The holidays are a great time to add winter holiday and Christmas-inspired art to your classroom. We all know how excited kids get around the holidays and these holiday art projects are a great way to funnel their holiday cheer into excellent art education.

Here are four of the best holiday elementary art projects that students will love. 

Watercolor Winter Holiday Tree Art

Create festive tree art by using watercolors, watercolor paper, construction paper crayons, and construction paper.

1. Begin by creating a colorful wintery background on a piece of watercolor paper. Use cool colors like blues and purples to do a watercolor wash over the entire watercolor paper. 

2. As your background dries, have students begin drawing their Christmas trees on construction paper with the construction paper crayons. These crayons are specifically designed to look great on construction paper. Have students draw an outline of a tree using a triangle template and fill in their tree with festive decorations

3. When the trees are finished, students can cut them out with scissors and arrange them on the watercolor background. If students want to add more color, they can paint their Christmas tree design with a green watercolor wash. 

The finished product is a beautiful and vibrant elementary art project that teaches students how to use watercolor washes while practicing their drawing and cutting skills. 

Stripe Holiday Tree

Begin by making a triangle out of thin painter's tape on a white piece of watercolor paper or tagboard. Students will then bring their trees to life by painting colorful stripes on the inside of their triangles using watercolor cakes. Be sure to encourage students to stay inside the triangle and to fill the entire space with fun vibrant stripes. 

On the outside of the tape, students can use watercolor cakes to paint the entire background blue for the sky. Once the blue dries, students can use white tempera paint to paint on the snow-covered ground. For an additional detail, students can add snowflakes all over the sky with white tempera paint and a cotton swab.

Once everything has dried, remove the thin painter’s tape to reveal the clean and crisp snow-covered edges of your striped Christmas tree. The vibrant colorful stripes should pop against the beautiful wintery background. 

Gingerbread House 

Gingerbread house paintings are a great way to use a variety of art tools to make a project that looks good enough to eat. Students will start by outlining their gingerbread house. Encourage them to add all of the details of a delicious gingerbread house like icing details, candy canes, and gumdrops. 

Once students finish their outline, they can paint it in with paint. There’s always a debate about tempera paint versus acrylic paint when it comes to elementary art projects. Acrylic is generally preferable on canvas, but tempera will work for Kindergarteners.

This is a great opportunity for students to let their creativity shine as they make a gingerbread house that is perfect for them. 

When the paint has dried, students will outline their house with a black paint pen or permanent marker. Once the design is outlined, students can begin adding details with silver paint pens. These metallic pens will add a fun depth to each painting. Students can also use white paint pens to add snowflakes in the background or icing on the tops of their houses. 

For a final fun detail, students can use puffy paint pens to add drops of candy all over the gingerbread house. Not only will this add color to their creation but they will be able to feel the depth and texture of the 3D paint. 

Ugly Sweater Dice Roll Art Game

The Ugly Sweater Dice Roll Game is a fun game where young artists can roll a dice to randomly fill in their ugly sweater drawing outline with fun and unique characteristics and patterns. 

Students will start by rolling a six-sided die and using the provided grid to determine a randomized Christmas design to add to their sweater. Designs include Christmas bows, Santa faces, gifts, bells, and Christmas sayings. Students will roll the dice 10 times to determine the 10 items they will add to their sweater. 

Randomized drawing games are a fun way to make a unique ugly sweater drawing every time. These games give children the opportunity to improve their drawing ability by utilizing different styles of lines and shapes each time they roll the dice. Students can practice their composition skills because they will determine where each Christmas design is placed on their sweaters. 

The art and roll ugly sweater game can be used in any classroom to create a whole wardrobe of ugly sweater drawings that are as unique as your students. Since each drawing is randomized, kids can complete the project over and over again, practicing a different skill each time. 

Conclusion

Winter break is the perfect time to incorporate creative activities into your classroom with these Winter Art Projects for Elementary students.

Each project, from the vibrant Watercolor Winter Holiday Tree Art to the playful Ugly Sweater Dice Roll Art Game, offers a unique opportunity for students to express their creativity and improve their art skills. These projects not only keep students engaged and excited during the holiday season but also provide valuable lessons in different art techniques and materials.

The Ugly Sweater Template, for example, is a fun and educational way to help students practice their drawing, composition, and pattern-making skills.

By integrating these festive art projects into your curriculum, you can create a joyful and productive classroom atmosphere that channels the holiday cheer into meaningful and enjoyable learning experiences.

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I’m Amanda, and I align standards and integrate content to help teachers meet the needs of the Whole Child in art class! I have yet to find a standard that I couldn’t teach through art, and I want to share it all with you.

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