Turn a simple paper plate into a festive holiday keepsake with this fun and easy paper plate ornament craft! It’s a lighthearted, kid-friendly activity that’s perfect for Christmas crafting at home or in the classroom—and your little ones will love creating decorations they can proudly hang (on the tree) all season long. 🎄✨

If you’re looking for a festive, low-prep craft that kids will absolutely love, this paper plate ornament craft is a perfect choice for the holiday season!

With simple supplies and plenty of room for creativity, kids of all ages can design their own ornaments to hang on the tree, display around the house, or give as handmade keepsakes to family members (we love giving homemade gifts!).

This paper plate ornament pairs beautifully with many of our other easy holiday activities, like our paper plate Christmas tree craft and the adorable paper plate wreath craft.

You could even turn it into a full holiday craft day, with fun treats like reindeer strawberries or Grinch hot chocolate to keep the Christmas cheer going strong.

Whether you’re crafting at home, in the classroom, or during a holiday party, this ornament craft is an easy, cheerful way to make lasting holiday memories together.

Why You (And Your Kids) Will Love This Craft

They get to be creative – kids can choose their own colors, designs, and decorations, making each ornament totally unique.

It feels special and festive – crafting decorations they can actually hang on the tree or around the house adds extra holiday magic.

Great for all ages – toddlers can paint and glue, while older kids can cut shapes, add patterns, or personalize their ornaments.

Hands-on fun – painting, coloring, cutting, and gluing keeps little hands busy and engaged.

Builds fine motor skills – cutting, placing small decorations, and threading ribbon help strengthen coordination.

Perfect for group crafting – ideal for classrooms, playdates, or family craft time where everyone can create together.

Makes meaningful keepsakes – parents love saving handmade ornaments year after year.

Encourages holiday traditions – it’s an easy activity to repeat each season, making it part of a cozy holiday routine.

Supplies Needed

This activity uses pretty basic craft supplies – you may already have everything you need! Here’s what you need to gather:

Paper Plate – I prefer the 9-inch uncoated plates that are mostly flat
Red Paint – go with your favorite shade of red! Or use any other color your kids love!
Paintbrush – a craft paintbrush is perfect
Scissors – all sizes for different-sized hands
Glue – Elmer’s, glue stick, or craft glue
Construction Paper – yellow for the hanger and stars (or the color of your choice)

How To Make A Paper Plate Ornament Craft

Paint the paper plate red – using various widths of vertical lines, leaving small spaces.
Cut out the handle in yellow construction paper – attach it at the top of the paper plate.
Cut stars from yellow construction paper – attach them to the paper plate.

Paper Plate Ornament Craft Notes And Expert Tips

Glue sticks and glue dots are less messy and easier to work with than liquid glue or a glue gun.

Allow the painted plate to dry completely before adding decorations. This will make it much easier to glue on the other pieces.

Want to skip the painting? Cut out craft foam sheets or colored cardstock paper!

Ways To Extend The Activity

Here are several fun and creative ways to extend a paper plate ornament craft so it becomes more than a quick art project and keeps kids engaged longer:

🎄 Creative & Imaginative Extensions

Design a themed ornament set (snowmen, reindeer, Grinch, Santa, gingerbread, or winter animals) and display them together.
Create a family ornament collection by having each child personalize an ornament with their name, age, or a favorite holiday memory.
Storytelling activity: Have kids invent a short story about their ornament—where it came from or who it belongs to.

✂️ Skill-Building & Learning Activities

Pattern & math practice: Encourage kids to create repeating patterns with stickers, shapes, or colors.
Fine motor challenge: Add small details like sequins, beads, yarn threading, or cotton balls to build hand strength and coordination.
Name-writing practice: Let kids write their names or holiday words on the ornament to reinforce early literacy skills.

🎁 Functional & Display Ideas

Turn ornaments into gifts by adding ribbon and a gift tag for parents, grandparents, or teachers.
Make a classroom or home ornament garland by stringing multiple ornaments together.
Create a mini Christmas tree display on a wall or bulletin board using all the completed ornaments.

🧠 Social & Emotional Extensions

Emotion ornaments: Ask kids to decorate ornaments that show how they feel during the holidays (happy, excited, thankful).
Group collaboration: Assign each child a section of a large ornament display to decorate together.
Gratitude activity: Write one thing they’re thankful for on the back of the ornament.

🎨 Sensory & Mixed-Media Ideas

Add texture with felt, foil, tissue paper, pom-poms, glitter glue, or cotton.
Paint with unusual tools like sponges, cotton swabs, or fingers.
Scented ornaments: Lightly scent paint or glue with cinnamon or vanilla (adult supervised).

These extensions make the paper plate ornament craft perfect for classrooms, homeschool lessons, preschool centers, holiday parties, and winter break activities, while supporting creativity, fine motor skills, literacy, and imaginative play.

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