This easy icicle ornament is made with pipe cleaners and beads is an easy Christmas craft for toddlers and preschoolers to make for the Christmas tree. It’s also a great activity to help kids strengthen their fine-motor skills.
With Christmas drawing nearer, and the days getting busier, you’ll love the simplicity of these beautiful but simple icicle ornaments.
These icicles are quick and easy to make, so they’re a great last-minute holiday craft at home or in your daycare or preschool.
You may also like our easy toilet paper roll icicles.
Any time we craft with beads, I like to dump all of the beads into a large container so they kids can get their hands in there and sift through them.
It’s a lovely sensory experience, and often they’ll stop to talk about the particulars of a bead they’ve found: the colour, the shape, how shiny it etc. So even though our icicles are a very simple Christmas craft, it still presents lots of opportunities for learning.
This is a wonderful activity for strengthening fine motor abilities and hand-eye co-ordination, and it’s an opportunity for preschoolers to explore colours and patterning.
How To Make Bead and Pipe Cleaner Icicles
Supplies:
for your convenience, this post contains affiliate links:
- metallic pipe cleaners
- pony beads
- a thread for hanging
Silver pipe cleaners are best if you want that glittery, icy look.
Making our icicle ornaments:
Making the ornaments kept the hooligans busy for quite a while.
It requires lots of concentration to thread a pipe cleaner through all of those beads. The holes in some of the beads were really tiny, but they all worked away, unassisted, until their pipe cleaners were loaded up.
To stop the beads from sliding off the end of the pipe cleaner, twist the pipe cleaner around the bottom bead a couple of times, and do the same at the top end once the last bead is on.
Space the beads out a bit so you can see some of the silver in between them.
To give your icicle a spiral effect, have your little one wind the pipe cleaner around a pencil, and then slide it off, and stretch it out a bit.
Finish by slipping a length of thread through the top bead, and knot to secure it.
I love how our icicle ornaments shimmer in light. Simple and sweet. The perfect Christmas craft for this busy time of year.
More Icicle Crafts for Kids:
Jackie is a mom, wife, home daycare provider, and the creative spirit behind Happy Hooligans. She specializes in kids’ crafts and activities, easy recipes, and parenting. She began blogging in 2011, and today, Happy Hooligans inspires more than 2 million parents, caregivers and Early Years Professionals all over the globe.
Ann @ My Nearest and Dearest
Gorgeous! My son would love doing this. They’d look really pretty hanging in a window too.
happyhooligans
Thanks Ann. They WOULD look lovely in a window! Hope you try them with your guy! They’re so simple and cute!
Paula Flanagan
Love the simplicity of this. Have a little blog crush on you at the min, such fab ideas. I posted about this on my blog mommymugglesthrough.blogspot.com on post dated 11th dec. My apologies, can’t work out how to give links to things, bit of a novice at blogging and computer in general. x
happyhooligans
Hi Paula! Thank you so much for your lovely comment! I’m glad you’re enjoying our ideas. 🙂 I took a look at the post that you wrote, and I notice that some of your links are working. I don’t know how to add a link in Blogger (I’m with WordPress), but I notice you have my link down as a .com. It’s actually a .ca, so if you change it, it might work.
It’s interesting that Sunscholars and Hands on: as we grows’s links go to their blogs. You’ve done something right there. 🙂 When you add a link, be sure you are on the blog’s PAGE (not just their homepage), but the actual page of the POST that you want to link to. Then copy and paste the URL (that appears in the top left HTTP field on your screen) into your link widget. Hope that helps. 🙂 Thanks for loving my blog, and for taking the time to link to it, and letting me know. 🙂
happyhooligans
Wow. Clearly, I use the happy face emoticon far too often!!
Paula Flanagan
Thank you, I will amend the link now and check the others. Thanks for the info on links, I had googled it but I think it was such basic thing I couldn’t find anything. Really I need a ‘how to’ to turn the computer on x
Jamy
SO AWESOME!!!!! We have already made a few ornaments this year but I love the simplicity of this one!!! Thanks
Deb @ Living Montessori Now
I LOVE these … so simple yet attractive! I added your link and photo to my Montessori-Inspired Christmas Crafts post at http://livingmontessorinow.com/2012/12/03/montessori-monday-montessori-inspired-christmas-crafts/. (Also pinned your post and featured it at the Living Montessori Now Facebook page.) Have a wonderful Christmas! 🙂
happyhooligans
Thank you for linking and sharing, Deb!
francis321
I really like the simplicity of the idea…and apart from being simple..they look really beautiful..amazing idea to create a personalized icicle ornament, by adding a message hanging from the other end.
Sarah Damerow Stockton
Beautiful! Too bad it’s June, lol. That’s OK, I will definitely remember this!
happyhooligans
Are you on Pinterest, Sarah? It’s a great way to keep track of ideas you want to try.
Monica
These are so cute and simple! I can’t wait to do them!
happyhooligans
Glad you liked them, Monica. You’re right, they were super-simple, but they looked so pretty!
The Activity Mom
I would love to include this in my 2013 Christmas Activity Advent Countdown. I would include your pic and a link to your site for the directions. If you don’t want me to share it, please let me know. Thanks! Nicole
happyhooligans
Absolutely! I would love for you to share them!
Jeanette Nyberg
These are the coolest! So pretty. Plus I’ll add in a few more smiley emoticons- :):):):)
Amanda ~ MommiesFirst
I absolutely LOVE this fun idea! Thanks for sharing – we have pinned it on our Holiday board!
happyhooligans
Thanks so much, Amanda!
The Bratlings Parents
I don’t do messy play so finding this link and non messy creative play for my daughter and I is perfect!!
sab215@ptd.net
Thanks so much for your “Happy Hooligan’s” site.I am a grandma of 6 and absolutely love these easy craft ideas.
Alison
Hi Jackie, I am a teacher of students with learning difficulties and also run a Messy Church once a month and your ideas have been invaluable! Thank you so much
bonnie happell
I am not good with some computer things..how do I copy the directions for the icicle beaded ornament. Thanks
happyhooligans
Do you know about Pinterest, Bonnie? If you were on pinterest, you could just “pin” all of the posts that you see to a visual bulletin board. You can have multiple boards organized by topic. It’s an excellent way to “store” your favourite posts with just a couple of clicks of the mouse.
bonnie happell
Thanks, I will give it a try also, you have so much good things to do and we have been having a lot of fun.
Andrea Reilly
Love these ideas, your very talented.
Designing Bee
This idea is absolutely beautiful and colorful!! I like this activity because for children, it also helps the development of fine motor skills and it adds a lot of fun for the holiday season! A great activity to do indoors especially if the weather is rainy or snowy.
tracy
These are lovely. ..but I wondered what size pipe cleaners these were. ..which type exactly would be helpful. Thank you so much.
happyhooligans
They’re just your standard metallic pipe cleaner, Tracy. Probably about 12 inches long.
Joan
This is just the site I needed. Thank you. I am having all 5 grandkids over to do Christmas crafts. I am so excited, this is going to be so much fun. Thanks again.
happyhooligans
I am SO glad you found me, Joan! I have a TON of Christmas crafts on my site! You’re going to have so much fun! Have you seen my pinboards? There are loads of ideas on those as well, and I have one that houses all of my Christmas crafts specifically. Here’s the link to it. 🙂 http://www.pinterest.com/happyhooligans/christmas-happy-hooligans/
cathy
Perfect for our outdoor Christmas tree! All the ornaments will be made by the kiddos with help from Grandma.
Janou
très mignonnes et simples à faire ces petites pendouilles ! j’ai des cure-pipes et je vais peut-être m’y essayer !
merci pour les idées !
Heidi
I’m doing a roundup of Christmas ornaments that kids can make. I’d love to include your beautiful icicles! (One image and a link back). I blog on One Creative Mommy. Would that be okay?
happyhooligans
Of course, Heidi! Thank you so much for including me in your roundup. Feel free to share it on my facebook page when you publish it. 🙂
Virginia Hewson
This great-grandmother really likes this link. The little ones love arts and crafts, as do I. But I really like ones that clean up quickly at the end of their time spent with us! Pinterest is so a great resource. Thanks for a quick and easy Christmas project.
Melissa French, The More With Less Mom
These are so clever, and something about this activity fascinates preschoolers. I included this in my Christmas in July roundup.
Joyia
Just trying to get some ideas together, our family is having a decoration day with all the little ones, and need to be ready with supplies.
Melinda Mitchell
Oh, hey, unknowingly, my 3 yo grandbaby is halfway here with making these! I was trying to teach her how to make candy canes on pipe cleaners, and she kept putting on beads and twisting them. Ta da!
Thanks! Referred here by https://redheadmom8.wordpress.com
happyhooligans
I love it! What a smart cookie!
Sarah
Thank you for this idea! Will be making tonight for gifts!
happyhooligans
Oh great! Hope you had fun with them, Sarah!