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December is upon us and we’re ready to get festive! With last year not being quite what we had hoped, we want to go big this year and can’t wait to spend time with friends and family.

We’ve decided to take on 12 DIYS of Christmas and make, sew, colour and bake our way to Christmas. We’ve shared some ideas below for fun festive activities which we hope will help get you into the Christmas spirit – and there’s no age on Christmas crafts, so everyone can get involved!

To start us off, we thought we’d get into a festive mood with a wreath!

What you’ll need:

• a wreath frame or ring (and moss if you’re using a wreath ring!)
• seasonal foliage and decorations
• wire
• ribbon

eatsleepdoodle’s in-house wreath-making pro Niki made this gorgeous wreath for her front door, using a ready-made wreath frame and foliage she found in her garden! So, how do you make it? First, you might need to make up your wreath with moss (unless you buy a ready-made frame) and then begin by sticking your foliage into the frame, using wire to hold pieces together if need be.

Once your greenery is in place, you can start adding decorations and a pop of colour (Niki used cinnamon sticks and berries), holding these in place with the wire. Once you’re happy with your wreath you can use the ribbon to tie it to your front door (or anywhere you’d like!).

Next up, we decided to make cookies - chocolate and hazelnut! These are simple to make and a super fun activity for all avid bakers out there. The full recipe can be found here. These cookies are delicious – perfect for a Christmas party or as a Christmas gift and they went down very well at eatsleepdoodle HQ!

Christmas cards are a lovely way to spread the joy of the festive season– so why not make this year extra special and create your own! We used our colour-in Christmas cards and plain card for this festive activity. First, we coloured in our Christmas cards using our artist set of 20 wash-out pens, then we cut shapes into potatoes to use as potato prints for the plain card using child friendly paint. This is a great activity for younger kids (although it can get messy!).

 A lovely, jolly addition to your Christmas tree – clay decorations!

What you’ll need:

• air-dry clay
• a rolling pin
• paints
• festive ties or string
• cookie cutters
• skewer or straw

First, we rolled out our clay, then used cookie cutters to cut the shapes, made a hole in the top using a skewer, and put these to one side. We used Christmas tree and star shapes! We then left our clay shapes to dry for 24 hours before we painted them in festive colours. We used red and white ties and made a loop through the clay to hang them. They’re perfect as a decoration, a gift or even a stocking filler!

Struggling to find the right Christmas cracker that everyone will love? Why not make your own! Using wrapping paper, cardboard tubes (toilet roll size are ideal!), string, scissors and of course something exciting for the inside. A fun activity for kids and grown-ups, too! They’re easy and simple to make – you can follow this video to learn how to make them yourself! These are great fun to make and add an extra special personal touch to your Christmas table!

Wanting to be more sustainable this Christmas? Why not try our reusable placemats! Our doodle frame placemats are perfect for any Christmas or party table – they can be personalised and kids will love doodling whilst waiting for their dinner. We decided to embroider our placemats with names – like a place card! You can colour and doodle on the placemats, personalising it further for your guests or give everyone a pen and they can draw whatever they’d like!

Little ones will love getting involved with Day 7 of our 12 DIYS of Christmas - make your own baubles! We used clear baubles, red and white festive ties and lots of colourful craft pom poms. These are so simple and a fun activity for a winter’s afternoon – all you have to do is fill your baubles with whatever you’d like, close it up and tie it together with ribbon, string or a festive tie. This is great for little hands and they’ll love seeing their handiwork on the Christmas tree!

On the eighth day of 12 DIYS of Christmas…we made tea light holders! Grab some old jars and our wash-off ceramic markers and start doodling! Make sure you wash any stickiness off the jar and dry it, then colour and draw anything you’d like – we went for some festive icons. Then carefully pop a tea light inside the jar and light it (grown-ups will need to help with this part). The warm glow from these tealight holders definitely makes us feel festive!

Another decoration for those looking to dress their tree – and this one involves sewing! We found these felt decorations online at The Orchid Craft Room. The kit comes with three different patterns and shapes to make, instructions for each one, a needle, thread and stuffing. These festive decorations are simple and easy to make, ideal for beginners! A lovely way to add another festive homemade touch to your tree!

Who else loves gingerbread biscuits at Christmas? We definitely do! We made some delicious gingerbread biscuits – which can hang on your tree or just be eaten as a yummy treat! We followed this great and simple recipe from Sainsbury’s Magazine to make these Christmassy delights.

Paper snowflakes– a Christmas classic! All you need is paper, scissors and a pencil to make a merry Christmas decoration. Follow these easy steps to make your own snowflakes! You can also thread string or ribbon through them to make a garland.

What better way to finish our 12 DIYS of Christmas than to make a topper for the Christmas tree!

What you’ll need:

• cardboard
• craft glue for children/glue gun (adult version!)
• paint
• scissors
• a star shape/stencil

We found this great video with step by step instructions on how to make your own star to sit atop your tree. This tree topper is the perfect addition to any tree – and will add a special handmade touch!

As you probably know, we love everything crafty and really hope you can join us as we craft our way to Christmas!

And don’t forget you can share any of your colouring or crafting creations with us on social media by using #eatsleepdoodle and #12DIYSofChristmas – we always love to see what you’re up to! You can also tag us on Instagram (@eatsleepdoodle_), Facebook (@eatsleepdoodlehq) and Twitter (@eatsleepdoodle_).