Mother’s Day Crafts for kids: 10 Super Easy Ideas

Let’s be honest—Mother’s Day crafts from our little ones make us ugly cry every time. Those smudgy handprints and wobbly letters turn us into emotional puddles faster than finding that missing sock from two months ago.

I’m sharing some easy Mother’s Day crafts that won’t drive anyone completely bonkers. These are simple enough for kids to actually make, but still cute enough that mom will display them until the end of time (or at least until next year’s masterpieces arrive).

1. Handprint Flower Bouquet

Perfect for: Toddlers through elementary schoolers

What you’ll need:

• Colored construction paper
• Child’s hand
• Paint (washable, please, for everyone’s sanity)
• Green pipe cleaners or straws
• Ribbon

How to:

1. Paint your child’s palm and fingers (avoiding the thumb) with their color of choice
2. Press their hand onto paper to create a flower shape
3. Let dry completely (the hardest part for impatient kiddos!)
4. Cut around the handprint, leaving some space
5. Attach to a green pipe cleaner or straw “stem”
6. Make several and tie together with a ribbon

These handprint crafts for Mother’s Day become time capsules of those tiny fingers. I still have my son’s from preschool, and my heart breaks a little seeing how small his hands once were!

2. Picture Frame with Popsicle Sticks

Perfect for: Preschoolers and kindergarteners

What you’ll need:

• Popsicle sticks (about 8-10)
• Glue
• Paint or markers
• Small photo of child with mom
• Decorations (buttons, glitter, stickers)
• Magnet strip (optional)

How to:

1. Arrange sticks in a square, overlapping at corners
2. Glue corners together
3. Once dry, let kids paint or color the frame
4. Add decorations
5. Glue photo to the back of the frame
6. Add a magnet strip for refrigerator display

This is one of those classic kids’ Mother’s Day crafts that never gets old. My refrigerator is basically a gallery of these evolving over the years!

3. “I Love Mom Because…” Fill-in-the-Blank Cards

Perfect for: School-age children who can write (or dictate)

What you’ll need:

• Colored cardstock
• Markers or crayons
• Pre-written prompts like “I love mom because…”
• Envelope (optional)

How to:

1. Fold cardstock in half to create a card
2. Write prompts inside like “I love you because…” “My favorite thing about you is…” “You make me laugh when…”
3. Let kids fill in their answers
4. Decorate the front with drawings or stickers

Fair warning: these happy Mother’s Day crafts for kids may cause uncontrollable mom tears. My 5-year-old once wrote that she loved me because “you make good toast” and honestly, I’ve never been more proud of my culinary skills.

4. Footprint Butterfly Canvas

Perfect for: Babies and toddlers (with adult help)

What you’ll need:

• Small canvas
• Non-toxic paint
• Baby wipes (trust me on this)
• Markers for details
• Ribbon for hanging

How to:

1. Paint the bottom of child’s feet
2. Press feet onto canvas with heels together and toes pointing outward (creating butterfly wings)
3. Clean those feet immediately!
4. Once dry, add a body and antennae with markers
5. Add “Happy Mother’s Day” text
6. Attach ribbon for hanging

These Mother’s Day footprint crafts for kids are especially precious for new moms experiencing their first Mother’s Day. Those tiny baby feet won’t stay tiny forever!

5. Button Flower Garden Canvas

Perfect for: Toddlers to elementary schoolers with some help

What you’ll need:

• Canvas (8×10 or whatever size fits your fridge!)
• Pink acrylic paint
• Paintbrush
• Assorted buttons in bright colors (pink, yellow, blue, orange)
• Larger buttons for flower centers
• Green felt or craft foam
• Strong craft glue or hot glue gun (parent-only tool!)
• Scissors
• Pencil for tracing

How to:

1. Let your little one paint the entire canvas pink (prepare for paint in unexpected places—somehow it always ends up in ears?)
2. While the canvas dries, cut out simple stem and leaf shapes from green felt or foam
3. Arrange three stems with leaves on the canvas—kids’ creative placement often leads to flowers that look like they’re doing yoga
4. Glue the green pieces in place
5. Have your child arrange buttons in circular flower shapes at the top of each stem
6. Place a larger button in the center of each flower
7. Once they’re happy with the arrangement, help them glue each button securely
8. Let dry completely (the hardest part for impatient little artists!)

This craft is perfect for little hands, and looks adorable displayed anywhere. There’s pure magic in watching kids concentrate as they arrange those colorful buttons just so.

6. Popsicle Stick Flowers Wall Art

Perfect for: Early elementary school kids

What you’ll need:

• Craft sticks (8 per flower)
• White cardstock or canvas
• Yellow buttons
• Glue
• Green markers or paint
• Pink and purple paint
• Paintbrushes
• Scissors
• Circular object to trace (like a small cup)

How to:

1. Paint craft sticks in vibrant colors—half in pink, half in purple (prepare for some desks to look like a unicorn sneezed on them)
2. While sticks dry, trace and cut out small circles from cardstock for the flower centers
3. On the white background, use green markers to draw stems and leaves (or paint them if you’re feeling brave in a classroom setting)
4. Arrange four sticks in a cross pattern to form the petals of each flower
5. Glue the sticks in place—one pink flower and one purple flower
6. Glue the paper circles on top of the center where the sticks cross
7. Add a yellow button to the center of each flower
8. Let everything dry completely before sending home (otherwise you’ll get those “it fell apart in the car” texts from parents)

This craft is perfect for classroom settings—low-mess with cheerful results! No two flowers ever look the same, and they make adorable spring displays. Just be prepared to sweep up stick fragments for days afterward!

7. Painted Flower Pot

Perfect for: Preschoolers and up

What you’ll need:

• Small terracotta pot
• Acrylic paint
• Paintbrushes
• Clear sealer spray (adult-only step)
• Small plant or seeds

How to:

1. Let kids paint the outside of the pot however they want
2. Allow to dry completely
3. An adult should spray with clear sealer
4. Plant a small flower, succulent, or herbs inside

These Mother’s Day flower pot crafts for kids combine art with something living that mom can enjoy for months. My daughter made me one in kindergarten, and now the plant is enormous while the pot looks hilariously tiny beneath it!

8. Popsicle Stick Earring Display Stand

Perfect for: Upper elementary school kids

What you’ll need:

• Craft sticks (about 10-12)
• Pink paint (or any color they love)
• Natural/unpainted craft sticks
• White school glue
• Small paintbrush
• A flat surface that can get messy
• Paper towels (trust me on this one)

How to:

1. Create a simple easel shape with three natural-colored sticks—two longer ones for the sides and one shorter stick across the bottom
2. Glue this frame together and let it dry (cue the “Is it ready yet?” questions)
3. Paint four sticks pink (or whatever color makes them happy)
4. Once everything’s dry, glue the pink sticks horizontally across the frame
5. Space them evenly—this is where the earrings will hang
6. Let everything dry completely before hanging earrings (the hardest part!)

This craft is perfect for elementary kids—simple but makes them feel grown-up! It’s actually useful, unlike most kid projects that vanish during spring cleaning. Their proud faces when displaying earrings make it worth it!

9. Decorated Wooden Spoon

Perfect for: Preschool through early elementary

What you’ll need:

• Wooden spoon (the cheap kind from the dollar store)
• Acrylic paint
• Paintbrushes
• Ribbon
• Googly eyes (optional but delightful)
• Glue
• Clear sealer spray (adult-only step)

How to:

1. Let kids paint the handle and bowl of the spoon however they want
2. While it dries, practice your “wow, that’s amazing” face for whatever abstract masterpiece emerges
3. Add googly eyes to the bowl part if desired (everything is better with googly eyes)
4. Tie a ribbon around the handle
5. Spray with sealer to protect the art
6. Add a tag: “For stirring up love for the best mom ever!”

These decorated spoons make adorable keepsakes.

10. Hand-Decorated Apron or Tote Bag

Perfect for: Preschool and elementary kids

What you’ll need:

• Plain canvas apron or tote bag
• Fabric paint
• Paintbrushes
• Fabric markers
• Cardboard to put inside (prevents bleed-through)

How to:

1. Insert cardboard inside the apron or bag
2. Let kids decorate with handprints, drawings, or messages
3. Allow to dry for 24 hours
4. Heat-set according to paint instructions (usually iron on reverse side)

These easy Mother’s Day crafts for kids are actually useful—my daughter made me a tote bag in preschool that I still use for grocery shopping, and it makes me smile every time.

Perfect for the Classroom

Many of these projects are perfect for classroom Mother’s Day crafts. Teachers tackling 25 handprint projects deserve medals! Consider recruiting parent volunteers for the messier options.

For Mother’s Day crafts for preschool settings, the simpler the better. The thumbprint cards and painted popsicle stick frames tend to work well in classroom environments where time and attention spans are limited.

In Conclusion

Truth is, whether it’s fridge-worthy art or crumpled paper with mystery scribbles, anything made by those little hands becomes an instant treasure. These crafts aren’t about Pinterest perfection—they’re time capsules capturing tiny fingers and enormous hearts.

And moms, when you receive these precious creations, remember to react appropriately: gasp dramatically, clutch your heart, and maybe shed a tear or two. Then clear some space on the fridge, because that masterpiece isn’t going anywhere for a very long time.

Happy crafting, and Happy Mother’s Day!

Still looking for more ideas? Take a look at these posts:

• Mother’s Day crafts kids can make at school
• Mother’s Day crafts for kids using popsicle sticks.
• Mother’s Day cards: Creative DIY projects for kids

And for Father’s Day, look here: Easy Father’s Day Crafts for Kids