Make a Christmas terrarium with your children this Advent: what you need, how to build it step by step and how to look after it afterwards.
Yes, you can make a Christmas terrarium with children, and Advent is a lovely moment to do it. A DIY kit comes with a step-by-step plan, so even first-timers can build a small, self-contained Christmas scene in glass in one afternoon, and then watch it sit on the windowsill or dinner table all through the holidays. This guide covers why it works as an Advent activity, how to prepare, how to build it together and how to look after it afterwards.
December can feel like a countdown of things to buy and things to organise. A DIY terrarium is the opposite: it is slow, hands-on and finished with a result that actually stays in your home. Children get to touch moss, scoop soil and place a small tree, which is far more memorable than another plastic decoration. It also gives you a natural reason to sit at the table together without screens.
It works at several ages too. Younger children can handle the scooping and pressing, older children can read the steps aloud and take charge of the layout, and adults can supervise the delicate parts. Because everything is assembled in one go, it fits into a single Advent Sunday rather than demanding a week of preparation.
For a Christmas build the Milky Christmas plant terrarium is a good fit. It is a 30 cm high bottle with a cork, shaped like a milk bottle (Ø 21 cm, height 30 cm), and it arrives as a complete Do-It-Yourself package with a mini Christmas tree and 20 warm white LED lights. The lights need two AA batteries, which are not included, so put those on your shopping list. The LED lighting is purely decorative: it adds a soft glow to the scene but has nothing to do with how the plant grows.
The kit comes with a five-step plan, which is exactly what you want when children are involved. You follow the steps in order, nobody needs plant knowledge, and the result looks like a small Christmas scene in a bottle. Because the glass closes completely, water stays inside through evaporation, so there is no daily watering routine to manage in an already busy month.
A little preparation keeps the activity calm instead of chaotic. Here is what helps:
Work through the included five-step plan in order. As a rule, you build from the bottom up, so the first layers go in before the plants, and the finishing touches come last. This is where you can divide the jobs: one child pours and spreads, another presses the moss in place, and someone else positions the mini Christmas tree.
The plan gives the structure, but the details are open. Let the children decide where the tree stands, how the moss is arranged around it and how the lights are draped. Resist the urge to correct small differences. A slightly crooked tree is part of the charm, and children care much more about a terrarium they shaped themselves than about a perfect one.
Glass is the one part that needs adult hands. Let an adult handle the bottle while the layers go in, and make sure it stands on a stable surface. When the build is finished, wipe the inside and outside of the glass, add the cork and switch on the lights for the first time. That moment tends to be the highlight, so save it for when everyone is watching.
A single build is nice, but you can stretch it across the weeks. Start the terrarium on the first Sunday of Advent and let the children check on it each weekend. Ask them what they notice, whether the glass looks clear and how the tree is doing. It becomes a small shared routine that fits with lighting candles or opening an Advent calendar.
You can also give each child their own small role: one is in charge of switching the lights on in the evening, another of looking for condensation on the glass. Nothing complicated, but it keeps the project alive after the first afternoon.
Because the bottle is closed, any needles that drop stay inside, and watering is not needed. Keep it somewhere you can see it, away from direct heat sources, and wipe the glass when it needs it.
The mini Christmas tree is a good thing to plan for. Christmas trees are outdoor plants and not suited to staying in a closed bottle for the long term. After the holidays you can order a plant terrarium refill package and move the table Christmas tree to the garden. Do this gradually: first a few days in the garage or shed, and only then outside, because going straight from the warm living room to cold weather is too big a jump. The bottle can then be refilled with new plants and carry on all year.
If the children want to go further, there are simple ways to add to the scene without changing the plan. Place the finished bottle on a tray with a few pine cones and paper stars around it, or put it next to a small paper decoration the children made themselves. Keep the extras around the outside of the glass rather than inside, so the contents of the bottle stay exactly as the kit intends.
For more inspiration on styling, you can also read our guide to styling your own Christmas plant terrarium, which looks at the decoration side in more depth.
Mostly, yes. Younger children can help with the simple jobs such as scooping and pressing, while an adult handles the glass and the finer steps. Older children can take over much more of the build.
No regular watering is needed. The glass closes completely, so water stays in the bottle through evaporation, and any needles that fall remain inside as well.
The lights run on two AA batteries that are not included. A tray or cloth for the table, a small spoon and a damp cloth for the glass are also handy, but the kit itself is a complete Do-It-Yourself package.
Christmas trees are outdoor plants, so after the holidays you can move the table Christmas tree to the garden, gradually and via a garage or shed first. The bottle can be refilled with a refill package.
Ready to start your own Advent project? Take a look at the full range of Christmas terrariums and pick the kit that suits your family.
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