This Cute (and Easy!) Christmas Activity Will Keep Your Kids Entertained for an Hour

December is peak-busy for parents. There are gifts to buy and wrap, holiday treats to bake, school concerts and end-of-year festivities to attend, cards to mail out — plus a nagging sense of “Am I doing enough to foster joyful core memories?” running in the background. (Just me?)

So finding an activity that is easy to set up, keeps kids entertained for a decent chunk of time, and counts as making holiday magic feels like the ultimate win. And this Christmas arts-and-crafts activity from Kelsey Eggers (@twinsandatoddlertravel) does all that.

In the video, Kelsey details how to set up the cutest Christmas tree pom-pom art activity for kids. To make the tree, set out a large rectangular piece of kraft paper on a flat surface. Then paint the outline of a Christmas tree with green paint, and add a yellow star on top. Once the paint dries, cut inside the green outline and then flip the paper over. Place strips of packing tape across each open section, then flip the paper back over (now the sticky side of the tape will be facing you). Hang the paper with some painter’s tape, and let your kid “decorate” the tree with the pom-poms.

After seeing Kelsey’s tutorial, mom Shannon (@candidlyshan) was inspired to set up this activity and shared it in an Instagram video. Shannon says the activity “kept girlie entertained for almost an hour! It would have probably lasted longer but it was already past nap time!”

While the three children in Kelsey’s video are toddlers, Shannon mentions in the caption that this activity is good for older children as well. “My 5-year-old also enjoyed this! I will 1000% be doing this or something similar again! Think: candy canes, presents, Santa!”

And people in the comment section agree: “Omg forget toddlers; my 12-year-old would love this 😂,” writes one commenter. “Tbh I think the big kids would love this too,” chimes in another.

Often when decorating a real or artificial tree, there are concerns over safety (handling glass bulbs, playing with string lights) or aesthetics (maybe you don’t want all of your ornaments clustered in one small section at the bottom). But with this activity, kids are free to let loose and have full creative control over the design. They’ll have a blast, and you can rest easy — and grab a chunk of time to check something off your holiday to-do list. Win-win-win!

If you’re looking for a low-effort, high-reward Christmas activity for the lead-up to the holiday, this brilliant idea would be a great option.