Chestnut crafts with children: instructions & ideas

Things worth knowing about the chestnut: Little autumn all-rounders

Kastanien basteln | Kind hält Kastanien in den Händen

Autumn is chestnut season! For children there is nothing more exciting in autumn than on a Forest walk bunte Blätter und Kastanien einzusammeln. Und das Beste: Die kleinen, braunen Kugeln eignen sich optimal fürs Autumn crafts. The fruits of the horse chestnut ripen in August and September. During this time the chestnuts gradually fall from the trees – until the end of October children can find many chestnuts in nature with which you can make decorative and fun crafts together.

But not only the fruits are suitable for crafting. The outer shell with its many small spikes is a great craft material. But your children do not only have the opportunity to collect their crafting materials on a walk in the woods. You can also find chestnut trees in parks, avenues oder einfach am roadside.

A special type of edible chestnuts are sweet chestnuts (marrons), which are often sold at the Christmas market. But be careful if your children like to nibble on sweet chestnuts: horse chestnuts are poisonous. These are actually only suitable for crafting or as a treat for deer, stags and wild boar.

Which chestnuts are best for crafting?

Kastanien basteln | Mädchen mit rosa Jacke sammelt Kastanien

Horse chestnuts are abundant in nature. Their handy size and soft interior make them ideal for crafting. In combination with other natural materials like acorns, autumn leaves, nutshells or pine cones, you can let your creativity run free and create imaginative decorations that bring autumn into your home.

Craft ideas: What you can make from chestnuts

Want to get started right away? No problem, our ideas for crafting with chestnuts offer great inspiration for every age and taste.

The classic among craft ideas with chestnuts are fun chestnut characters or other chestnut figures and animals. Making them is very easy and when crafting your imagination knows no bounds.

Chestnut figures with fixed legs are ideal for standing. Decorative Chestnut figures with wobbly legs can be placed on the windowsill or a shelf and the legs can dangle amusingly.

Also Chestnut figures with wire limbs can be bent as desired and offer a variety of possibilities and ideas for beautiful autumn decorations.

Do your children not want to craft a figure or do you have little children who are not very dexterous yet? No problem. Colorfully painted chestnuts are eye-catchers and can also be integrated into various Autumn games for children and used as game pieces.

What materials do you need for crafting?

As you can see, you can make all sorts of decorative autumn crafts with horse chestnuts.

Below you'll find a short list of useful materials and tools that will come in handy at your next crafting afternoon with your children.

Horse chestnuts (conkers)
Spiky chestnut husks
Acorns
Chestnut drill or hand drill
Matches
Toothpicks or skewers
Waterproof felt‑tip pens
Googly eyes
Pipe cleaners
Glue or a hot glue gun
Scissors
String or wire

Autumn craft ideas

Are you looking for exciting autumn craft ideas? HABA offers a wide selection of craft sets and autumn crafts for all ages. Discover many creative possibilities for crafting and creating here.

Discover more autumn crafts

Guide: How to craft with chestnuts

Kastanien basteln mit Kindern | Kind bohrt Loch in Kastanie

Chestnut crafting is at every age great fun. Children love making their own creations from the chestnuts they've collected and other natural materials. Depending on how old your child is, they will need more or less help. Especially when crafting with chestnut drills and other sharp tools mom or dad should always be on hand to help.

When gluing or painting, the little ones can then work independently again. If your child is left-handed, when choosing craft tools, make sure to provide appropriate utensils, such as a pair of left-handed scissors.

Our 3 favorite chestnut figures

Chestnut figures are among the most popular autumn crafts made from chestnuts. Chestnut animals are also very popular with young crafters. Below you'll find three simple guides and ideas for crafting that your children will surely enjoy. Ready, set, go — chestnuts!

Sheep

Kastanien basteln mit Kindern | Kastanien-Schaf

Materials needed:

a large chestnut
colored construction paper
a pair of googly eyes
glue
five matches
an acorn with its cap
chestnut drill or hand drill
two narrow leaves

How to make your chestnut sheep:

Choose a nice chestnut to represent the sheep's body. Place the chestnut in front of you so that the light area is on top. Here, use the chestnut drill to make four holes for the sheep's legs. Drip a small amount of glue into each hole and press the matches in. Make sure that the colorful heads of the matches form the sheep's feet. Let it dry for a while.
Now it's time for the head of your sheep. Take the acorn and also drill a hole in the underside for the neck. Halve a match and insert it with a drop of glue. Wait briefly until the neck holds well. Now glue on the googly eyes so your chestnut sheep can see well. Use the two narrow leaves to glue the ears to the sides.
Once everything is well dried, the head is connected to the body. To do this, drill a hole in the front of the chestnut and glue the neck firmly in place. Your chestnut sheep is finished — Baa!

Spider

Kastanien basteln mit Kindern | Kastanien-Spinne

Materials needed:

a large chestnut
a pair of googly eyes
glue
eight toothpicks
chestnut drill or hand drill

Chestnut spiders are especially popular as Halloween decorations. And they can be made with just a few materials.

How to make lively chestnut spiders:

Take the chestnut and drill four holes on each side for the spider's legs. To make the spider legs look more realistic, snap the toothpicks slightly in the middle and drip a little glue on the break.
Once the legs are stable and dry, insert a toothpick into each hole and fix it with glue.
Now glue on the googly eyes so the spider can see clearly. Your first spider is ready, and you can move on to making more spooky creatures for Halloween to scatter around the room.

Chestnut figures

Kastanien basteln mit Kindern | Kastanienmännchen

Materials needed:

at least four chestnuts in different sizes
a pair of googly eyes
glue
five toothpicks
chestnut drill or hand drill
acorn caps

How to make funny chestnut figures:

Choose a particularly round chestnut to use as the body of your little figure. Turn the light area to the front so the belly stands out amusingly. Now use the chestnut drill to bore five holes — for the legs, arms and neck respectively.
If you have two flat chestnuts, these make ideal feet for your chestnut figure. Place them with the flat side down and drill a hole in each. Insert a toothpick leg into both holes and secure it with glue.
Once the legs are dry, attach them to the body. Again use glue so the figure holds together firmly. Do the same with the arms and the neck.
Now it's the head's turn. Drill a hole in the underside of the chestnut and attach the head to the rest of the body. Of course your chestnut figure will want to see something too — the funny googly eyes make that possible. If they don't stay on their own, a drop of glue will quickly fix them, as will an acorn cap as a hat. Your new chestnut friend is complete.

DIY instructions for chestnut figures

Ideas without tools

If you don't have a chestnut drill or hand drill at home, that's no obstacle to crafting with chestnuts. Even without accessories you can make a variety of autumn decorations from chestnuts. We show you three craft ideas without tools that even younger children can manage without much parental help.

Hedgehog

Kastanien basteln mit Kindern | Kastanien-Igel

Materials needed:

chestnut with a flat side
spiky chestnut husk
permanent marker
glue

How to make a small chestnut hedgehog:

Choose a chestnut that is flat on one side. Place it in front of you on the table and draw eyes and a nose on the hedgehog with a permanent marker.
Now the hedgehog gets its spines. For this, use the chestnut shell. Your little friend will be especially spiky if you use a dried chestnut shell that is already somewhat brown. Spread glue on the chestnut and stick the shell to the hedgehog's back so that only the eyes peek out from the front. That's how easily you've made your little chestnut hedgehog.

Chestnut face

Kastanien basteln mit Kindern | Kastaniengesicht

Materials needed:

Twin chestnuts or a simple chestnut in the shell
a pair of googly eyes
glue

How to make imaginative chestnut faces:

Choose a nice chestnut in the shell to be your face. The chestnut face is especially funny with a twin chestnut.
Once you've chosen your favorite chestnut, glue the googly eyes side by side and your cheeky homemade chestnut face will be looking at you.

Penguin

Kastanien basteln mit Kindern | Kastanien-Pinguin

Materials needed:

chestnut
a pair of googly eyes
two acorn caps
felt or fabric scraps
glue
scissors

How to make a waddling penguin:

Choose the chestnut that most closely resembles the body of a penguin. The light area will be the belly of the chestnut animal.
Take the acorn caps and drip enough glue into each. Set the googly eyes in place and let them dry.
In the meantime, cover the penguin's body with the fabric scraps. Cut two small wings, a beak and two little feet and glue them to the chestnut. Now only the eyes are missing — with a few drops of glue they are quickly attached to the head: your Antarctic friend is ready.

Frequently Asked Questions about Crafting with Chestnuts

How many chestnuts are needed for crafting?

That depends on which figures or decorations you want to make from chestnuts. For an extended crafting afternoon you'll need a small bag of chestnuts. It's best to collect enough material on your next autumn walk so that you don't run out of chestnuts while crafting. If you only want to make chestnut figures, 4-6 chestnuts per figure are already enough.

How can chestnuts be preserved?

If you've made nice decorations from chestnuts, you naturally want them to last as long as possible. Over time and at room temperature, however, chestnuts dry out. If you spray your crafts with a little hairspray or coat them with clear varnish immediately after finishing, they will last longer.

What can we do if we've collected too many chestnuts?

Have you done enough crafting and still have some chestnuts left? You’re probably wondering what useful thing you can do with the remaining materials. It’s easy to make a laundry detergent from chestnuts. Many wild animals, such as deer or wild boar, will also appreciate it if you feed them your chestnuts on your next walk in the forest.