sheet of paper on top of the water. Lift the paper and lay it with the painted side up on wax paper to dry. Throw away the rubber gloves. Once the paper is dry, children can use the paper to wrap presents.

Christmas Craft #8: Spinning Tops

In Poland, there’s a long-standing tradition of cutting and combining paper pieces as artwork. This paper appliqué technique layers paper over paper to create a scene. Your kids can make paper appliqué tops as gifts for friends, brothers, or sisters.

You’ll Need:

• white cardstock
• different colors of cardstock
• a 3-inch cardboard circle template
• a pencil
• scissors
• glue
• a 2×1/4-inch dowel
• a pencil sharpener

How to Make a Spinning Top

Use the circle template to draw and cut out a circle on the white card stock. Then cut out small squares, circles, and triangles from the colored card stock. Glue them to one side of the white circle for a confetti effect. Use the pencil sharpener to make a dull point at one end of the 2-inch dowel. Pierce the center of the circle with the dowel and push it through the center and 3/4 inch away from the dowel’s point.

Looking for more Christmas ideas? You can find lots of fun and practical ideas in the book Seasonal Specials for Children’s Ministry: All-NEW Ideas for 13 Holidays.

Check out all our Christmas posts.