These incredibly cute elephant crafts for kids are perfect for all kinds of occasions. From Elmer, Horton and Clay and paper, there’s an elephant craft you will fall in love with!

“Nature’s great masterpiece, an elephant; the only harmless great thing.” ~ John Donne

Do you like elephants? It’s amazing that despite being the largest mammals on land, elephants are considered cute, especially baby elephants!

Elephants are pretty awesome animals, and like John Donne said, they’re very gentle beings. An elephant can pick up everything from a coin to a tree with that trunk. They use their trunks to express love and to fight. Also, did you know that besides humans, elephants are the only animals to grieve for the dead?

Elephants are also an important part of Indian culture and history. I’m sure you’ve seen pictures of ornately decorated elephants mounted by the kings of yore, and as part of the Republic Day parade in modern times. They also feature predominantly in religious and cultural celebrations like Ganesh Chathurthi, Mysore Dasara or Thrissur Pooram. Jaipur also has an Elephant Festival every year that includes a parade of decked out female elephants.

And it’s not just tradition, elephants are also an important part of modern popular culture. Just think of Colonel Hathi in The Jungle Book, or Dumbo, the Disney elephant or Manfred in the Ice Age movies.

So it’s only fair that we appreciate these amazing animals, especially since 22nd September is Elephant Appreciation Day. And we’ve got a whole bunch of elephant crafts for kids to make, for this special day or for World Elephant Day, which falls on 12th August. And consider how cool these animals are, you don’t really need a special occasion to celebrate them!

20 Enormously Cute Elephant Crafts for Kids

1. Clothespin Elephant Craft

We can’t get over how gorgeous this little 3-D elephant model from The Pepa Workshop is! The clothespins double up as the elephant’s legs as well as the rider, who is incredibly detailed – just look at his turban!

2. Newspaper Elephant Craft

This project from Buggy and Buddy uses an interesting technique with newspaper. The crumpled paper resembles wrinkled elephant skin, making this quite a realistic craft!

3. Balloon Elephant Craft

Glued To My Crafts has a genius idea of using a balloon to create the elephant’s trunk in this easy little project. This works well as a handmade greeting card or as gift tags too. Please be careful with balloons around very young children and babies.

4. E for Elephant Craft with Printable Template

Little one learning the alphabet? Chances are he’s learning that E is for elephant, which means it’s time to make this bright and colorful Elephant craft with an old CD.

5. Paper Plate Elephant Craft

Paper plate crafts are always popular, and this project from Crafty Morning turns paper plates into cute little elephants! We love how simple they are, along with the lovely colors.

6. Origami Elephant

Give your Origami skills an extra boost by learning to make this Origami elephant from Hodge Podge Craft. Get colorful patterned square paper and check out the detailed video tutorial to know exactly how to go about it.

7. DIY Elephant Pull Toy

Do you remember those old wooden pull toys kids used to drag around everywhere? They don’t make it like them anymore! Hello, Wonderful recreates that magic with this DIY pull toy – make them in different colors for an elephant parade.

8. Milk Jug Elephant Craft

Looking the way he does, Elmer the elephant offers plenty of scope to get creative, as Krokotak does with this milk jug elephant craft. It’s quite a clever idea, and using markers before painting makes the final result look neat.

9. Madhubani Elephant Bookmark

Learn the traditional art of Madhubani with this beautiful elephant bookmark that also makes an excellent gift for back to school. Follow all the instructions to make this one of a kind bookmark yours.

10. Rocking Elephant Craft

It may be difficult to find a real elephant that rocks, but The Joy of Sharing has a pretty little elephant made from a paper plate, that rocks to and fro!! Love how festive the elephant looks, like it’s all set to carry a Maharajah!

11. Cereal Box Elephant Craft

Recycling crafts are always welcome at our home, and this one from I Heart Crafty Things is particularly fun – a cereal box elephant! Cereal boxes are one of the most versatile things to reuse, and this elephant is a good example. Make a brighter one – pink or blue with googly eyes for a change.

12. Play dough Elephant

It’s fun to make different animals with play dough and I personally feel that elephants are one of the easier ones. Parents.com shows us how to make a cute blue elephant with modelling clay – this is one even young kids can try.

13. DIY Felt Elephants

How adorable are these felt elephants from Lia Griffith? They’re perfect for a new baby’s nursery, or as stocking stuffers for the coming holidays. This sewing project is great for the older bunch, the teens and preteens.

14. Mysore Dasara Elephant Paper Craft

If you’re ever visiting the city of Mysore in South India, try to plan your trip during the Dasara festival, around mid-October, to experience some truly stunning sights. One of them includes the procession of decked out elephants, which we’ve captured in this paper craft!

15. Baby Elephant Button Craft

If you love crafting with buttons, you’ll love this little baby elephant from Busted Button! It’s just perfect for a baby’s nursery, and the couple version will make a great gift for Valentine’s Day.

16. Paper Bag Elephant Puppet

I can imagine all kinds of fun scenarios with this colorful paper bag elephant puppet from Blitsy. The project here uses a ready made kit along with the paper bag, but you can easily make it with colored craft paper – more cutting means more fun!!

17. Baby Elephant Ham and Cheese Bread

Check out this baby elephant themed food craft from Fun Family Crafts – so cute!! This is a great breakfast idea for weekends or holidays or even a birthday. Also works well for a jungle theme kiddie party.

18. Printable Elephant Bookmarks

Pysselbolaget has some easy to make printable elephant bookmarks that you can just print out in bulk and hand out to all your friends. Can’t think of a better Back to School gift!

19. Horton Hears a Who Craft

Who doesn’t love Dr. Seuss? And if you’ve read his books, you’re sure to know Horton, the elephant in charge of the Whos. This toilet paper roll craft brings Horton to life, complete with flowers!

20. Elephant with Moving Trunk

Here’s a fun craft that’s also fun to play with! Check it out at 10 Minutes of Quality Time, and have fun with the elephant’s moving trunk – a craft like no other!

Pretty sure you’re wondering where to start with so many awesome elephant crafts for kids, right? These crafts are also perfect for learning about wild animals, mammals, Africa, India or the letter E. They’re also great as an accompaniment to books like Elmer, Horton hears a Who or Babar. Like I said, there are so many reasons to make these cute elephant crafts, and you don’t even need one!