The holidays are a-knocking, and your students likely need some distraction from sugar-highs and thoughts of vacation dancing in their heads. Check out these 15 cheap and easy DIY holiday projects for busy teachers.

1. Bring some sparkle to your classroom with macaroni snowflakes.

They can be hung from hooks with fishing wire or made into ornaments for the kids to take home.

2. Make a JOY banner with felt, scissors, and a glue gun.

This makes a great backdrop for a holiday photo booth, too.

3. Celebrate the festival of lights with colorful menorahs.

All you need is construction or wrapping paper, and glue.

4. Transform your bulletin board into a game of pin-the-nose-on-the-reindeer.

The kids can help cut out the shapes and take turns trying to pin their noses on the reindeer.

5. Get creative with inexpensive and delicious-smelling cinnamon sticks.

These make great starters for trees, stars, and other holiday décor.

6. Felt snowflakes are a snap for older students.

7. Turn leftover cans into tin can snowmen

Dress them up with some wire, ribbon, paint, and felt balls.

8. Collect pine cones for your kids to decorate with simple everyday materials.

These sugar snowy pinecones require just egg whites and some sugar.

9. Students can make garlands out of just about anything.

Here’s one example with colorful pompoms.

10. You can never have too many pinecone crafts for kids.

This one gets really festive with globs of glitter.

11. This penguin mask is perfect for wee ones.

Bonus: It’s not holiday-specific. You can save this one for January when the mercury dips.

12. Make a pasta necklace in traditional Kwanzaa colors.

All you need is some dried ziti, paint, and shoelaces or string.

13. Felt can get pricey (see #7). Try snowflakes, made out of coffee filters instead.

These are easy for young kids to make.

14. Fuzzy white pompoms are a cinch to make.

Just a word to the wise: snowball fights.

15. Everybody loves a snow globe.

Make a 2-D version with your students with super simple materials like a plastic plate, some cotton balls, construction paper, and markers.