Deck the Halls with the 8 Best Pipe Cleaner Christmas Crafts!

Pipe cleaners are a crafting staple, that for some reason, only seem to come in packages of about 500. So, If you’re struggling to find crafts to do with your kids that make use of all of those pipe cleaners you have laying around, you’re in luck! Christmas is the perfect time to bust out those pipe cleaners and do a pipe cleaners Christmas craft or two and add some new festive and fun decorations to your tree or Christmas decor. Here are eight of the best pipe cleaners Christmas crafts to make with your kids this holiday season.

Pipe Cleaner Christmas Tree

Source: By Eager Crafts, “How to Make a Pipe Cleaner Christmas Tree” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXyODR8CF64)These super easy pipe cleaner Christmas trees are great as ornaments, trees for your Christmas village or add some festive cheer to your kids’ dollhouse, trainset, and more. What you need:

• Thin cardboard or cardstock
• Tape
• Scissors
• 3 pipe cleaners in your choice of colors – 3 shades of green, 3 different white/iridescent/silvers, etc.
• String or ribbon (optional)

To make your pipe cleaner Christmas tree, start by cutting your cardstock or thin cardboard (like the kind from a box of cereal) into a triangle with the bottom edge slightly rounded. Roll your cardboard triangle into a cone and secure it with tape. Twist the tops of your three pipe cleaners together. Leave a little bit of the pipe cleaner sticking up off the cone. Begin wrapping the pipe cleaners around the cone, tightly, until you reach the end. Before removing your tree from the cone, you can fiddle around with the placement of the pipe cleaners to fill in gaps or make sure all the colors are visible. Once satisfied, remove your tree from the cone, careful not to squeeze or bend it. You can trim the end of the pipe cleaner, or tuck it up into the center of the tree to create a flat base and ensure your tree stands up. If you’re using your trees as ornaments, tie a small piece of string or ribbon around the top of the tree to create a loop for hanging. Variations:

• Add “ornaments” to your pipe cleaner Christmas trees by stringing small plastic beads on one of your pipe cleaners before you twist it together with the others and begin wrapping your trees.

• Experiment with colors: For a classic Christmas tree use different shades of green pipe cleaners. For a snowy tree add in a sparkly white pipe cleaner, or use different shades of white and silver. Make rainbow trees with different shades of your favorite color. The options are endless!

Pipe Cleaner Wreath Ornament

Source: Inspired by Debbie Chapman @ One Little Project, “Easy Pipe Cleaner Wreath Ornaments” (https://onelittleproject.com/pipe-cleaner-wreath-ornaments/)A simple pipe cleaners Christmas craft to get your kids involved in for Christmas gifts or tree fillers!What you need:

• 2 Green pipe cleaners
• 1 Red pipe cleaner
• Ribbon or string
• Scissors

Lay your two green pipe cleaners side by side so they’re parallel to each other. Twist the ends together until you have about 1cm or ½ an inch of the end twisted together. Place your finger between the two pipe cleaners, wrap the pipe cleaners around the circumference of your finger, and twist them together twice – you’re forming little loops around your finger. Do this down the entire length of the pipe cleaners, with 1cm (½ inch) of twisted pipe cleaners at either end. Join your two ends together, forming a circle (or wreath) by twisting your two, centimeter (½ inch) long ends of twisted pipe cleaner together. Make a bow by taking your red pipe cleaner, folding it in half. The bend will be your center. Take one end and cross it over that bend (center), leaving a loop. Twist the end of the pipe cleaner around the bend, ending with the endpoint down. Do this again with the other side of the pipe cleaner.You’ll finish with a simple bow. Attach the bow to the top of your wreath where your two twisted ends were joined by wrapping one of the ends of the red pipe cleaner around the center of the bow and the wreath. Once the end of the pipe cleaner is back at the front of the wreath, trim your ends to your preferred size.Attach a string or ribbon around the center of the bow and form a loop for hanging your new ornament! Add ornaments to your pipe cleaner wreath by stringing a few small plastic beads on your pipe cleaners before twisting them together and forming the wreath shape.

Pipe Cleaner Candy Canes

Source: By Creativity123 @ Instructables, “DIY Pipe Cleaner Candy Cane” (https://www.instructables.com/DIY-Pipe-Cleaner-Candy-Cane/)Hanging candy canes on your Christmas tree is a tradition, so why not make your own pipe cleaner candy canes that will be a staple on your tree for years to come!You will need:

• 1 Red pipe cleaner
• 1 White pipe cleaner
• Red and white twine or thin ribbon

Line up your red and white pipe cleaner side by side, they’ll be parallel to each other. Starting at one end, twist your pipe cleaners together until you reach the other end. Bend one of the ends to form a hook or candy cane shape. Take a small piece of red and white twine or thin ribbon in the color of your choice, and tie a bow around the middle of the candy cane. It’s that simple! If you want to add a bit more fun to your candy canes, try threading plastic beads onto one of your pipe cleaners before twisting them together. If you use clear or metallic beads they’ll even add some sparkle to your tree!

Pipe Cleaner Icicles

Source: By Jackie @ Happy Hooligans, “Pipe Cleaner Icicle Ornaments for Toddlers and Preschoolers” (https://happyhooligans.ca/icicle-ornaments/)These pipe cleaner icicles are a great pipe cleaners Christmas craft to keep your little ones busy while you’re wrapping gifts! With just a few materials, they can get creative with their color combinations and bead patterns and create a whole bunch of fun new decorations for your tree.You will need:

• White, silver, or metallic blue pipe cleaners
• Beads
• String or ribbon

Start by choosing your desired color of pipe cleaner and picking out a variety of plastic beads you’d like to use. Thread your beads onto the pipe cleaner, leaving about 1cm (½ inch) of space between your beads to make shaping your icicles easier. Once you have all your beads on the pipe cleaner, twist your pipe cleaner into a spiral (icicle) shape. To make it easier you can wind your pipe cleaner around a pencil. If you wound yours too tight, stretch it out a bit until it’s your desired shape. Attach a string or ribbon at one end and form a loop for hanging.

Pipe Cleaner Reindeer Drink Markers

These adorable little reindeer make for great drink markers at your holiday party, just attach a different colored pom-pom nose to distinguish between drinks. Kids (and even Santa!) will also love these little guys around the top of a bottle of milk. What you need:

• 3 Fluffy brown pipe cleaners
• Red (or any colored) pompom
• Googly eyes
• Hot glue

Take two of your pipe cleaners and slightly round one end of each of them (when you put them side to side the bent ends should form a circle. Twist the pipe cleaners together to hold their circle shape. Adjust your circle to fit around the top of the bottle or stem of the glass you’ll be using. Bend the unused ends of the pipe cleaners up to make the antlers. Cut off about 3-5cms (about 1 – 2 inches) from the top of the antler part of the pipe cleaners. Use the bits you’ve cut off to twist around the top of the antler forming two prongs on either side with the original end pointing up (you’ll have what resembles a trident at the top).Take your remaining pipe cleaner and bend it into a U shape. Attach it to one of the sides of your circle so it will hang down over the bottle, you may need to trim your U shape to your desired size. Finish your reindeer by hot-gluing two googly eyes and your desired pompom to the U shape to form a face. Use different colored pom-pom noses for drink markers at your party so everyone can keep track of their drinks or just leave one out on a bottle of milk for Santa!

Pipe Cleaner Garland

Source: By Diane @ In My Own Style, “DIY Christmas Decorations: Pipe Cleaner Garland” (https://inmyownstyle.com/diy-christmas-decorations-pipe-cleaner-garland.html)Your kids will love making this pipe cleaner garland. Great to use on your Christmas tree or hang from your mantle or doorways. What you need:

• Wire cutters
• 50-100 Pipe cleaners in your choice of colors depending on the length of garland you want.

If your kids will be making the garland, prep the pipe cleaners for them by cutting each pipe cleaner (in your desired colors) in half using the wire cutters. Once prepped, start by making one circle, twisting the ends together to secure. Follow up by threading your next pipe cleaner through the circle before making another circle and twisting the ends together to secure (forming a chain). Repeat to your desired length, alternating colors as desired.Get creative: No need to stick to just circles! Create whatever shapes you like for your garland – stars or even the snowflakes or wreaths mentioned in this article. If you can’t join your shapes together by linking them, tie them with a bit of string.

Pipe Cleaner Angel

Source: By Debbie Chapman @ One Little Project, “Easy Angel Pipe Cleaner Ornaments” (https://onelittleproject.com/angel-pipe-cleaner-ornaments/)Angel ornaments are a Christmas tree staple, so why not make your own sparkly angels to adorn your tree? This pipe cleaners Christmas craft is super simple using just two pipe cleaners! What you need:

• 2 Silver pipe cleaners
• String or Ribbon

Bend one of your pipe cleaners to form a circle, twist the ends together to secure your circle. Put the circle around one of your fingers and twist it to form a small circle, this will be your halo. Put your finger in the larger circle again, directly next to the halo, and twist together to form a second small circle – the head. Bend the top circle (the halo) slightly so that it’s bent over the head, it will point forward a bit. With the remaining portion of the large circle, bend the pipe cleaner to make a triangle shape for the body.Take your second pipe cleaner and repeat the first step to form a large circle. Pinch the circle together in the middle to squish it. Put this flattened circle over the top of your angel’s head and position it near the “neck” and twist the circle a few times to form wings (a circle on either side). Widen the circles on both sides, and shape them into a sideways circle. Once you do this on both sides you’ll have your wings!Take your string or ribbon and tie it where the halo and head meet, forming a loop to hang. Your angel is all ready for your tree!

Pipe Cleaner Snowflake

Source: Inspired by First Palette, “Pipe Cleaner Snowflake” (https://www.firstpalette.com/craft/pipe-cleaner-snowflake.html)Create your very own white Christmas regardless of the weather, with these easy-to-make sparkly Christmas snowflake ornaments.You will need:

• 2 Pipe cleaners in chosen colors (blue, silver, white)
• Scissors
• String or ribbon

Cut one of your pipe cleaners into thirds. Line up all 3 pieces so they’re side-by-side (parallel to each other). Twist all three together at the center three times to secure. Spread each end out until you’ve formed a star shape.With your second pipe cleaner, cut it into 6 equal pieces, you can use a ruler if you need to. Take one of the small pieces you just cut and twist it around one of the ends of the star-shaped pipe cleaner in a v-shape. You’ll be forming a trident shape. Repeat with the remaining 5 pieces on each of the remaining 5 ends of the star.Tie a string or ribbon around one of the tridents, creating a loop to hang on your Christmas tree!

Conclusion

With a few pipe cleaners and supplies you probably have around the house, a pipe cleaners Christmas craft is a great way to spend time with your kiddos around the holiday. Get them involved in decorating the tree with handmade ornaments that will bring back memories for years to come. You can even use these crafts as a special touch to your gift wrapping for friends and family, attaching your child’s creation to the wrapped gift like a gift tag. Make fun Christmas memories with these simple crafts!

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