Christmas Tree Art Using Dyed Pumpkin Seeds

The kids will have a blast making Christmas tree art with colorful pumpkin seeds! Be sure to add it to your list of Christmas activities for preschoolers.

images of painted christmas trees with text that reads pumpkin seed christmas tree art

Related: Pumpkin Seed Activities

Years ago, the preschoolers and I discovered how much we loved using dyed pumpkin seeds for sensory play, art, math, and more.

One of our favorite activities using the seeds was a pumpkin seed art fall tree. I especially love it because the kids came up with the idea!

It likely won’t surprise you to find out that the children came up with this pumpkin seed Christmas art too.

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Pumpkin Seed Christmas Tree Art

The beauty of this art idea, beyond that the kids came up with it, is that it really is simple to set up.

AND you can let the children be as creative as they want to be with the concept.

If they’re not up for making trees, that’s okay! Give them the materials and watch what the little artists create.

Pumpkin Seed Tree Materials

Here are the materials we used to make Christmas tree art with colorful pumpkin seeds.

Dyed pumpkin seeds (read more about how to dye pumpkin seeds)

Green tempera paint

Brown tempera paint

White construction paper

Permanent markers (black, silver, or gold)

How to Make Christmas Tree Art with Pumpkin Seeds

To start things off, grab some white construction paper. You can go with the usual size, but I’d suggest the larger size so the kids have a lot of room to work with.

Place green and brown tempera paint out, along with paintbrushes.

The children can use the paint to create their own evergreen trees.

Once the trees are painted, set them aside to dry.

This would be a good time to dye your pumpkin seeds and let them dry, too!

The next day, when everything is fully dry, it’s time to decorate the trees.

painted evergreen tree with tray of dyed pumpkin seeds

Related: Christmas Tree Activities

Place the dyed pumpkin seeds out, along with glue, markers, and the dried tree paintings.

Finally, let the children add decorations to their Christmas tree art.

To do so, they can use the markers to draw a string of lights on their trees. I like using permanent markers for this, but you can use regular markers instead if you’d like.

painted evergreen tree with hand drawing light strands with metallic marker

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Then the children can add dots of glue along the strings, placing a pumpkin seed on each dot of glue.

fingers adding dyed pumpkin seeds to christmas tree art

When they’re done, they’ll have beautiful Christmas trees decorated with pumpkin seed “lights”!

Hands holding pumpkin seed Christmas tree art.

Related: Christmas Tree Slime

Creativity with Christmas Pumpkin Seed Art

As I already mentioned above, you can really let the kids be as creative as they want to with this activity.

If they don’t want to make Christmas tree art, that is perfectly fine!

Simply set out the paints, the glue, and the dyed pumpkin seeds. Then sit back and watch the children create.

I am a big believer in process art for kids. Yes, I tend to give suggestions at times. Because some children need a bit of a prompt to get started. Some will end up making Christmas trees with pumpkin seeds, while others will end up inspired to do something completely different.

I do not think children need to make everything exactly the same when it comes to art.

In fact, I prefer that children use the materials in ways that allow them to experience how creative they can be.

All of this to say – it’s okay if your students veer off the path. Let them! Your classroom is a safe place for them to experiment with new ways of being creative.

Other Possibilities

You don’t just have to use paint to create some awesome Christmas tree art with the kids!

Grab your dyed pumpkin seeds and pair them with different materials to make different types of Christmas trees.

Here are a few ideas to get you started:

Clay – Add the pumpkin seeds to clay (or Model Magic). Let everything dry. You could also make the trees with clay, let it dry, paint it, and then glue the seeds on.
Play dough – If you don’t mind transient art, pair some play dough with the pumpkin seeds. Add some tree cookie cutters too!
Fabric – Let the children explore cutting and gluing pieces of fabric to make the trees. Then let them glue the pumpkin seeds to the fabric.
Tin foil – Swap out the paper and let the kids paint on foil! They can still add the seeds if they want to.

You might even see which materials your students would prefer to use to make their Christmas tree art! Sometimes they come up with the best ideas, right?!