This reindeer ornament craft is one of those projects that comes together fast and ends up looking genuinely sweet on the tree. All you need is a mason jar lid insert, a few pipe cleaners, some googly eyes, a red pom pom, and a little glue. That’s it. It’s simple enough for preschoolers to do most of the work themselves, and the finished ornament is something worth keeping.
If you’re looking for more ideas like this, we have a whole collection of Christmas ornament crafts for kids that are just as quick and easy to pull together.
What you need for this reindeer ornament
Getting your supplies ready before you sit down with your child makes a real difference. When everything is within reach, the craft flows smoothly and stays fun instead of turning into a hunt for missing materials.
For this ornament, you will need a lid insert from a mason jar, two googly eyes, a red shiny pom pom (a regular red pom pom works just as well), one or two brown pipe cleaners, glue, and a short length of ribbon for hanging. Hot glue gives the best hold, but keep the glue gun out of your child’s reach and do that part yourself while they wait.
The jar lid insert is what gives this ornament its shape. It’s sturdy, it’s circular, and it fits perfectly as a reindeer face. If you do a lot of canning at home, you likely already have a few extras sitting in a drawer.
How to make the reindeer ornament
This craft moves quickly once you start. Walk through each step with your child and let them handle as much as they can on their own.
Step 1: Add the eyes
Glue the two googly eyes onto the front of the jar lid insert. Place them in the upper half of the lid, roughly where eyes would sit on a face. Your child can press them down and hold them in place for a moment while the glue sets.
Step 2: Add the nose
Glue the red pom pom onto the lower center of the lid to make Rudolph’s nose. This is usually the most exciting step for preschoolers. The shiny red pom pom makes it instantly recognizable as Rudolph, and kids love that moment of recognition.
Step 3: Bend the antlers
Take a brown pipe cleaner and bend it into an antler shape. You don’t need to be precise here. A few bends in different directions is all it takes to read as antlers. Your child can help with the bending, which is also great practice for building hand strength.
Step 4: Attach the antlers
Flip the lid over and glue the pipe cleaner antlers to the back so they stick up above the top of the lid when you turn it right side up. Hold them in place until the glue grips.
Step 5: Add the ribbon loop
While you have the lid flipped over, glue a small loop of ribbon to the top back edge of the lid. This is what you’ll use to hang the ornament. Make sure the loop is secure before setting it aside to dry.
Step 6: Let it dry
Set the ornament face-up on a flat surface and let everything dry fully before handling. Once it’s dry, it’s ready to hang.
Why this craft works well for preschoolers
Crafts like this do more than fill time. Bending pipe cleaners builds hand strength and fine motor control. Pressing pom poms and googly eyes into place takes coordination and focus. These are skills preschoolers are actively developing, and they practice them naturally when they’re doing something fun.
You can also work in a little learning while you craft. Talk about the colors you’re using, the shape of the lid, and what makes Rudolph special. It turns a simple activity into a richer experience without making it feel like a lesson.
If you want more ideas for building skills through play, our science activities for preschoolers page has plenty of hands-on options that work the same way.
Other ways to make a reindeer craft
If you don’t have a mason jar lid on hand, there are plenty of other ways to make a reindeer with your child. A paper plate works as a base in the same way the lid does. You can cut it into a circle or use it as-is, then add eyes, a nose, and pipe cleaner antlers the same way.
Handprint reindeer are another easy option, especially for younger kids. Paint your child’s palm brown and press it onto thick cardstock. Once it dries, add googly eyes, a red pom pom nose, and pipe cleaner antlers. The thumb and fingers naturally suggest a reindeer head shape, and the result always looks adorable.
You can also use materials like popsicle sticks, toilet paper rolls, egg cartons, or candy canes as starting points. The basic idea stays the same. You’re building a recognizable reindeer face with whatever you have available. Open-ended craft time like this is genuinely fun to watch. Kids come up with ideas you wouldn’t expect, and giving them a little freedom with materials tends to produce the most creative results.
Christmas cards are another fun direction. Handprint reindeer make wonderful card fronts, and children feel proud giving something they made themselves. Some kids add Rudolph’s red nose, others choose a different color entirely. All of them end up charming.
This ornament makes a great handmade gift
Because the supplies are inexpensive and the craft moves quickly, you can make several of these in one sitting. That makes them a practical option for handmade gifts. Teachers, grandparents, and family friends all tend to appreciate a small ornament made by a child’s hands.
If you’re looking for other gift-giving ideas around the holidays, our preschool teacher gift ideas post has some thoughtful options that pair well with a handmade ornament.
More ornament crafts to try
If your child enjoyed making this reindeer, there are plenty of other ornaments worth trying. We’ve made pom pom star ornaments, piñata Christmas tree ornaments, children’s clay Christmas ornaments, and paint drip ornaments using clear bulbs. There are also snowman crafts for preschoolers that follow the same easy format as this one.
Each of these crafts uses simple supplies, takes less than an hour, and produces something worth hanging up. Working through a few of them over the course of December is a low-key way to build some holiday memories without a lot of pressure or preparation.
Crafting with preschoolers doesn’t need to be elaborate to be worth doing. A jar lid, a pom pom, and a pipe cleaner is enough to make something a child will point to on the tree for years.
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