Homemade Christmas Gift Bags {Painted with Jingle Bells}

 Inside: These Christmas gift bags are easy for kids to make using jingle bells and paint. A nice way to wrap homemade ornaments!

Making our own Christmas gift bags is a tradition.

You might recall the stamped gift bags we made a few years ago, where our preschoolers stamped JOY across their bags.

This year I wanted to do something that connected to our jingle bells theme, so I was reminded of the marble painting technique that was used with our paper mittens.

Except this time we’d use jingle bells instead.

This turned out to be a fun process art activity that delivered cute handmade Christmas gift bags we could wrap our keepsake ornaments in.

Take a peek at how they were made!

Homemade Christmas Gift Bags {Painted with Jingle Bells}

This year’s group loves to paint.

Especially when there is some process art involved. The more open-ended, the better.

After painting white lunch sacks with jingle bells, the children wrapped their ornaments in tissue paper, helped me gently place them in the bags, and added their stamped alphabet ornament tags.

They were then handed out during our Carols and Cookies program.

What we used for our Christmas gift bags:

• White lunch sacks
• Red washable tempera paint (some children also added some green)
• Jingle bells
• Plastic container with sides (shoe storage containers work great)
• Tongs  or a large spoon
• Bowl for paint

Setting up this activity:

• Squirt paint into the bowl and add jingle bells
• Place lunch sack inside plastic container and have tongs or spoon handy

Transfer the Bells

Tell the children they will be using the tongs or spoon to move the painted bells from the bowl to the container.

The bells will then be dropped on top of the white lunch sack.

This is a fun way to add some fine motor to an art activity!

Move the Bells Around

Show the children how to hold on to either side of the plastic container and gently rock it back and forth.

This takes great concentration as the children get the feel for moving the bells across the paper.

They might need some assistance until they grasp the method.

Encourage them to notice the trails the bells are making across the bag.

Halfway through, the bag can be turned to the other side so that it, too, gets painted.

Assembling the Christmas Gift Bags

While the bags are drying, make copies of the alphabet ornaments (scroll down to find the free download), using the first letter of the child’s name.

Invite them to use Dot markers (or watercolors – but use light colors) on the paper ornament.

Use a hole punch at the top of the ornament and also through the center of the rim of the bag.

Add the Gifts

Wrap the children’s homemade gifts in tissue paper and place inside the Christmas gift bag.

Thread ribbon through the alphabet ornament and the holes at the top of the bag and tie closed.

Such a sweet way to give gifts to parents and other special people!

Click on the photo below for the link to the free pdf download:

More fun Christmas ideas:

Recycled Cardboard Christmas Trees

Colorful Star Suncatchers

Bright and Cheery Christmas Cards

Christmas Learning Printables!

Keep your toddlers and preschoolers engaged with these Christmas themed learning printables!

9 Activities (39 pages):

• Gingerbread Shapes Activity
• Gingerbread Count and Clip
• Gingerbread Pom Pom Color Matching
• Gingerbread Pattern Cards
• Ornament Counting 1-10
• Gingerbread Circle Time Props
• Gingerbread Color Recognition Activity
• Christmas Tree Playdough Mats 1-10
• Snowman Hat Matching Activity