11 easy puppet making ideas for kids

Kids love making puppets - and it's the perfect activity for a rainy or snowy day when you're stuck inside. Here are some super easy and very cute ways to make puppets for imaginative play.

Such a quick and easy way to make a hand puppet – all it takes is a few folds and a bit of sticking and you're there.

Take a piece of card and cut in half lengthways. Then, at one end cut to leave two semi-circles sticking up – these will be the eyes.

About halfway down the piece of card, make a fold. Then fold the remaining length into four equal folds in a concertina effect.

In the middle of the first and second fold, make a small slit. Then, take a piece of felt and cut out the shape of a tongue. Push one end through the opening and secure with sellotape.

On the half that isn’t folded, draw on two black dots for nostrils.

Then either stick on some googly eyes onto your semi-circles at the top of the card, or cut out some black and white shapes from felt and glue on.

Let your fingers do the walking with these simple card puppets.

Take a piece of card and cut out the shape of any animal or character your child wants. You can use stencils from a craft shop if they want something more elaborate.

Then, when they have coloured in their card character, cut two holes near the bottom big enough for your child to fit their fingers through.

A brilliant easy sewing project for children.

These gorgeous felt finger puppets are super cute. Here are the step by step instructions.

A quick and easy way to make felt finger puppets that doesn't involve any sewing at all.

A great craft for kids – here are the step by step instructions.

Quick, easy and super cute puppets made from Fimo.

You can also use homemade playdough with added glitter or food colouring to make them extra special.

Take a big roll of fimo or playdough. Mould into the shape of a small potato. Then get your kids to decorate it with eyes, nose, mouth and hair.

When they are done, get them to push their finger into the bottom of the shape for a fimo finger puppet. Easy!

With a piece of card and a pen you can make these stand up puppets in no time at all.

Cut a length of card and fold to form a ring. Secure with sellotape.

Then cut out a rectangle shape, making the top end rounded. On the straight bottom end, make two vertical cuts – these will then slot onto the ring you made.

Your kids can then draw any character they like on the card – from simple animals to their favourite superheroes.

The minion puppet might be our favourite of all!

These quirky finger puppets are made in seconds from a rubber glove.

Take an old pair of washing up gloves and cut the fingers off.

Give the fingers to your kids who can then decorate them using pens or by gluing on clothes made from felt.

A super quick way to make puppets that are just perfect for a homemade cardboard box theatre.

Firstly, get some lolly sticks – you can buy them from most crafts shops or online.

Then take an old comic and carefully cut out some of the characters.

Use sellotape or glue to secure them to one end of the lolly stick. Then give to your kids and get them to create a puppet show.

Gorgeously cute puppets made from wooden dolly pegs.

Buy some dolly pegs from a craft shop or online. Help your kids draw on a face and glue on googly eyes. Then it’s up to them what outfits they dress them in.

Give them a selection of scraps of fabric and help them glue on to make dresses, hats and scarves.

An old favourite and a good way to make use of all those old socks you may have lying about looking unloved.

Get a selection of buttons and beads and sew on to with simple stitches to make eyes and a nose. If you have smaller children, make sure they don’t put any of them in their mouths.

Then take any scraps of fabric or a piece of felt and cut out shapes to make ears. Again, use a simple stitch to sew them on to your sock puppet. Super easy and really fun.

Wooden spoons make brilliant puppets – if you don't want to 'borrow' them from the kitchen drawer you can buy craft packs of wooden spoons really cheaply from craft shops.

To make, use any leftover pieces of fabric to make a dress to wrap round the handle of your wooden spoon and glue in place.

You can use lengths of wool to make the hair – again, use glue to stick to the top of the spoon. And use a pen to draw on your puppet’s face. Enjoy!

For more creative fun ideas on Netmums visit our craft pages