As the weather turns colder we’re always after ideas that we can do inside in the warm and these winter tree art ideas for kids are a great place to start.
I’m sharing lots of winter tree crafts today that you can make without a paintbrush so have a look round your craft box and see what you can find to make these.
Today’s activity uses one of our free templates to help make it that bit quicker for you to set up so that you can concentrate instead on having fun and getting creative.
RELATED – Easy Snowflake Crafts for Kids
We have included affiliate links to some of the products and resources and as an associate we may earn from qualifying purchases.
What You'll Find on This Page
Winter Painting Ideas
Winter art projects might not have the gorgeous colours of autumn of the blossom of spring but that doesn’t mean that they can’t be fun.
I’ve used white paint for the snow on the trees but you could go for some metallic silver ones or add some snowflake stickers.
This post contains photos of three of our favourite easy winter painting ideas but we’ve also included more ideas for ways that you can create winter tree art.
All of these crafts are made using our bare tree silhouette which you can find a link to below and materials that I found after a rummage through my craft materials and kitchen cupboards so hopefully no matter what materials you have at home or in the classroom you should be able to find something easy and fun that you can do.
The range of ideas also means that there’s lots for different age groups. Older kids will be able to do something a bit more precise but these crafts are also great for toddlers, kindergarteners and preschoolers, if a bit of painted ‘snow’ goes a little adrift then surely that’s just like the real thing?! There’s no perfect way to make this craft.
Like this activity? Make sure you don’t forget about it by bookmarking this page or pinning an image so that you’ve got this inspiration to hand when you need it, plus keep reading for how we printed these trees plus some great ideas for winter books to share with your children and more winter craft ideas.
What Should I Print My Winter Tree On?
Because you’ll mainly be working with white paint I recommend printing your template onto blue paper or cardstock.
Cardstock can be better if you are likely to use a lot of paint or glue but paper should be fine for these crafts.
A pale or mid blue paper will help to show the outline of the tree trunk more.
If you only have white printer paper then I’d recommend a blue paint to colour with which will still create some beautiful winter art.
Straw Printed Winter Tree Craft
Cut slits into the end of a paper straw and then use this to print your tree.
This is a good craft for children that don’t like getting messy as you can use a long straw to keep their hands away from any paint.
Pom Pom Printed Winter Tree
Pom poms are great for painting with, they make a lovely effect and they’re great for practising fine motor skills.
You can either hold the pom pom with your fingers or if your child doesn’t like potentially getting paint on their hands then you could use a clothes peg to hold the pom pom.
You could also try using different sizes of pom pom for this activity as you layer up the paint on the tree or if you don’t have pom poms you could try using cotton wool balls.
Toothbrush Painted Winter Tree
Dip a toothbrush into white paint and use this to create the snow on your tree.
You could also try flicking the paint from the toothbrush onto the tree to make it a bit like snow is falling but this will obviously be messier – make sure that you have your table covered!
More Winter Tree Art Ideas:
Q-Tips– dip these into white paint and use them to decorate your tree.
Rice – create some texture to your art by covering your tree branches with glue and then sprinkling dried rice onto them.
Chalk – use chalk or a white pastel crayon to draw snow onto your tree
Finger painting – use fingers dipped in white paint to add dots to your artwork..
Paper circles – if your hole punch has been getting a lot of use with white paper now is the time to empty it! Pop some glue along the branches and at the base of your tree, scatter your paper on top and then give the page a gentle shake to cover as much of the glue as you can.
Bleeding tissue – we’ve made a bleeding tissue tree craft before for fall, to change it up for winter follow the same tutorial using white paper or cardstock but use blues, purples and greens instead for your tissue paper.
Scrunched tissue – roll white tissue paper into small balls and then glue them onto the branches of your tree.
Bubble wrap – dip some bubble wrap into white paint and then dab it onto your tree outline. If I’m using bubble wrap to create art with my kids then I often find it easier if I tape the sides of it together to make a little pouch that they can put their hands inside. This stops them getting quite so messy as well.
Free Tree Template
Our free tree template makes a perfect winter tree silhouette and it’s one that we’ve used for tree crafts for all different seasons. You can make as many copies as you like of this printable.
Winter Books for Kids
I’m always happy to take the option to snuggle up with my kids and share a story, preferably with a hot chocolate! I love sharing seasonal stories with my kids, which of these would your children enjoy?
- There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow by Lucille Colandro
- Walking In A Winter Wonderland by Richard B Smith
- The Little Snowplow by Lora Koehler
More Winter Art Ideas
Why not try making a snowman using resist art? This fun project is perfect for winter and we have a template and step-by-step instructions to help you create it as well as a little video tutorial.
If you enjoyed this craft why not try making some easy snowflake art too? We’ve shared lots of ideas for kids of all ages that can be made using another of our free printable templates, meaning it’s super quick to set up too.
This northern lights art project with its bright night sky is perfect for winter and as one of the main things to do in it is scribble with pens it’s suitable for younger kids to help make too!
