The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
December is spent planning family festivities, baking, decorating, and carefully selecting thoughtful gifts for friends and family. The kids can get involved with lots of the tasks on your seasonal ‘to do’ list – decorating cookies is always a crowd pleaser, and we’ve got lots of great craft ideas for the family to try!
Five Crafty Ways to get the Kids Involved in the Holiday ‘Bustle’
1. Family Picture Christmas Cards – your child’s artwork can take centre stage in all of your Christmas cards. Ask them to draw your faimly and then scan or colour-photocopy the picture to include in the cards you send out. If you want to get really fancy, use the scanned image as the cover of your printed cards!
2. Paint some pinecones – use brightly coloured paints, and sprinkle some glitter while the paint is still we. Let paint dry and arrange in a bowl or vase to display
3. Make a wreath – cut a wreath form from an old piece of cardboard, and then trace and cut out lots of green hand prints. Glue handprints around the wreath form. Add other decorations – find some holly or small pinecones to bring the outside in, or use pompoms, bows, stickers, and ribbons to accessorize.
4. Make a garland – popcorn on string is a classic, but you can also do a beaded garland, paper chains, or even cheerios looped through a piece of yarn or string
5. Make gift tags and bows – repurpose images from old Christmas cards by gluing them onto cardstock gift tags, and make gift bows by cutting newsprint into strips, laying the strips in a star formation, and folding (& gluing) the ends of each strip into the centre of your star
Did you try any of these craft? Send us your comments and photos!
Recommended Reading For Christmas
We have two Christmas favourites that get the kids giggling every time we read them, and we pull them out year after year. These are fun stories right from the time they’re toddlers:
Are You Grumpy, Santa? by Gregg Spiridellis & Evan Spiridellis
Santa’s Suit by Kate Lee & Edward Eaves
More Christmas Craft Ideas
We’re sharing a multitude of Christmas craft ideas on other web sites this month. Check out the links below for more great ways to get crafty for the holidays!
Tree Ornament – Baby Footprints
Did you try any of these crafts? Send us your comments and photos!
Kitchen with Kids – Grandma’s Shortbread
This has always been my favourite shortbread recipe – maybe because it’s the one my mom always makes!
3 c all purpose flour
1/2 c cornstarch
1 c icing sugar
1 lb butter or part margarine
Cream butter and add sugar, mixing until creamy. Add flour and cornstarch and whip together until fluffy. Drop from a spoon, roll, or use a cookie press. Bake at 325 for about 8 minutes
Tip: have cake/cookie sprinkles or coloured sugar ready for the kids to decorate cookies before they go into the oven!
Five Minute Fun – Reindeer Food
Santa’s flying force might get a little hungry on their trip around the world on Christmas Eve, so make sure you sprinkle some reindeer food in the snow or lawn for them to munch on while Santa fills your stockings! Simply add some sparkles to oatmeal, or use cake sprinkles if you don’t have sparkles. Mix in a bowl or zip lock bag, ready for Christmas Eve!