Learn how to make a DIY Christmas Tree Ball Drop activity using a few simple supplies. This is a fun play idea that older babies and toddlers will love.
As a bonus, it’ll also help them to develop upper body strength and fine motor skills.
If you want to make your Christmas themed lessons a breeze, then check out the Christmas Activity Pack. Get 100+ pages of hands-on activities and craft templates that are perfect for math and literacy centers, fine motor skills and more. Check it out today.
Disclosure: Adult supervision is required for all activities at all times. Some of the links provided in this blog are affiliate links. I will be paid a small commission if you use this link to make a purchase.
More Christmas Themed Fine Motor Activities to Try
Looking for easy ways to improve fine motor skill development this holiday season? From pincer grasp to hand-eye coordination, here are some easy activities that strengthen the muscles in your child’s hands and fingers.
- Christmas Playdough Mats (Free Printable for Kids)
- Christmas Transfer Fine Motor Activity
- Wrap the Present
- Christmas Tree Button Sewing Activity
- Connect the Stickers on the Christmas Tree
More more ideas, check out these 30 Christmas Fine Motor Activities for Kids.
Materials Needed
- Large piece of cardboard
- Green and blue paint
- Painters tape
- 15 Paper cups
- Craft knife
- Sticky tape
- Shoeboxes
- Christmas themed wrapping paper
- Pom pom balls
How to make a DIY Christmas Tree Ball Drop Activity
1. Outline a Christmas tree shape with painters tape
I made a super simple triangle and rectangle out of painters tape to mark out where my Christmas tree would be. However, if you’ve got a steady hand or want to make your tree more realistic, you can skip this step entirely.
2. Paint the Christmas tree
Paint the triangle with green paint, and the background with blue paint. I originally made my background white (as you can see in the photo), but I didn’t like the way it looked. So I decided to change it after I took the picture.
3. Paint the paper cups
I used my green paint to paint 15 paper cups. If you’re going out to buy cups, you can always get some that are already green and then you don’t have to worry about painting all of them.
If you don’t want to use 15 cups, you don’t have to. There is no right size for this fun activity. Just make your Christmas tree smaller and then you can use fewer cups instead.
4. Remove the bottom of the cups
I used my craft knife to cut off the bottom of each of the paper cups, making them into a cylinder shape. If you don’t have a craft knife, then try a pair of scissors instead.
Another alternative to try, is to use a cardboard tube instead of paper cups. They’re already a cylinder and just need to be painted green.
5. Stick the cups to the Christmas tree backdrop
I started with the top of the tree and worked my way down, using long pieces of sticky tape to attach the cups. I also used a smaller piece running perpendicular to the original piece of sticky tape for good measure.
This was a great way to make sure the cups wouldn’t come off the background easily if little hands decided to be a little rough.
When you attach each layer of cups underneath, they will need to be staggered. If you have them all one on top of the other, then the ball won’t bounce around and go down a random path. Instead it’ll just fall straight down because there is nothing in its way.
6. Wrap the shoeboxes with wrapping paper
I wrapped a couple of boxes with Christmas themed wrapping paper, so that they looked like gifts sitting underneath a Christmas tree. These boxes are there to catch the balls once they’ve been dropped. If you don’t have a plastic container or something there to catch the balls, they’ll roll everywhere.
However, if you have older kids who want an added challenge, they might like that. They’ll have fun running after the balls and will burn off some of their extra energy.
7. Enjoy playing
Now all you have to do is drop the ball, or a large pom pom in the cup at the top of the tree and watch where it goes. The ball will always take a new path. Sometimes they land in the gift boxes, sometimes they don’t.
My kids loved it when the ball would get stuck, or would bounce around in an unexpected direction. It wasn’t the original aim of the activity, but those times were the ones where we laughed the most.
Are you going to make this DIY Christmas Tree Ball Drop activity for your kids?
Don’t forget to pin the idea for later.
