If you hang out at Left Brain Craft Brain much at all, you know that I love things that light up. And my Christmas tree is my absolute favorite thing that lights up. So this year, we decided to make an ornament that lights up too. And I’m sure you can guess what it is… Rudolph, the brightest reindeer of them all. The surprise here is how easy these are to make because all you need are a few pipe cleaners and the lights already hanging on your Christmas tree. This perfect project for your kids turns an adorably fuzzy Light Up Rudolph Christmas Ornament into one that goes down in history :) This post contains affiliate links.
Light Up Rudolph Christmas Ornament Supplies Needed
- 5-8 brown bumpy pipe cleaners (chenille stems) {affiliate}
- 2 googly eyes
- Glue or glue gun
- Your Christmas tree & multi-color or red lights
- Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer {affiliate}
Light Up Rudolph Christmas Ornament Instructions
First, read Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer {affiliate} with your kiddo :) I had sung the song a gazillion times, but never actually read the book, so this was a fun one for me too.
- Make Rudolph’s face by forming an oval with one pipe cleaner. Then wrap the oval and fill it in with additional pipe cleaners. It seems like the number you need is dependent upon the motor skills of the individual creating Rudolph. I only needed two for the face, but it took my daughter five pipe cleaners to fully make and fill in Rudolph’s face. Making these with a crowd? Plan accordingly!
- Form your antlers by folding over the bumpy parts of one pipe cleaner. Be sure to leave a little stem at the bottom to attach to the face.
- Attach your antlers and glue on your googly eyes.
- Make Rudolph’s nose by twisting a pipe cleaner into a circle and then attaching it to the face.
I didn’t tell The Babe ahead of time how we were going to light up Rudolph’s nose. So when we finished working with pipe cleaners, she kept saying what about his nose? How will it glow? She even pulled out the book to show me what it was supposed to do.
Then we walked over to the tree and I did the big reveal… All you need to do to light up Rudolph’s nose is pop him on top of one of your tree’s red lights! Gently press the bulb all the way through his nose until he sits on the green plastic portion of the light. He’ll stand up all by himself.
More Light Up Rudolphs!!
As I mentioned, I love holiday lights :) These Light Up Rudolph Gift Tags with a free printable are another fun way to celebrate the season. There’s a Christmas tree and snowflake version too…
10 Days of Kid Made Christmas Ornaments
Rudolph is part of a great series of 70+ kid-made Christmas Ornaments, all inspired by books. It’s hosted by the awesome Melissa of Mama Miss. Click on the picture to find links to all the projects.
Here are today’s ornaments!
Yeti Ornament || House of Burke
Guess How Much I Love You Ornament || Emma Owl
Witch’s Broom Ornament || Great Googa Moogas
Rainforest Diorama Ornament || The Natural Homeschool
Owl Moon Ornament || Freshly Planted
Grinch’s Heart Ornament || Adventures in Wunderland
Eiffel Tower Ornament || Non Toy Gifts
Personalized Name Ornament || The Educator’s Spin On It
Nutcracker Clothespeg Crafts || Castle View Academy
Christmas Science, Tech, Engineering, Art, and Math Fun for Kids
Looking for some more holiday STEAM inspiration that use can use right now? Instant gratification style? Check out STEAM Kids Christmas EBook! It’s packed with 25 days of festive projects (plus an adorable printable advent calendar!) that will wow the boredom right out of your kids.
