Crafts for Three-Year-Olds?

I signed up to get a 3-year-old in need some crafts for Christmas because I always loved doing crafts as a kid (and with the kids I babysat).

Could you guys please give me some suggestions for great crafts for little kids?  I think I'd like to give something that will last quite a while and that won't be too terrible to clean up.

Thanks in advance! 

I'd suggest either wood-burning or taxidermy.    

LMAO!

Little sock puppets? Buy the little eyes, some cut up fabric for clothes, maybe some felt parts to make into tongues or whatever and string for hair..etc. That might be cute. :) (In school we once made puppets out of little brown paper bags as well and used string for hair and markers to make faces, but you could always use the eyes and stuff on those too.

:)

Christmas cards...make the headlining on paper from the computer and just have the kids color all over them with christmas objects and shapes and stuff. Lots of glitter, etc.

Candy cane'd rudolph's...get two candy canes place them next to eachother, but make sure each curved side is opposite from the other (making something that looks like horns.) then take some brown yarn and tie them tightly around the two canes next to eachother all the way up until where the horns would start. Glue and tie the string to make sure it stays. Then use those little eyes and glue them on and then a little red pom pom nose for its nose and a peice of black yarn or a black marker to give it a mouth.

You could also have things the kids could trace christmas related have them cut them out and then punch a whole in the top of it and tie yarn on it so they can hang it on a tree. :)

Macaroni necklaces....have them paint or use markers to make regular macaroni red and green then have them string it on a piece of string and make a little necklace you could add glitter..you could even make this into a chain for the tree.

A long chain for the tree (the stuff you can wrap several times around the tree.) Get some red and green construction paper cut them up in strips then have the kids make them into rings or loops by pasting the end of the strips and attaching each of the strips...then take the next strip put it inside the loop that was just made and make another loop so you have a long chain that can go around the tree. :)

Kids tend to love stickers... though that isn't classically "Craft".
What about threading beads?
My niece enjoys that and my youngest brother used to be addicted to threading beads when he was 3-4...
Though he is mildly autistic.
If they're younger with lower mobility skills, buy big fat bulky colourful beads with a large hole in the middle so it's easier to thread a cord through.
The beads might end up everywhere but they're not sticky or "messy" exactly...

Roofing.

Hmm...  my communication skills last night must have been poor.

I'm in search of craft toys to give to a child who I will probably never meet, as part of a Salvation Army adopt-a-family thingie.  So I don't really need activity suggestions (though those are great!).  I was thinking about things like PlayDoh, crayons, etc.

one of my favorite things to give small kids is an aquadoodle kit.

how about a kids easel? i've seen ones with rolls of paper attached and stuff. some have chalkboards on one side. a lot of them have little shelves on the front to store markers or paints and whatever!

not sure what your price range is, but there are a bunch on here! 

A nice solid color t-shirt or sweatshirt and a selection of fabric paint, brushes, and stencils.

Both of my boys loved doing this activity when they were in pre-school.

Doodle bears? Those bears that you can take markers too and draw whatever you want on them then just wash them and color on them all over again. :P

Those felt posters where the felt is black then there is paper white parts that you color in with the markers they usually give you with the poster.

::opens Anarchist's Cookbook::

Nice idea!  Check out crafts.kaboose.com, they have a ton.