The holiday break is supposed to feel magical, with restful mornings, cozy nights and a slower pace for families, but offering simple activities to keep kids engaged can make a big difference.
Good news: you don’t need a craft store haul to spark enormous creativity. Sometimes the best art materials aren’t fancy at all.
If your creative student is bored, don’t overthink it; give them tape, glue, different types of paper and cardboard. These simple materials unlock endless imagination, encourage problem-solving, and give students the freedom to build, design and explore in ways that truly light up their creativity.
Why Tape + Cardboard Works
- It’s inexpensive. Most families already have these supplies around the house.
- It’s open-ended. Kids can build anything: robots, castles, costumes, purses, figures, treasure boxes, puppets and arcade games, encouraging endless creative exploration.
- It feels like play and learning. Children practice engineering and design thinking; they naturally love to construct. When we give them permission to cut, tape, fold, layer and experiment, we activate the same creativity that drives future architects, engineers, animators, fashion designers and inventors.
- It builds fine-motor skills without realizing it.
- It builds confidence. Children get to say, “I made this!” with pride, which encourages a positive self-image and a sense of achievement.
What Kids Create When You Let Them Explore
In my own art classroom at Britton Elementary, I’ve watched students turn simple materials into extraordinary creations, no prompts needed. Using nothing more than cardboard, tape, glue and different types of paper, students design with intention, imagination and confidence.
Some students gravitate toward paper fashion, layering patterned paper and fabric scraps to design dresses that tell stories through color, texture and movement. Other engineers have created functional cardboard purses, complete with sturdy handles and working flaps, blending creativity with real-world problem-solving. One student even constructed a towering cardboard “robobot,” carefully balancing structure, joints and personality using cardboard and tape alone.
In other projects, students combine paper, fabric, mesh and glue to create mixed-media dress designs, experimenting with layering, shape and materials, skills used by professional artists and fashion designers alike.
These weren’t assigned projects. They were born from curiosity, free time and access to simple materials.
That’s the magic of cardboard, paper, tape and glue: kids don’t just make art, they invent worlds.
Easy Holiday Break Project Ideas
Here are quick, no-prep activities families can try at home:
1. DIY Holiday Village
Cut cardboard into simple house shapes, add doors and windows, then decorate with crayons, markers or paper scraps. Use tape to stand them up and build a whole neighborhood.
2. Cardboard Arcade Games
Inspired by Caine’s Arcade, create mini basketball hoops, pinball games or marble mazes using cardboard and tape.
3. Paper Fashion & Costumes
Design dresses, crowns, superhero gear, masks or armor using different types of paper, cardboard and tape.
4. Creature or Robot Sculptures
Build animals, monsters, or robots by stacking, bending, and taping cardboard pieces together.
5. Holiday Mailbox
Create a small cardboard mailbox for “family mail”, notes of gratitude, jokes, drawings or wishes for the new year.
Why This Matters
During the holiday break, children have long stretches of unstructured time, exactly when creativity can flourish. When we offer materials instead of screens, we’re saying:
“I believe in your imagination.”
That message matters.
Kids who feel empowered to create become more confident problem-solvers in school and in life.
So this holiday break, before boredom takes over, put a little creativity on the table. A roll of tape, some cardboard, paper and glue might be all your child needs to turn an ordinary afternoon into something unforgettable.
Kuwantu Cammon, originally from Los Angeles, is an award-winning elementary art educator, the 2025 Britton Elementary School Teacher of the Year and a finalist for the 2025 OKCPS Teacher of the Year. He is also the 2024 OAEA Elementary Art Educator of the Year and a passionate advocate for integrating the arts into everyday learning. With a background in ceramics, fine and performing arts, and education, he inspires young artists to explore creativity through hands-on experiences. Outside the classroom, Kuwantu serves as the Youth Art Month Chair for the Oklahoma Art Educators Association and actively showcases student work in local and national exhibitions.
