Paper Plate Santa Craft

December 21, 2024January 3, 2025

Looking for a fun, festive, and budget-friendly holiday craft that kids will love? This Paper Plate Santa craft is the perfect way to spark creativity and make lasting holiday memories. With just a few simple supplies like paper plates, cotton balls, and paint, you can create an adorable Santa decoration that’s both easy and customizable. Whether you’re crafting at home, in a classroom, or at a holiday party, this quick and engaging activity will bring smiles and holiday cheer to everyone involved!

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Why I love this craft

If you need a fun craft to make with kids in a flash this holiday season, this Paper Plate Santa is perfect! This Paper Plate Santa craft is one of my favorite holiday crafts because it’s so simple to make with just a few basic supplies, and it’s a great way to keep kids entertained during the holidays. It’s so great seeing their creativity come to life while spending time together making festive decorations for home.

You’ll love this craft because:

Beginner-Friendly: This craft is perfect for kids and adults of all skill levels, making it a great choice for family craft time or classroom activities.
Customizable: You can easily adapt this Santa craft by using different materials, like pom-poms or crayons, to fit what you have on hand.
Budget-Friendly: All the materials are inexpensive and easy to find, so you can create something festive without spending a lot of money.

Here’s what you’ll need:

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Supplies

Supplies Notes

Paint: Use red acrylic paint for Santa’s hat and light pink acrylic paint for his face. Acrylic paint provides bright, vibrant colors and dries quickly, but you can also substitute markers or crayons if paint isn’t available.
Paper Plate: Basic white paper plates work perfectly for this craft.
Cotton Balls: These are used for Santa’s hat trim and add a fluffy, textured look. If cotton balls aren’t available, you can substitute with white pom-poms, crumpled tissue paper, or even bits of cotton batting.
Googly Eyes: These bring Santa to life and add a fun, whimsical touch. Any size googly eyes will work, but medium-sized ones fit best for this project.
Construction Paper: You’ll need pink paper for Santa’s nose and white paper for his mustache. You can use other colors or textured paper for a unique look.
Black Marker: Use this to draw Santa’s smile. A fine-tipped marker works best for precise details, but you can also use a crayon or colored pencil.
School Glue: This works well for attaching cotton balls, paper pieces, and googly eyes. Hot glue can be used for faster drying but requires adult supervision if kids are crafting.
Scissors: You’ll need scissors to cut out Santa’s nose and mustache. Safety scissors are great for kids to use.
Paintbrush: A medium-sized brush works well for painting the plate. Be sure to rinse it between colors to avoid mixing.

To make cutting Santa’s mustache easier, fold the white construction paper in half and cut out half of the mustache shape along the fold. This ensures a perfectly symmetrical mustache every time!

Step-by-step instructions

This DIY project is very easy to make with a few simple supplies. The steps below with matching photos are meant to help you see the project being made at various stages so that you and your family can make this easy Christmas project perfectly every time.

For the ingredient list with measurements, full instructions, printable recipe and additional notes, please scroll down to the recipe card.

Image of paper plate on a white tabletop with bottle of skin-colored paint laying next to the plate with the skin color painted on the paper plate. — **Paint a circle in the middle of the plate with the peach or light pink paint.**

Image of paper plate Santa craft with the red for his hat painted, the skin color for his face painted with a paintbrush still resting on the paper plate. — **Paint the top 1/4 of the plate red for Santa’s hat.**

Image of paper plate Santa craft with the red hat painted and cotton ball fluff of the hat with the skin for his face painted onto the paper plate. — **Add cotton balls.**

Image of Paper Plate Santa with hat, mustache, nose and mouth finished on a white tabletop. — **Create Santa’s face.**

Image of finished Paper Plate Santa Craft on a green and white tabletop with snowflake buttons decorating it.

Expert Tips

Personalize santa: Let kids add their unique touch by giving Santa a quirky smile, colorful googly eyes, or even glitter on his hat for extra sparkle.
Add a name tag: Write the child’s name and the year on the back of the plate for a keepsake that doubles as a time capsule of their creativity.
Create a display: After making the craft, hang it up as part of your holiday decor or use it as a photo prop for festive family pictures.

FAQs

What type of paint works best?

Acrylic paint works best because it dries quickly and has bright, vibrant colors. You can also use markers or crayons if you prefer a mess-free option.

Can kids make this craft independently?

Kids can handle most steps, like painting, gluing, and decorating. However, younger kids might need help cutting paper or positioning the googly eyes and mustache.

How long does this craft take to complete?

It takes about 20-30 minutes, including drying time, depending on how much detail you add.

How do I display the finished craft?

Tape the finished Santas to a wall, door, or refrigerator, or punch a hole at the top and add a ribbon to turn them into hanging decorations.

Can this be used for a classroom project?

Absolutely! This craft is simple, inexpensive, and great for large groups. Pre-cutting the mustaches and noses can help save time during a classroom activity.

Image of finished Paper Plate Santa Craft on a green, red and white checkered napkin on a white tabletop.

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