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You are here: Home / Create / Special Days / Christmas / Christmas Activities for Kids: Button Christmas Tree

November 2, 2015 By Chelsey 9 Comments

Christmas Activities for Kids: Button Christmas Tree

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This button Christmas tree has become one of my favorite Christmas activities for kids! It provides a great way for kids to practice fine motor skills and encourages creativity and independence as well. This felt Christmas tree is super easy to make, and can even second as Christmas decor when it’s not being used!

Follow our Christmas for Kids and Family Pinterest board!

 

Christmas Fine Motor Activity for Kids- Decorate the Button Tree! ~ BuggyandBuddy.com

*This post was originally published on November 24, 2014 and has since been updated.

 

Theo has been showing a lot of interest in practicing fine motor skills like buttoning, snapping, and zipping, so I decided to create a homemade toy for him focusing on buttoning practice. Since I love using felt to make toys (like our tooth fairy pillow and stuffed felt letters), I knew felt would be my go-to fabric for this project too. Felt is just so easy to use and so forgiving!  (This post contains affiliate links.)

 

How to Make a Button Christmas Tree

 Materials for Button Christmas Tree

  • Green felt (size depends  on how large you want your tree to be)
  • Brown felt (if you want a trunk on your tree)
  • Scraps of various colored felt for the ornaments
  • Pins
  • Good scissors
  • Buttons
  • Needle, thread, and/or embroidery floss (to sew on buttons)
  • Sewing machine (unless you will be sewing by hand)
  • Stuffing (like Poly-fil)

Directions for Making Your Button Christmas Tree

1. Cut out two Christmas trees from your green felt. Be sure they are identical since one will be the front and one will be the back.

 

2. Sew buttons all over one of the trees. (I used embroidery floss to sew the buttons.)

 

sew buttons on your felt christmas tree

 

3. If you want your tree to have a trunk, cut out two brown rectangles and sew them onto the bottom of each tree. (I think the tree would also look cute without a trunk!)

 

sew a brown trunk onto your felt tree

 

If sewing by hand: Stack your tree pieces together so the front and back are facing out. Pin in place. Use your needle and embroidery floss to sew around the edges using either a whip stitch or blanket stitch. Leave an opening to stuff your tree. Skip to direction #4

 

If using a sewing machine:

– Stack your trees so the front and back are facing inward (like the tree is inside out). Pin in place.

pin your felt tree before sewing

 

– Sew around the outside of your tree leaving a 1/4 inch border. Leave an opening so you can turn your Christmas tree  right-side out.

 

sew around the edge of your felt tree

– Trim off any large edges or corners. Turn your tree right-side out. I stuck a pencil into the tree and used it to push out those hard-to-reach places and corners.

 

4. Stuff your Christmas tree.

 

stuff your tree

 

5. Sew the hole closed using any method you’d prefer. (Here’s a tutorial if you’re interested in sewing an invisible seam.)

 

felt button Christmas Tree

How to Make the Ornaments

To make the ornaments simply cut out felt circles in different colors. Make a little snip in the center of each one so it can be buttoned onto the tree.

 

cut felt circles to make ornaments

Playing with the Button Christmas Tree

Kids can decorate the felt Christmas tree with all kinds of ornaments by just buttoning them on. The tree can be decorated and redecorated over and over- a great way to combine fine motor practice with creativity! It also makes the perfect quiet time activity!

 

Christmas Fine Motor Activity for Kids- Decorate the Button Tree! ~ BuggyandBuddy.com

 


 

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  • 17 DIY Felt Crafts for Play and Learning17 DIY Felt Crafts for Play and Learning
  • Stuffed Felt Alphabet Letters (Sewing Tutorial)Stuffed Felt Alphabet Letters (Sewing Tutorial)
  • Felt Tooth Fairy Pillow TutorialFelt Tooth Fairy Pillow Tutorial
  • Homemade Toys: How to Make Jingle Sticks and Jingle Rings for KidsHomemade Toys: How to Make Jingle Sticks and Jingle Rings for Kids
  • DIY Felt Elf Hat Sewing Project for KidsDIY Felt Elf Hat Sewing Project for Kids

Filed Under: Christmas, Fine & Gross Motor Play, For Parents, Homemade Toys, Tutorials Tagged With: buttons, Christmas, felt, fine motor, homemade toys

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Comments

  1. channon says

    November 29, 2014 at 4:50 am

    I love this idea. An apple tree would be fun, too!

    Reply
  2. Tiffiny says

    December 1, 2014 at 8:28 am

    I love this. My daughter would find it fun and she would be getting practice with buttons. Great tutorial.

    Reply
  3. Lori says

    December 5, 2014 at 8:27 am

    What a great project to do with kids…thank you! Lori (visiting from Creative Friday)

    Reply
  4. Samantha @ Stir the Wonder says

    December 7, 2014 at 9:52 am

    Such a fun activity! Love it! Thanks for linking up at the Thoughtful Spot Weekly Blog Hop! We hope you stop by again next week!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. 6 Christmas Crafts to do with your kids this holiday season. says:
    November 28, 2014 at 8:08 am

    […] 1. Button Christmas Tree via buggy and buddy […]

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  2. button christmas tree - Fun Crafts Kids says:
    November 30, 2014 at 11:09 am

    […] Button Christmas Tree […]

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  3. Christmas Learning Activities for Preschool | True Aim says:
    December 2, 2014 at 6:00 pm

    […] Fine Motor Button Christmas Tree […]

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  4. Button Christmas Crafts for Kids to Make - Fun-A-Day! says:
    December 6, 2014 at 10:20 am

    […] for kids to make with buttons. The inspiration behind this collection is Buggy and Buddy’s Button Christmas Tree! It’s beautiful, of course, and it also lets kiddos practice fine motor and math skills. […]

    Reply
  5. 3D paper Christmas tree paper craft tutorial with printable says:
    December 8, 2014 at 6:32 am

    […] Button Christmas Tree from Buggy and Buddy […]

    Reply

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Welcome to Buggy and Buddy! I'm Chelsey, a former teacher and parent living on the central coast of California. I love sharing crafts, science, STEM and STEAM activities, free printables and more! Read More…

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