At the beginning of the school year, I was bitten by the classroom volunteer bug. At the open house, the sign-up sheets were plentiful, and I was excited to volunteer to help out with a few class parties throughout the year. I volunteered to provide a craft for my son's class Christmas party, which happens to be taking place next week. I signed up to do a craft because I figured it would be easy and it meant that I wouldn't have to attempt to bake anything. Let's face it, though- nothing with twenty first graders is ever easy.

As I thought about a myriad of different holiday craft ideas that I could do with the kids, I kept a few things in mind:

1- The party would be held at the end of the school day, so I needed to keep the craft short and sweet.

2- I absolutely did not want to have to bring a glue gun.

3- I didn't want to choose anything that would take a long time to dry or would be super fragile.

4- I wanted the kids to mostly be able to do the project themselves, freeing up the teachers and other parent volunteers.

The result- a super quick and simple craft that the kids could make in about five minutes.

Candy Cane Reindeer Craft

For this cute holiday craft, you'll need a few inexpensive items:

Candy canes (2 per child)

Brown pipe cleaners (2 per child)

Stick-on googly eyes (2 per child)

Red pom-poms (1 per child)

Jingle Bell Brads (1 per child)

Glue dots or craft bond

I found all of the supplies for this craft at Hobby Lobby. The pipe cleaners and pom poms were sold together in a package. The googly eyes were the hardest to locate- I found them near the doll-making supplies. The jingle bell brads were in the seasonal craft area. I picked up the candy canes at ALDI, but you could get those anywhere- Dollar Tree, the drug store, etc.

To assemble the reindeer, place two candy canes together with the hooks facing outward.

Wrap the pipe cleaner down the candy canes. This will hold the candy canes together and make the face of the reindeer.

Add two eyes and a red pom pom nose on top of the brown pipe cleaners. Use a glue dot or craft bond to adhere the pom pom to the pipe cleaner.

Fasten the jingle bell brad to the pipe cleaner, underneath the pom pom.

Let the pom pom dry.

That's it! A simple craft, great for the kids to make at home or for class parties!

You can easily add an ornament hook to the back of the reindeer and hang it on the Christmas tree. If kids want to eat the candy canes, they can simply slide the reindeer face off of the candy canes.

Assemble craft bags for each child with all of the supplies they need to make their reindeer.

B helped me assemble little craft kits for all of his classmates. Each bag has the needed supplies to make one candy cane reindeer. On party day, each child will get a bag with their supplies. This will cut down on time spent passing out supplies and kids waiting for instructions.

We had a lot of fun making this craft at home, and I can't wait to show B's classmates how to make them at the class party! We hope you'll give this cute little craft a try and let us know what you thought of it!