Ho ho ho!!! It’s that time of the year, and Santa’s here! Have fun making this Popsicle stick Santa craft with craft sticks, paint and glue!

Do you know who Der Weihnachtsmann is? Or Dedt Moroz? Or Babbo Natale?

Well, you certainly know the person, but perhaps by another name. Yes, we’re talking about Santa Claus, who has multiple names across the world!

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Santa’s Names in Different Countries

Chile– Viejo Pascuero
France – Père Noël
Finland– Joulupukki
Germany – Der Weihnachtsmann
Hawaii – Shaka Santa
Hungary – Mikulas
Italy – Babbo Natale
Netherlands – Sinterklaas
Norway – Julenissen
Poland – Święty Mikoła
Portugal – Papai Noel
Russia – Dedt Moroz
Spain – Papa Noel
Sweden – Jultomten
Turkey – Noel Baba

Okay, that was quite informative! Well, a rose by any other name smells just as sweet, and a Santa by any other name is just as cheerful! So here is an easy Popsicle stick Santa craft for kids to make – whatever you choose to call him!

Cheerful Popsicle Stick Santa Craft for Kids

Supplies required:

Popsicle sticks
White cardstock
X-acto knife
Glue gun
Glue sticks
Pencil
Acrylic paint
Paintbrush
Black and pink Sharpies or markers

How to make the Popsicle Stick Santa Craft:

1. You need at least 5 regular sized Popsicle sticks for this craft, but it’s good to have a few more in case any one breaks. Keep three sticks whole, and cut up the rest with a sharp X-acto knife as shown. Please ensure that the X-acto knife is only handled by an adult. In the image below these are the pieces from left to right: two arms, hat, connector, and 3 sticks for the base. At the bottom, are the pieces to be used for Santa’s shoes.

2. Let’s start by getting our base ready. Place the 3 whole sticks side by side, positioning the middle one slightly above the rest.

3. Join the 3 sticks together by gluing the connector piece horizontally. Make sure your connector is long enough to go across all three base sticks. If using one connector piece, stick it in the middle; if using two, stick them at the top and bottom.

4. The hat stick is the one with one curved edge and a diagonal edge. Attach this piece to the top of the leftmost Popsicle stick, so that the curved edge points in the opposite direction as shown below.

5. Turn the popsicle stick pattern to the other side. This is going to be the front of our Popsicle stick Santa craft.

6. Glue the shoes on the bottom of the the Popsicle sticks, so that they overlap all three sticks equally. Your base is now ready.

7. Take out your pencil and draw the details on your Santa pattern. Draw an outline for the hat, a beard, belt and facial features. Dont’ forget a bushy mustache!

8. Time to dress our Popsicle stick Santa craft! Take out your red acrylic paint and fill in the hat and parts of the outfit above and below the belt.

9. Now take out your white acrylic paint and paint Santa’s mustache and beard. Santa’s looking good!

10. Use black acrylic paint on the belt and shoes. Leave a small gap in the middle of the belt for the buckle.

11. Use yellow paint to fill in the gap in the belt so that Santa now has a buckle. Take out your black marker to draw eyes, nose and a mouth on Santa’s face. Use a pink marker to color in cheeks. Cut out a circle from white cardstock and stick it to the end of Santa’s hat so that it looks like a pompom.

12. Our Popsicle stick Santa craft is missing something – his arms! Turn the popsicle pattern to the other side and stick the arm sticks just below the connector piece. Make sure the arms are slanting upwards.

13. Turn Santa right way up again. Apply a line of white paint below Santa’s belt.

14. Take out your red acrylic paint and paint Santa’s sleeves. Finish up Santa’s sleeves with some white paint for the cuffs. Let the paint dry completely.

There you go – your adorable Popsicle stick Santa craft is ready! Isn’t it amazing how we can create an entire Santa Claus figure using only Popsicle sticks and paint? If you like, you can add in a few more details – a white trim for Santa’s hat, or glitter paint for his buckle. You can also stick cotton wool instead of cardstock for the end of his hat. Let kids think about more ways to customize this craft – they’re sure to have some great ideas!

Looking for more Popsicle stick crafts for Christmas? Check these out: