I love the Holiday season and love coming up with new Christmas Art Ideas! That is why I have created some fun holiday inspired art lessons that build on skills, have educational content, and are inspired by well-known artists. There are lessons for everyone, from simple crayon resist ornaments for Kindergarten all the way to 2 point perspective gingerbread houses for 8th grade and higher. Elementary-geared lessons are first, with lessons for older students at the end.
Gingerbread Cookies Inspired by Piet Mondrian
In this lesson, students learn how to draw an expressive gingerbread cookie. The students can give the gingerbread cookie some comic relief or make a classic cookie. After drawing the cookie, the students divide the cookie into squares and rectangles using a ruler. Finally, the students choose a limited color scheme. They can use primary colors like Piet Mondrian used in his paintings or any 3 colors they feel complement each other. The results are silly and fun all while learning about the Dutch artist Piet Mondrian.
Snowy Buildings Inspired by Paul Klee
My 2nd grade students use bleeding tissue paper squares and water to create colorful columns on their paper. Once the paper is dry, they use a chisel Sharpie marker to draw vertical, horizontal and diagonal lines to create a row of tall buildings. The students use white paper to add a moon & snow on the top of their buildings and use a hole puncher to create falling snow. A fun twist on this Expressionist painters iconic style.
Balloon Reindeer Inspired by Jeff Koons
This is one of my favorite Christmas art ideas since oil pastels are always a student favorite. Students meet Jeff Koons and critique photos of his balloon dog sculptures. As a guided drawing exercise students draw a balloon reindeer, with a similar style to the balloon dog. Students choose tints and shades of one color and use them to add shadows, mid tones and highlights to their metal sculpture. We finish the drawing by adding a platform under the sculpture. Some students enjoy adding viewers or other artwork on the wall to create the illusion of an art museum. A great way to encourage creativity and teach students how to use oil pastels to create a 3D form.
Holiday Elf Inspired by Sandra Silberzweig
A whimsical twist on the classic elf. Students learn about Sandra Silberzweig and identify characteristics of her fun and colorful style. Using a guided drawing or idea sheets students draw a portrait of an elf wearing a hat. The students use a wet-on-wet watercolor technique to add color to the background and the elf itself. Once the paper is dry, students use markers to add patterns within each shape that is created. The results are whimsical abstract elves.
Op Art Snowman Inspired by Victor Vasarely
This is a great lesson for older art students. The results always impress my students because the lines are so precise and they love the effect of the optical illusion in the end. I introduce my students to the art of Victor Vasarely. They draw a basic snowman, then use a ruler to add horizontal lines to the negative space. The horizontal lines are connected with curved lines within the circles of the head and body of the snowman to create a 3D appearance. The triangular nose is also filled with curved lines to create the illusion of a cone. Next, students draw shapes for eyes, mouth and buttons on the chest. A black paper hat is cut and glued to the snowman and a white colored pencil is used to add curved lines to the hat. White lines are also added to the black coal eyes, mouth and buttons.
Ornament Inspired by Hilma af Klint
Students use a combination of crayon resist painting and collage to create a fun holiday ornament hanging on a pine bow. Students look at the shapes and lines Hilma af Klint uses in her artwork and fill a paper with similar designs. Next, they use tempera cakes or watercolors and paint over the designs to fill in the negative space and make a colorful painting. Next, they cut a large circle from the painted paper to create an ornament. They use foil to create the top of the ornament. Lastly, they cut a fringe from green paper to make the appearance of a pine bow and the finished ornament collage is hung on the “tree”. This is a great lesson for Kindergarten students to practice drawing, cutting, gluing and painting skills.
Middle and High School Christmas Art Ideas
Elfin Selfies
My intermediate elementary and middle school students love this holiday self-portrait art lesson inspired by art of caricatures! Students create a self-portrait as an elf, pictured alone, with friends or with family. I demonstrate how to use markers to create a shadow effect on their portrait. Lastly, they have fun adding a creative background or environment to their selfie or group photo. This lesson is inspired by a family favorite book, “The Elf on the Shelf”. Full Elfin Selfies lesson plan available here.
Giant Collaborative Nutcrackers
My middle school students enjoy this collaborative art project and ask for it year after year. These giant nutcrackers promote creative problem solving and team building and has become a winter tradition in our school. Groups of students work together to identify characteristics of a nutcracker, apply that knowledge to create an original nutcracker collage in the given amount of time. These unique nutcrackers make a great seasonal display in my school, while teaching my students to follow directions and complete art tasks in a timely manner to show development of 21st-century skills. Complete Collaborative Nutcracker lesson plan available here.
2 Point Perspective Gingerbread House
This Christmas or holiday themed art drawing lesson keeps my middle school boys and girls ENGAGED during this very exciting and busy time of year. My students will learn how to create a 3D house using 2 point perspective drawing technique. In addition, I show my students how to use colored pencil techniques to create a 3D form. This lesson covers 2 point perspective, vanishing point, value scale, tint, shade and value all while creating a fun scene for Christmas! The complete Gingerbread House lesson plan is available here.
Happy Holidays, Trista
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