Making Memories: 7 Family-Friendly Christmas Crafts

Over the years, Martha Stewart's crafters have created hundreds of projects for the holidays. See which ideas have become favorites, and add them to your Christmas to-do list this holiday season!

Related: 22 Gift-Wrapping Ideas for Turning Any Gift Into Something Spectacular

Candy Cane Mice

Deputy crafts editor Silke Stoddard has made these easy, inexpensive, and sweet mice for whole preschool classes as holiday gifts and party treats. "I've even made them for holiday bake sales and used them as gift toppers," she says. For a twist, try making them on heavyweight paper instead of felt.

Materials
Candy Cane Mice template
Pencil
Fabric shears
Craft glue
Candy canes

1. On a photocopier, enlarge Candy Cane Mice template by 150 percent; cut out.

2. With a pencil, trace ears and body onto felt; cut out.

3. Cut inner ears and a dot for a nose from felt in a contrasting color, cut dots for eyes from black. Glue the face and inner ears in place.

4. Make slits in body for ears and candy-cane tail where marked; to make cutting easier, fold felt across center of slits, and snip. Slip ears through slits at front; then slide wrapped candy cane through body slits, tucking the end underneath the ear piece at the back.

Shimmering Stacked Christmas Trees

While you need a little crafting experience to create these trees, they're "so inexpensive to make and a clever way to recycle newspaper," says TV crafter Kristin St. Clair. She made a special one for Martha out of aluminum sheets, which turned out beautifully. "It looked like an ice-covered silver pine tree," says Kristin. "I can't imagine how amazing a forest of trees like that would look -- exquisite!"

Materials
4 ounces Sculpey clay
10-inch, 6mm thick knitting needle
Felt
Craft glue
Clear glass glitter
Receipt spike (optional)
2 pieces 6-by-6-inch card stock
Newspaper
Utility knife
Bone folder
Adhesive spray
Hot-glue gun and glue
2 paper Dresden stars

1. Roll and flatten 4 ounces sculpting clay to form dome shape. Poke knitting needle horizontally through flat area of clay dome. Remove knitting needle.

2. Bake clay in oven at 275 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes. Reinsert needle into baked clay. Glue felt on bottom of base for surface protection.

3. Apply glue, then glitter, to the base. A receipt spike can be used to create a smaller tree instead of building a base using the above instructions.

4. To form tree, place 2 pieces of 6-by-6-inch card stock onto spike for stability.

5. Cut newspaper into 50 sheets of each size:-6 by 6 inches-5 1/2 by 5 1/2 inches-5 by 5 inches-4 1/2 by 4 1/2 inches-4 by 4 inches-3 1/2 by 3 1/2 inches-3 by 3 inches-2 1/2 by 2 1/2 inches-2 by 2 inches-1 1/2 by 1/2 inch

6. Cut 25 1-inch sheets of newspaper.

7. Begin poking pieces of newspaper onto spike in descending order, folding and unfolding each piece of paper using a bone folder.

8. Spray tree with adhesive and immediately sprinkle with diamond dust. Set aside and let dry for 10 minutes.

9. Using a hot-glue gun, adhere 2 paper Dresden stars back-to-back to top of tree.

Related: 65 Quick and Easy Holiday Decorating Ideas from Martha Stewart

Cookie Cottages

"My kids and I make these cookie cottages every year," says Jodi Levine, kids' editorial director and designer for Martha Stewart Crafts. "They love decorating -- while sneaking a few candies -- and I love that you can find almost everything you need at the supermarket!" Plus, they're made out of graham crackers instead of gingerbread, so they're quick to build during the busy holiday season.

Use royal icing -- piped from a resealable plastic bag with a corner snipped off -- to hold houses together and "glue on" decorations.

Materials
Graham crackers
Serrated knife
Candy decorations

1. With a serrated knife, saw a graham cracker into 2 squares. Saw off top corners of another cracker to create a peaked roof; make 2.

2. Pipe icing onto bottom and straight edges of a peaked piece. Place on an upside-down paper plate; use a small object, such as a spice jar, to prop it up. Repeat to pipe icing onto edges of a square piece, and adhere it to peaked cracker. Remove spice jar, and adhere other pieces with icing.

3. Saw a cracker into 2 squares for the roof. If desired, spread icing onto roof pieces and decorate with candy; let dry. Pipe icing onto top edges of house, and adhere roof pieces. To display, place plates on a tray and cover with shredded coconut snow.

Felt Tree Bottle Cover

Lead TV crafter Hosanna Houser based this festive bottle cover craft on a project her grandmother shared with her after making for many decades. Not only can it be used for decor, but "it's super simple, and useful as a way to bring wine or champagne to a party," says Hosanna.

Materials
Tree template one
Tree template two
1/2 yard (or 2 packs) felt
Pins
Sewing machine and thread
Pencil
Pinking shears or straightedge shears
Decorative embellishments (bells, rhinestones, garland)
Fabri-tac glue
Wine bottle

1. Download and print tree template one or two. Pin together two pieces of felt. Place tree template on top of pinned-together felt pieces. Trace tree onto felt.

2. Using sewing machine, sew sides of tree together, leaving the bottom portion open. Then, use pinking shears or straightedge shears to cut tree out of felt.

3. Decorate the felt tree by gluing or sewing on embellishments of your choosing, such as bells, rhinestones, and garland.

4. Place felt tree cover over wine bottle.

Felt Holly Corsage

Martha Stewart Living crafters Blake Ramsey and Athena Preston both cite these "festive and fun" felt holly corsages from the December 2009 issue of Living as their favorite holiday craft. "I make them every year out of whatever odds and ends I have and give them to all my friends," says Athena.

We used an assortment of trimmings: tiny glass ornaments, pom-poms, snipped pieces of tinsel, and velvet and silk ribbons to embellish ours, but you could also use buttons, beads, special fabric you've been saving, or antique milliner flowers found at a flea market.

Materials
Wool felt, 18 by 18 inches, in assorted colors
Holly template
Iron
Hot-glue gun
Ribbon, such as satin-backed velvet ribbons
Assorted embellishments
Barrettes or brooch pins

1. Print the template, and cut out. From a piece of felt, cut one 2 1/2-by-5-inch rectangle for each pair of leaves. Fold rectangle in half lengthwise.

2. Crease with an iron set to "wool." With the rectangle still folded, trace the template and cut out the shape using scissors. Unfold. To make the 4-leaf design, cross 2 felt shapes; using a low-temperature glue gun, attach at the center. For the 2-leaf version, dab glue at the center of 1 felt shape, and fold, angling the leaves.

3. Glue desired trimmings to the front and a bar pin or a barrette to the back.

4. To prepare as a gift: Cut a 4-by-5-inch piece of card stock. Punch 2 small holes, about 1 inch apart, into the center of the card. Attach the pin or barrette. Using a rubber stamp and a white ink pad, stamp a "tag." Write the recipient's name and a greeting.

Cardboard Christmas Village

"My mom had villages all around our house year-round, both simple and elaborate," recalls TV crafter Kirsten Earl. Of course, they would be decorated especially for Christmas each year. What makes this cardboard version so special? "I like this one because you can fold it up and put it away between seasons," says Kirsten.

Materials
Village template
Tree template
Transparent tape
Double-sided tape
Large pieces of cardboard (at least 32 inches long)
Box cutter and/or craft knife
Paint and glitter in desired colors
Glittering glue
Paintbrush
Clear vellum
Two strings of floral LED lights and batteries
Reusable adhesive putty

1. Print the templates for the village and trees (four pages each) and tape together, in order, lining up dotted lines.

2. Attach village template to the "wrong" (dirty or printed) side of a large piece of cardboard and cut out entire shape from cardboard with a box cutter or craft knife. Repeat with tree template on a second piece of cardboard.

3. Make the base: Cut two 32-by-6-inch rectangles of cardboard. In the center of one of these rectangles, cut an 1/8-inch-wide-by-31-inch slit to hold the trees. In the same rectangle, cut a centered 29-inch slit one inch from one long side to hold the houses. Place double-sided tape on the underside of the slit rectangle and attach to the second rectangle, lining up the edges.

4. Paint and/or glitter the trees and village as desired. Use brushstrokes of paint or glittering glue to define boughs on trees. Add "snow" to houses and trees with coarse or tinsel glitter, if desired. Allow to dry.

5. Tape pieces of vellum to the backs of the village windows. Attach two strings of floral lights to the back of the village with tape, so that one light is positioned in each window and door.

6. Carefully place village in smaller slit on base, and trees in center slit. Use reusable adhesive putty to anchor the pieces in the base, if necessary. Place battery packs behind trees on base.

Feather Christmas Tree

"This was the first craft that I worked on at TV as a freelancer," says Jim Noonan, a junior crafter for "The Martha Stewart Show." While they're a popular product at stores like Crate & Barrel or Pier 1, "our version costs a whole lot less and has a real personal touch," he says. "It's a very simple craft and looks quite beautiful when done."

Materials
For Feather Tree: White turkey feathers (long, medium, and short lengths)
Hot-glue gun and hot-glue sticks
Styrofoam cone (We used a 12-inch cone, but any size will do.)
Popsicle stick or tongue depressor
Bamboo skewer
Heavy-duty wire cutters or pruning shears
For Glittered Star Tree Topper: Vellum
Scissors
For star: Star template
Double-sided tape
Spray adhesive
Fine crystal glitter

1. Sort feathers into short, medium, and long piles.

2. Carefully make a line of hot glue along the quill of a long feather, from the point of the quill to about 1 inch in.

3. Attach the feather to the bottom of Styrofoam cone so that the end of the feather sweeps out and just brushes the table below.Tip: Hold feather in place while the glue cools using a popsicle stick or tongue depressor to avoid burning your fingers.

4. Continue gluing long feathers around the cone, lining up the bottoms of the feathers, completing a row. Add rows of long feathers, with about an inch between each, until a third of the cone is covered.

5. Repeat with medium-length feather rows to cover the center third of the cone. Finish the top third of the cone with short feathers.

6. To complete the top of tree, push a bamboo skewer about 3 inches into the point of the cone. Carefully add feathers around the skewer, about an inch from where the skewer meets the cone, lining up the quills to make a point

7. Snap off the skewer right above the quills with heavy-duty wire cutters or pruning shears. If you like, you can add more feathers to the tree with dabs of hot glue to add depth.

8. Cut a 3-inch vellum circle in half. Curl one half into a cone. Secure with double-sided tape.

9. Cut three 3-inch squares of vellum and fold them to make three 8-point stars, as shown in the star template instructions.

10. Glue two or three stars onto the cone with hot glue. Spray the entire tree topper with spray adhesive and cover in glitter. Shake off excess glitter and add to top of tree.

More from Martha Stewart:
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20 Super-Efficient, Super-Effective Ways to Clean All the Things

We don't know many kids who coud forget this delectable wreath.