Children's Christmas Crafts no 3 - Bead tree decorations

Quick and easy tree bead decorations are the no 3 idea for Christmas Crafts to do with children. These simple bead decorations are quick and easy to make. These beautiful decorations are ideal for Christmas bizarre and fundraising – as well as embellishing the classroom Christmas tree or to add as a Christmas card topper.

You can also use this activity to discuss repetition, pattern, use of fine motor skills and counting skills for young children.

You will need pipe-cleaners, beads and ribbon

 Completed Bead Wreath

 1. To make each decoration you will need a pipe cleaner and about 30 beads. I am using star beads but you can use any type of bead for this decorations and get amazing results.

2. I have included 6 round beads (you could use barrel beads instead) which I am going to use to add a bit of interest to my decoration.

 3. Slide 6 beads onto the pipe-cleaner. Be careful of the wire at the end of the pipe-cleaner. Once you have added the 6 beads, add one of your coloured round beads.

 4. Continue with this pattern until all the beads have been used up

5. To make the rosette bring the first and last bead together by twisting the pipe-cleaner as shown in the picture above.  

 6. Twist the pipe-cleaners around whilst holding the wreath securely. This will hold the wreath in place.

 7. Make a bow for the top of the wreath by wrapping the pipe-cleaner around your finger

 8. Hold the two bow shapes and twist the wreath again. This will secure your bow in place – alternatively you can tie a piece of ribbon or thread around the bow to hold in place.

 9. Think about other shapes you can make such as a Christmas tree. This can be made in the same way as above but when you have added all the beads, instead of making a circle, fold the pipe-cleaner filled with beads in half. 

 10. Now bend each half to make a triangle formation

 11. Twist the two ends together

12.   Now add a bell.

 13. Cut off the ends and add a piece of ribbon to the top

Here is another bead decoration idea to try.

 1. Cut your pipe-cleaner into three equal parts (this will make one snowflake). for younger children they can use three pipe-cleaners twisted together rather than cutting them.

 2. Twist two of the pipe-cleaner part together to make a cross

 3. Add the third pipe-cleaner part by twisting this through the centre of the cross to make a star/snowflake shape

 4. Thread six beads onto one of the “snowflake points”.

 5. At the end add one of the round beads and fold the remaining part of the pipe-cleaner backwards. This will secure the beads in place.

 6. Repeat this on the other five snowflake points

 7. Add a piece of ribbon at the top to complete the decoration

8. You can also add an embellishment in the centre to finish off the decoration. In this piece a felt Rudolph has been glued using pva glue to the centre.

These are great decorations for all ages to try. For younger children you can use bigger beads or buttons with bigger holes in to make it easier to thread.

Older children should be encourage to consider pattern formations and use of colour. They can also experiment with other shapes that can be made using the pipe-cleaner - what about trying to make a bell shape or a star?

Why not encourage your class to make a whole batch of these decorations to sell at your schools Christmas fete?

These simple snowflake bead decorations are quick and easy to make. Ideal for Christmas bizarre and fundraising – as well as embellishing the classroom Christmas

You will need pipe-cleaners, beads and ribbon

For each decoration you will need a pipe-cleaner and 30 beads, plus 6 round beads.