With the holiday season right around the corner it’s never too early to start thinking of ideas for activities and crafts we can do with the kids. Whether you’re looking for a quick craft to entertain the little ones while you sip your mulled cider, or you’re hoping to create one-of-a-kind Christmas gifts for your loved ones, the options are endless for holiday crafting as a family.
Crafts to entertain toddlers
Toddlers can be especially challenging as we prepare for the holidays. Their excitement can often turn into over-exuberance and test the patience of even the calmest parent. That’s why having a few easy, holiday crafts up your sleeve can be just the ticket to entertaining the wee ones, and keeping your holiday sanity.
Felt Christmas Trees
With just a few colors of felt and a pair of scissors you can create a felt Christmas scene that your toddlers can play with for hours. They’ll be excited to see something new to play with and most toddlers enjoy taking the ornaments off the tree just as much as putting them on. An added bonus is that it can be hung on the wall to distract your toddler from taking the ornaments off the actual tree. A free pattern for felt ornaments can be found here.
Paper Plate Snowmen
Nothing is easier than a paper plate craft and this one requires very little prep ahead of time. Simply cut a few shapes out of construction paper and provide the shapes, and a glue stick, to your children. You’ll need a few circles for eyes and mouth creation, a triangle nose and a square for the hat. You can be as creative as you’d like with various embellishments including ribbon scarves or decorative berries. You can even use three paper plates to make a full sized snowman, with real buttons like this example here.
Crafting as a family
The time you spend as a family during the busy holiday season will create cherished memories. Searching for ideas of things to make though, shouldn’t be on your to do list. There are some fun and simple crafts you can make together which require little prep and little clean up. That’s certainly a win-win.
Family hand-print Santas
Hand-print art is a very popular keepsake lately and there’s nothing cuter than these little hand-print Santa Clauses. The whole family can participate and all you need is a canvas and some red and white paint.
Popcorn strings
A throwback activity to Christmases past, stringing popcorn is a fun and beautiful way to spend time together as a family. Making a popcorn garland together will quickly become a holiday tradition. You’ll need a needle and string along with a bowl of popped kernels. You can add fresh cranberries or flowers for a pop of color. More instructions can be found here.
Gift Making
If you find yourself running out at the last minute to purchase gifts for extended family, friends, neighbors or your child’s teacher, never fear. Here are some holiday ideas to inspire your gift giving spirit without breaking the bank.
Tea Bag Christmas Tree
For this craft you’ll need some items from the crafting store including a paper mache cone form. You’ll also need:
tea bags (individually wrapped)
hot glue gun and glue sticks
ribbon or other decorations to embellish your tree
You’ll start at the bottom of the cone, gluing tea bags with just a small dot of glue into rings around the cone. Layering different colored tea bags, with your decorative embellishments until you get to the top. You can adorn your tree with a bow or paper star at the top.
Some examples and further explanation can be found here.
Here’s hoping that these ideas will foster some creative energy and boost your holiday spirit this season.
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