Holiday Crafts for Seniors

By Anna Hazard

Introduction

Here are a selection of winter holiday season crafts that are suitable for seniors, kids, and those with arthritis or other hand strength & dexterity issues. The tutorials use inexpensive materials that are easy-to-find around the house or purchased from a local store with a suitable selection of art or hobby supplies.
 
The main skills required across the crafts include gluing, painting, cutting paper & fabric, and manipulating ribbons, string, swatches of fabric and other similar sized materials. The use of crafting tools explicitly made for those with hand issues (as discussed in our previous article) can further help those who may have more severe hand or finger dexterity issues.

Craft Tutorials

Frosty the Snowman

• Here are a selection of snowman based crafts that use cheap, inexpensive materials that can usually be found around the house or easily bought from local craft or grocery stores. There are no sewing requirements for any crafts with the main skills required including stapling, gluing, painting, cutting, and manipulating craft items such as string thus making the tutorials suitable for a wide range of hand strength & dexterities. Gluing with easily handled guns, bottles, or brushes can be subbed in for those who may have trouble with using staplers.
• So Creative Things (Plastic Cups) | Good Home Design (String) | Home Made Gifts Made Easy (Pom Poms) | Easy Peasy & Fun (No Sew Sock) | Amy Latta Creations (Bottle Caps)

Santa Claus

• Santa Claus is synonymous with Christmas and thus these crafts can double as a fun holiday activity, as festive decor around the home, and as holiday gifts to be given away. The materials used are common and easy-to-find including socks, various types of paper, felt, clothespins, foam and yarn. Some tutorials may require preparation in advance such as attaching hooks to clothes pin or cutting out foam for those senior loved ones with more severe hand or finger issues. Otherwise the skills required include gluing, cutting paper & fabric, taping, and painting.
• Easy Peasy & Fun (No Sew Sock) | Hand Made Kids (Paper) | Red Ted Art (Squishy) | Virginia Sweet Pea | A Girl and a Glue Gun (Foam)

Christmas Elves

• What is Santa Claus without a bevy of his helper elves? Help fill out an entire holiday diorama with these crafty elves that can decorate shelves, mantels, or act as Christmas tree ornaments. The basic supplies are items that can easily be recycled or upcycled from around the house (such as toilet paper or paper towel rolls, jar tops, and clothespins) along with crafting staples such as felt, paint, wooden balls, and yarn. Main skills required including gluing, painting, cutting paper & fabric, and manipulating smallish items such as jingle-bells or googly eyes. Gluing can be substituted for those seniors or others with more severe hand dexterity issues who may have trouble with yarn stitching.
• Awe Filled Homemaker (Paper Rolls) | Lia Griffith (Pinecones) | Ann's Entitled Life (Mason Jar Lid) |  Vavoom Vintage (Felt & Wood) | Tara Dennis (Clothespin)

Rudolph & Other Reindeer

• Another staple when it comes to winter holiday tableaus are reindeer to give Santa and his elves a Rudolph to play and work with.  These reindeer can perform a variety of decorative functions from table centerpieces to tree ornaments and can be made from a wide range of items such as mason jars, popsicle sticks, corks, pieces of burlap fabric, sticks, pipe cleaners, and foam balls. The main skills required include painting, gluing, and manipulating string. Crafts that use breakable items such as glass jars will require enough hand strength to hold items securely without breaking them, otherwise some assistance or advance preparation may be required when it comes to steps such as breaking or cutting twigs.
• Onion Rings & Things (Mason Jar) | Martha Stewart (Cork) | Views from the Ville (Clay Pot) | Inch of Creativity (Burlap & Twigs) |  Growing Up Blackxican (Ornament)

Holiday Angels

• Here are a selection of angel themed crafts suitable as holiday decor or as gifts for the holiday season. They are made from a variety of materials that are easy-to-find around the house or inexpensively bought from local stores (such as dried pasta noodles, wooden balls, popsicle sticks, foam, pipe-cleaners, tinsel, coffee filters, cardboard, twine, and burlap ribbon or fabric). The main skills required include gluing, cutting paper or fabric, painting, and manipulating fabric or string thus making the crafts suitable for a wide variety of hand strength or dexterities.
• The Country Chic Cottage (Burlap) | Alice Wingerden (Coffee Filter) | Spunny's (Doll Peg) |  Factory Direct Craft (Popsicle Stick Ornaments)|  By Stephanie Lynn (Pasta)

Christmas Trees

• Christmas trees are another type of decor synonymous with the winter holiday season. Even if a full sized natural tree may be out of consideration due to space or health issues, these mini tree decorations can be used to add a bit of festive flare around the house, office, or other living area. Many craft trees use papier-mâché cones as their bases or structure which can either be bought pre-made from stores that carry hobby or art supplies or can also be crafted in another fun activity. [Craft Cone Tutorials: 1, 2] The basic supplies required include string, wide ribbon, deco mesh, burlap, foil, 3D dimensional paint, doilies, and popsicle sticks with the main skills required being gluing, cutting, painting, and manipulating fabric, ribbons, or string thus making these crafts suitable for people with a wide range of hand strength or dexterity levels.
• Buggy & Buddy (Paper Doilie Ornaments) | Craft Passion (Foil) | Peace of My Day (Deco Mesh) | Fynes Designs (Ribbon) | Domestically Blissful (String)

Candy Canes

• Candy canes are a sweet treat that are usually only passed around during the winter holiday season (and can often be found very cheaply during winter sales). While the candy cane's peppermint base has several health benefits including helping with nausea and headaches, their high amount of sugar means they should be eaten in moderation. Extra candy canes can instead be used in a variety of these crafts that all use candy canes as their main bases. Besides the canes, other supplies used include burlap fabric, cones, cardboard, string, buttons, and a few other sweet treats such as marshmallows, M&M's, or Hershey's Kisses. The main skills required revolve almost entirely around gluing and manipulating small candy sized pieces thus making the crafts suitable for people with a wide range of hand issues.
• Dollar Store Crafts (Wreath) | About Family Crafts (Reindeer Ornament) | Better Homes & Gardens (Tree) | Kathy AngelNik (Elf) | Baby Gizmo (Snow Man)