Fine Motor Christmas Activities

• threading and tying
• working with dough
• stamping
• use a craft punch
• tearing and crumpling paper
• scissor cutting
• fine motor Christmas activity printables
  
• more Christmas pages on my site!
  

Threading and Tying

When you involve your children in threading beads and tying ribbons, then they are also working on eye hand coordination and bilateral coordination, as well as fine motor skills.

 - Threading Beads

Chenille stems^#Ad (pipe cleaners) make it really easy for kids to thread beads.

You can bend the chenille stick into shapes (like I did to make a bead angel) to make Christmas tree decorations or table decorations.

threading beads

 - Tying Ribbons

Therapy Fun Zone has a great idea for a ribbon tree that can give your child some practice in tying knots.

To make the activity a little easier, use longer sticks, and plonk them in a jar to keep them still while your kids are tying the ribbons on to the top part of the stick. You can then cut off the base of the stick once the ribbons are tied.

Ask your child to help you tie the ribbons and strings onto gifts - this is a lovely activity that most kids enjoy! Even if it is just simple knots and not a fancy bow, your child's hands will be getting lots of fine motor practice.

ribbon tree Christmas card

If your child finds tying really hard, you may want to check out my article on why some kids struggle more than others with tying skills.

Back to Top

Working With Dough

Working with dough is one of my favorite fine motor Christmas activities - we do this every year!

Elsewhere on my site, I have highlighted the many benefits of working with playdough, and the different techniques you can bring into your child's playdough activity time.

All that rolling and squishing is great for improving hand skills and bilateral coordination.

squishing cookie dough for hand strength!

Why not use real cookie dough or craft dough such as salt dough or homemade clay? That way they can eat or keep their creations!

• I have a whole page on how to help your child work on different skills while baking with you in the kitchen - read it here!
  
• Try out Your Kids OT's cutest gingerbread cookie recipe.
• Your Kids OT also has an easy homemade clay that she uses to make simple, beautiful ornaments. Check it out!

Bake With Your Kids!

Back to Top

Stamping

Stamping is a lovely activity, especially if you do it on a vertical surface, as then it develops good wrist extension and helps to develop upper body endurance, which kids need when they are sitting a desk.

Your kids can use stamps to decorate wrapping paper or plain gift bags^#Ad, or even a paper table runner.

Stamping on a Vertical Surface

Just be sure to have your kids wear old clothes!

• Use potato stamps with paint, or invest in a decent set of rubber stamps with ink.
• Try these stampers with wooden handles^#Ad from Amazon - they are great for little hands to hold.
• Or these wooden Christmas stamps^#Ad, also on Amazon.
• Your Kids OT shows how to use a potato stamp technique to decorate gift wrap.

Back to Top

Use A Craft Punch for Fine Motor Christmas Activities!

If you have a hole punch or a craft punch, why not let your child use it to punch holes in gift tags or to punch out shapes to decorate cards?

The best ones have a lever action, like this one on Amazon^#Ad.

Squeezing the punch shut is great for strengthening little hand muscles - just please be sure to use one that is kid-friendly! Look for craft punches with little lever handles like the one shown below - your child can use the tripod fingers to push the punch shut.

The little ones with the round punch button don't really work for developing fine motor skills, so it's worth paying a little extra for the lever-type punches^#Ad.

 - good craft punch techniques

Use the tripod fingers to close the punch

You can turn the punch upside down to position the hole

 - unhelpful craft punch techniques

Using a round button punch does not get as much fine motor involvement

Using the heel of the hand means the fingers are not getting fine motor practice

Back to Top

Tearing and Crumpling Paper

Give the tripod fingers a workout and decorate your activities with torn strips of paper or with tiny crumpled paper balls.

Tearing Paper

Crumpling Paper

Decorating With Crumpled Paper

• Use the torn or crumpled paper to decorate a Christmas picture - you can download a free printable tree from this page of my site - or check out my pack of printable fine motor Christmas activities for lots of printables!
  
• Try some of my paper craft activity ideas, that use torn paper pieces to make lovely pictures.

View My Christmas Fine Motor Activity Pack!

Back to Top

Christmas Scissor Activities

Cutting with scissors is an excellent way to strengthen your child's hands and get the tripod fingers working together. And at this time of year, it is so easy to get your child interested in practicing scissor skills!

If your child still does not know how to cut with scissors, go and read my article on how to help your child learn to use scissors first. Then come back and try these fun fine motor Christmas activities!

Paper Christmas Wreath

Paper Angels

Tree with Triangles

• Cut on straight lines and make a pretty paper Christmas wreath (I like to call them eternity rings!)
  
• Cut out circles to make paper angels with my tutorial
• Cut lots of circles to make a decorative garland with Your Kids OT
• Cut out triangles to make a Christmas tree (download my free template on this page)
  
• My Christmas Scissor Cutting Printable Pack will provide your child with lots of nativity themed cutting activities from easy to tricky - great for Christmas scissor practice!
  

View My Christmas Paper Craft and Cutting Printables!

I hope you feel as inspired as I did as I rounded up all these fine motor Christmas activities.

It is just so much fun creating memories with your kids as you do special activities at Christmas time!

Thanks for visiting!

Back to Top

If this page was helpful, please share it with your friends!

Fine Motor Christmas Activity Printables!

View My Christmas Activity Pages Now!

This accessible download contains more than 30 easy-to-use Christmas activity pages that can be used at home, at school and in Sunday school over the Christmas period.

These nativity- themed activity sheets focus on developing fine motor skills with a variety of techniques, and giving visual motor practice with 9 different figure-ground mazes.

View My Christmas Fine Motor Activity Pages Now!

More Christmas Pages On My Site!

Christmas Gift Ideas

Christmas Paper Crafts

Preschool Christmas Activities

Free Christmas Word Searches

Back to Top