Santa Popsicle Stick Craft

This Santa popsicle stick craft project is always a December favorite. Between the fluffy beard, sparkly swirls, and classic red hat, this craft feels like it belongs right on a mantel or holiday shelf.

It’s a great mix of painting, cutting, and decorating, which makes it perfect for slowing down and actually enjoying the process instead of rushing to the finish line.

Finished Santa popsicle stick craft promotional image showing a decorated Santa figure with colorful text reading “Santa Popsicle Craft Sticks” on a solid background.

Materials for This Santa Popsicle Stick Craft

This craft uses simple supplies with a few fun textures mixed in. It’s one of those projects where the details really do the heavy lifting.

Here’s what you’ll need to make your craft stick Santa:

Craft sticks, jumbo
Wiggle eyes
Glitter glue, clear
Glue gun and glue sticks
Pom poms, white and red tinsel
Acrylic craft paint, red and a flesh tone color of your choice
Cardstock, green, red, and white
Scissors
Paintbrush
Pencil
Black marker
Patterns

Santa popsicle stick craft printable ad showing a Santa face made from craft sticks with a red hat, fluffy beard, and holly accents.

Once everything is ready, it’s time to build Santa from the top down.

Step-by-Step Santa Popsicle Stick Instructions

This project is easiest if you let pieces dry as you go and build in layers.

Step 1: Gather your supplies

Lay out all materials so everything is easy to reach while working.

Craft supplies for Santa popsicle stick craft including jumbo craft sticks, acrylic paint, googly eyes, pom poms, glitter glue, scissors, and cardstock.

Step 2: Build Santa’s hat

Create a triangle using three jumbo craft sticks on your work surface. Secure the corners with a glue gun and glue sticks.

Tip: Liquid craft glue works too, but it will need extra drying time.

Arranging jumbo craft sticks into triangle shapes to form the base of the Santa hat for a Christmas craft.

Step 3: Paint the hat

Basecoat the craft stick triangle with red acrylic craft paint. Let dry and apply a second coat if needed.

Painting the Santa hat frame red using acrylic paint and a paintbrush on assembled craft sticks.

Step 4: Prepare the hat backing

Download, print, and cut out the Santa patterns. Trace the Santa hat pattern onto red cardstock and cut it out neatly.

Red cardstock background with painted craft stick Santa hat positioned and ready for assembly.

Red cardstock triangle cutout placed on a wood plank surface with orange-handled scissors nearby.

Step 5: Attach the hat backing

Glue the red cardstock triangle to the back of the painted craft stick triangle.

Glue gun applying glue along the edge of a red cardstock triangle on a wood plank background.

Step 6: Add the hat trim

Glue white tinsel pom poms along the bottom edge of Santa’s hat to create the fur trim.

Red-painted jumbo craft sticks arranged in a triangle with white pom poms placed along the bottom edge.

Attach one large white tinsel pom pom to the top of the hat.

Single white pom pom attached at the top point of a red craft stick triangle.

Step 7: Make the beard

Trace the Santa beard pattern three times onto white cardstock, or use your child’s hand as the beard shape.

White cardstock with hand outlines traced in pencil next to a black pencil.

Cut out the pieces carefully.

White hand-shaped cutouts arranged on a wood plank surface with scissors above them.

Step 8: Attach the beard

Glue the three handprint beard pieces along the bottom edge of Santa’s hat.

Red craft stick triangle with white pom poms placed above white hand-shaped cutouts while a glue gun applies glue.

Step 9: Paint the face

Basecoat a scrap piece of white cardstock with a flesh tone acrylic paint of your choice. Let dry and apply a second coat if needed.

Bottle of beige acrylic paint and paintbrush next to a rectangle of cardstock painted beige.

Step 10: Cut the face and mustache

Trace Santa’s face pattern onto the painted cardstock and trace the mustache onto white cardstock. Cut out all pieces neatly.

White cardstock shape traced on beige-painted paper with a pencil nearby.

Step 11: Assemble the face

Glue the face onto Santa, attach the wiggle eyes, and then glue on the mustache.

Adding a paper mustache and googly eyes to a paper face beneath a red craft stick triangle while using a glue gun.

Step 12: Add sparkle

Decorate Santa’s beard and mustache with swirls and lines of clear glitter glue. Set aside to dry completely.

Applying glitter glue to decorate white handprint paper cutouts and a paper mustache on a wood plank surface.

Step 13: Create the holly

Trace two holly leaf patterns onto green cardstock and cut them out.

Tracing holly leaf patterns onto green cardstock with a pencil for the Santa craft decoration.

Outline the leaves with a black marker.

Cut green holly leaves cut from cardstock placed beside scissors and a black marker.

Glue three red tinsel pom poms together in a triangle and attach the holly leaves underneath. Then glue this onto Santa's hat.

Attaching holly leaves and red pom pom berries with a glue gun for the Santa hat decoration.

Step 14: Display

Display your finished craft stick Santa as holiday décor, or add a name to turn it into a festive place card.

Finished Santa popsicle stick craft with red triangle hat, white pom poms, googly eyes, glitter-decorated paper beard, and green holly leaves on a wood background.

Grab This Craftivity Packet

Want to save time on prep?

This craftivity packet includes all of the patterns you need to make this Santa popsicle stick craft quickly and easily, whether you’re crafting at home or in the classroom.

Use code SANTA to get 25% off the matching packet.

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