Nature-Inspired Christmas Crafts: Making a Santa from a Piece of Wood

Nature-Themed Christmas Craft: Make a Santa from a Piece of Wood

Arts and crafts seem to come naturally to some people. In McGyver-like fashion they’ll make a crib mobile out of two empty toilet paper rolls and an old dish cloth and make it look like a million bucks. Unfortunately, I’ve never been one of those people. My ‘A’ in ninth-grade Art class hasn’t done me any favors for years and my home decor is more likely to come off the shelves of IKEA than from a craft room in my basement.

Nature-Themed Christmas Craft: Make a Santa from a Piece of Wood
Homemade, nature-inspired Santa – mommy’s version.

But for the sake of my kids and to get into the holiday spirit I’ve tried to get over this ineptitude and have some fun creating a nature-inspired Santa craft over the weekend. What’s so liberating about doing these things with children is that they usually let their creative juices flow without getting competitive or judgmental (though this is not quite true for my oldest daughter, who was quite adamant in pointing out that her Santa was far superior to her little sister’s). And they’re not afraid to break from convention. If they want Santa to have a yellow face and a sparkly hat, then that’s how it’s going to be.

My version is a little more traditional-looking but however you want it to look is fine. Some of my Swedish readers may recognize it as something they did in preschool – at least I know I did. It’s a great craft for those days when it’s too cold to stay out very long!

Materials:

  • 1 round piece of wood, approx. 2-3 inches in diameter
  • Paint (we used acrylic – as long as it sticks on wood you’re fine)
  • Cotton balls
  • Other accessories of your choice, for example acorns, sequins and seeds from trees
    santa_craft01
    Step 1: Cut the pieces of wood at an appropriate angle. These are approximately 60 degrees. If you want the Santa to have a bigger body, make the pieces longer and leave more of the wood under the cut.
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Step 2: Paint!
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Step 3: Add sequins or other accessories as desired.
Nature-Themed Christmas Craft: Make a Santa from a Piece of Wood
Step 4: Let the paint and the glue dry, and admire the finished product! Write your child’s name and the year underneath the Santa, so that you can add to your collection every Christmas.

For more fun ideas on what to do with your kids this holiday season, check out the ideas of some of these outdoor bloggers:

Go Explore Nature:  25 Christmas Nature Activities for Families 

The Magic Onions: How to Make a Pine Cone Garland

Active Kids Club:  How to Celebrate an Outdoor Christmas

Travelling Mel:  25 days of fun (or our Advent Activities) 2013

Cragmama: 5 Homemade Ornament Ideas for Outdoor Trees

Cragmama: Birdseed Wreath: Wintry Decor for your Feathered Friends!

Adventure Tykes: How to Make an Ice Decoration

6 thoughts on “Nature-Inspired Christmas Crafts: Making a Santa from a Piece of Wood

  1. Jenny says:

    Love it! This cannot be just for Xmas! We have used pieces of wood shaped like different things. My parents painted some wood to look like a watermelon and it made a cute yard ornament. We have a piece of wood that resembles an owl. The wood was just found in nature or piece from already cut fire wood.

  2. Michelle says:

    My daughter will love this… she’s been on a real kick lately with making crafts out of bits of trash (jars and cans and things like that) or things from outside like sticks and rocks and leaves. This is right up her alley 🙂

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