Every day is special for one reason or another, like how everyday is someone's birthday. But there are a few days of the year that are special for a lot of people. Those days are known as holidays and your family probably celebrates many of them. To get into the spirit of each holiday, you can make some neat crafts and give them to your parents, friends or other relatives.

New Year

The New Year holiday is both the first and last to happen on the calendar. New Year�۪s Eve is on December 31st and we often celebrate with fireworks at midnight. January 1st is New Year�۪s Day. There is also a Chinese New Year holiday that is celebrated by many Asian and American people. Chinese New Year happens at the end of January or the beginning of February each year and revolves around the twelve animals in the Chinese Zodiac.

• Lion Mask ��� Make your own cute or scary lion mask to help you celebrate Chinese New Year.
• Time Capsule ��� Show kids of the future (or your future self) what life was like when you were a kid by collecting items for a time capsule.
• Calendar ��� A new year means you�۪re going to need a new calendar. Make your own by following these instructions.
• Lunar Calendar ��� Celebrate the New Year by coloring the animals of the Chinese Zodiac and using the pictures to make your very own lantern.

Valentine�۪s Day

Valentine�۪s Day is the holiday on which we celebrate our love for the important people in our lives. It happens every year on February 14. Some symbols of Valentine�۪s Day include hearts, doves and Cupid.

• Valentine�۪s Crafts ��� Make one of these cool Valentine�۪s Day crafts and give them to a special someone. Some of the crafts are a gift bag, a card box and zoo animal bookmarks.
• Heart Necklace ��� Make a necklace for someone special to show them how you feel this Valentine�۪s Day.
• Crafts for Kids ��� Martha Stewart has some Valentine�۪s Day-themed crafts for you to try that use all sorts of household items.
• Valentines ��� Anyone can buy valentine cards at the store, but making your own will show the person you give it to how much you care.

St. Patrick�۪s Day

We celebrate St. Patrick�۪s Day every year on March 17th. While used to be just for people of Irish heritage, it is now celebrated by people of all cultures. People like to wear the color green on St. Patrick�۪s Day. Some symbols of the holiday include shamrocks and four-leaf clovers.

• Hat ��� A video that shows you how to make a St. Patrick�۪s Day hat with an oatmeal container and a few other materials.
• Wreath ��� Make your own St. Patrick�۪s Day wreath out of cardboard, construction paper, scissors and glue.
• Candle ��� Make a candle-shaped paper card that you can use as a gift.
• Catch a Leprechaun ��� Design your own trap to catch a leprechaun this March.

Easter

Easter is a Christian holiday that celebrates the day Jesus rose from the dead. New Years, Valentine�۪s Day and St. Patrick�۪s Day are all celebrated on the same date every year. Easter is not, but it is always on a Sunday in March or April. On that day, The Easter Bunny travels to houses and leaves candy and treats for boys and girls.

• Food ��� We always eat candy on Easter, but we just color eggs. Here are some tasty Easter egg dishes to make with mom or dad.
• Bunny Basket ��� The Easter Bunny loves to bring you treats once a year. Show your thanks by making your basket look like him.
• Flower Basket ��� Build your own flower basket using paper.
• Dyeing Eggs ��� A great technique for dyeing eggs.

Mother�۪s Day & Father�۪s Day

Like Easter, Mother�۪s Day and Father�۪s Day change each year. They always happen on a Sunday. Mother�۪s Day is in May and as you can guess, it�۪s a day when you should appreciate your mom. Father�۪s Day is in June, and that�۪s when you�۪re supposed to appreciate your dad.

• Coupons ��� Help mom or dad out by doing chores around the house. Make coupons for your parents that they can give to you when they want you to help.
• Card ��� Make your mom a special Mother�۪s Day card this year to show her how much you love her.
• Gift Bag (PDF) ��� Give your dad some of his favorite treats in a homemade bag that looks like one of his shirts.
• Cake in a Mug ��� With this craft, you can give your mom or dad a nice new mug and a delicious treat.

The Fourth of July

You can probably guess when you celebrate the Fourth of July. The holiday celebrates the day the United States became an independent country. You can say it is America�۪s birthday party! People like to wear red, white and blue (the colors of the American flag) and watch fireworks on the Fourth of July.

• Firework Napkins ��� For your Fourth of July party make your napkins look like the fireworks in the sky.
• Uncle Sam Treat Holders ��� Decorate a Styrofoam cup to look like Uncle Sam�۪s American flag hat. Then you can put your Fourth of July party snacks in it.
• Snacks ��� Make your friends and family some yummy Fourth of July snacks like pretzel sparklers and an American flag cake.
• Coffee Filter Flowers ��� Make some red, white and blue flowers with coffee filters.
• Fan-tastic Fans ��� Make your own red, white and blue crafts to celebrate the Fourth of July.

Halloween

Halloween is celebrated on October 31 every year. It is sometimes called the day of the dead because it is the scariest of the holidays. On Halloween, kids dress up in costumes and go out trick-or-treating. It�۪s also a fun time to watch scary movies and carve faces into pumpkins.

• Blood & Guts Soup ��� Have mom or dad help you make some gross-looking but great-tasting soup for Halloween.
• Crayola Crafts ��� Make some really neat Halloween gift bags with cool spinning spider webs.

• Costume ��� The most important craft at Halloween time is your costume. You can make one out of objects you have in your house. Use this site to decide what you want to be.
• Halloween Crafts ��� Instructions for how to make other scary crafts like bat puppets and egg carton spiders.
• Jack-o-Lantern ��� Carving pumpkins is also fun to do before Halloween. Carve a scary face into one to scare trick-or-treaters.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving like Easter; isn�۪t celebrated on the same day every year. It always happens on the last Thursday in November. On Thanksgiving, families get together and eat a big meal. The holiday is important because it gives families a chance to give thanks for life, happiness and each other.

• Clay Pot Turkey ��� Turn an old clay plant pot into a neat little turkey craft to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday.
• Pinecone Turkeys ��� Make turkeys out of pinecones and pom-poms or try one of the many other crafts on this page.
• Indian Corn ��� Gluing Indian corn into patterns is a really neat craft to do at Thanksgiving time.
• More Thanksgiving Crafts ��� Take a look at and try out some other autumn crafts like building a leaf man.

Christmas, Hanukkah & Kwanzaa

Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa are all holidays in December. Christmas is always on December 25 and it is where Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ and give each other presents. Hanukkah is celebrated by Jewish people over eight days, also known as the Festival of Lights. Kwanzaa is a holiday that lasts from December 26 to January 1 and it is celebrated by many people with African heritage.

• Tags ��� Make your own tags to put on the Christmas gifts you�۪re giving this year.
• Kinara ��� Celebrate Kwanzaa this year by making a paper Kinara out of construction paper.
• Hanukkah Crafts ��� Try to make a milk carton dreidel, Popsicle stick Star of David or felt Gelt bag this Hanukkah season.
• Dreidel ��� Cut out, color and glue your own dreidel.