Question:

Christmas craft

COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS PAPER CHAIN

Children have counted the days until Christmas arrived for years and years. You don't need a fancy store bought countdown calendar, just make up this simple, yet effective craft.
Construction paper (red and green)
1 glue stick (not so messy)
scissors
Use your scissors to cut out 12 strips of red and 13 strips of green construction paper. The dimensions are flexible but I find 1 inch by 8 inches a good size. After that make 1 of the strips into a chain link (circle) and glue together with your glue stick. Repeat making each strip into a circle and connecting through the last circle making a chain. Alternate colors of paper until you have 25 chains. Now you have your very own countdown to Christmas. Starting December 1st pull off 1 chain & do this for the next 24 days and when there is only 1 chain left you'll know that it's Christmas! We always made these chains and draped them over the children's headboards. They ripped off one link each night before going to sleep.
POEM TO PUT ON CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN CHAIN
1.
How many days till Christmas?
It's mighty hard to tell
Take off a link every night
When the Sandman cast his spell
And Christmas Eve will be here
By the time you reach the bell.
The children take the chains home and are told to take off one link
every night to count down the days until Christmas.
2.
December first until Christmas
Is the longest time of the year.
It seems as though old Santa
Never will appear.
How many days until Christmas?
It's mighty hard to count.
So this little chain on links
Will tell you the exact amount.

COOKIE CUTTER BIRD FEEDERS

Here is a nice idea for feeding the birds in the winter. I myself have given these for gifts in a set of 3 or 4. You will need a metal cookie c utter, the kind that outlines the shape and has no front or back. Make a thick suet with Peanut butter or lard, oatmeal and birdseed. Tie a string around the top of the cookie cutter for hanging. Then stuff the cookie cutter with the suet. I pat the suet out about two inches thick on wax paper and insert the cookie cutter, removing the suet around the outside. These are pretty hanging from a tree outdoors and the birds really appreciate it too.

PINE CONE ORNAMENTS

Pine cones are a natural tree ornament and take very little effort to "decorate" for your Christmas tree. First tie a ribbon or string around the pine cone, the way you do this will determine how the pinecone hangs (from one end or the other, or from the center so the cone lies sideways). They can be decorated with glitter glue or paint, or glue on some ribbon, beads or sequins. Letting the kids use their imagination will make the cones even more special in years to come.

CRAFT -CINNAMON DOUGH DECORATIONS

Make Christmas tree decorations with a wonderful aroma of cinnamon and apples.

4 parts cinnamon
3 parts applesauce
1 part white glue
To make cinnamon dough, mix ingredients together in a bowl. Give each child a small amount of the dough. Have them flatten the dough on a floured surface. Let the children use their favorite cookie cutters to cut shapes out of the dough. Give each child a straw and have him make a hole in the top of each shape so it can be hung. Add ribbons or yarn for hanging after the shapes have dried for at least 48 hours

TAG FOR A HOMEMADE CHRISTMAS ORNAMENT

HANG THIS ON YOUR CHRISTMAS TREE,
This is a good little poem to attach to a Christmas craft with the child's hand, feet or finger prints. Be sure to date these items!

Hang this on your Christmas tree,
To remember how I used to be.
To remind you of me now and then,
And bring fond memories back again.

REINDEER POOP

(use small, round chocolate candies like covered peanuts or raisins)

I woke up with such a scare when I heard Santa call...
"Now dash away, dash away, dash away all!
I ran to the lawn and in the snowy white drifts,
those nasty reindeer had left "little gifts".
I got an old shovel and started to scoop
neat little piles of "reindeer poop".
But to throw them away, seemed such a waste,
So I saved them, thinking ~ you might like a taste!
As I finished my task, which took quite awhile,
Old Santa passed by and he sheepishly smiled.
And I heard him exclaim as he rose in the sky ~
"Well, they're not potty trained, but at least they can fly!"

HANGING CHRISTMAS TREES

Make Christmas tree cut outs out of green construction paper. Your kids can glue on "Fruit Loops" colored rice or pasta to decorate it.

CHRISTMAS PLACEMATS

When you're busy baking or making dinner, have the kids chip in by making some placemats for the Christmas breakfast table. They can use a sheet of construction paper and decorate it with their favorite Christmas scene. If you want to go all out you can laminate them, but we make new ones every year. On Christmas Eve, it's the kids "job" to set and decorate the kitchen table for breakfast the next day. (It's become a tradition for my husband's to make breakfast Christmas morning.)

CANDLE ORNAMENT

Cover toilet paper roll with colored paper. Add colored leaves around the bottom & a flame to the top.

CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN POEMS

After making a chain of 24 links I had the children attach this poem for an easy Christmas countdown craft.

How many days till Christmas?
It's mighty hard to tell.
Take off a link every night
When the Sandman casts his spell,
And Christmas Eve will be here
By the time you reach the bell.

You may prefer this poem:
Christmas Countdown Poem 2
Each evening when goodnights are said,
Take off one link and hop into bed.
When only the star is left to shine,
When you will know it's Christmastime!

STAR ORNAMENTS

Glue two perfectly shaped triangles together to make a six pointed star. Cover with macaroni, glitter or colored rice.

CLOTHESPIN SNOWMAN ORNAMENT

old doll type clothespins
cotton balls
sticks or brown pipe cleaners
glue
scraps of material or felt
orange pipe cleaners
scissors
sequins, beads or buttons
yarn
Gather materials. Unroll about 10 cotton balls With the ball end up, slowly wrap cotton around bottom of clothespin, forming the base of the snowman, gluing occasionally to hold cotton. When the base is desired size, repeat process for a middle section. Make this section smaller than the first. When this section is desired thickness, put a dab of glue on top of clothespin and hollow out the center of a regular cotton ball with your fingers. Place this on top of clothespin for a snowman head. Decorate with fabric scraps, felt, sticks, pipe cleaners, wiggle eyes, buttons, beads, etc.

HAND PRINT WREATH

A keepsake wreath can be made using your kids handprints. Trace your child's handprint on green construction paper several times, you will need 6 to 10 prints depending on the size of wreath you want ( In my daycare we use the foam sheets so the wreath will last a long time.) Glue them in a circle forming a wreath. (You can use the outside rim of a paper plate for a guide.) The kids can decorate them with sequins, buttons or beads (for holly) and ribbon. Be sure to date the back and include your child's name (in their own writing). These make a super gift for Grandma and Grandpa!

CRAFT -PIPE CLEANER TREES

To make little trees, give each child a bundle of six to eight green or brown pipe cleaners.
Wrap the top half of one pipe cleaner around the center of each bundle to hold it together. Then have the children bend the ends fo the pipe cleaners to create the tree branches. Show them how to bend the ends of the trees out to make roots.

Have the children decorate the branches by threading beads and buttons or by wrapping the branches around scraps of tissue paper.

JAR LID ORNAMENTS

Decorate old jar lids with odds and ends of braid, fringe, rickrack, cord, sequins…etc. Frozen juice lids are great for these.

CHRISTMAS WREATHS POEM

Our Christmas wreaths are fat and round
Made of woodsy things we found.
We tied brown cones upon the green
And stuck red berries in between.
Upon the wreath for our front door
We tied red ribbon from a store.

CANDY CANE PICTURE FRAME ORNAMENTS

Using 2 large and 2 small candy canes, form a rectangle and glue in place. A hot glue gun works best for this but royal icing works too. Attach a picture to the back so you can see it from the front and hang by a ribbon from the tree. Holds up best when backed with poster board.

CANDY CANE ORNAMENTS

Make these simple tree ornaments by twisting an 8" length of red and white pipe cleaners.

PRETZEL WREATH

Using miniature pretzels, glue (using royal icing) 1 layer of them in a circle like a wreath, then glue a second layer on top of the first joining the pretzels together over the middle of a pretzel on the first layer. The size you make is flexible, but we make them on a paper plate, so we can hang them on the tree. You can weave ribbon between the holes if you would like, or just hang with a ribbon.

ANGEL ORNAMENT

Paint old fashioned clothes pin white. Paint knob on top like a face. Cut out wings & glue to back.

FINGERPRINT TREE

Using green construction paper cut a triangle out approximately 6-8 inches tall and 4-5 inches wide, this will be the tree. With yellow and red paint or washable ink, have the kids make fingerprints all over the tree for ornaments. Hang on your tree with a ribbon. Be sure to put your kid's name and year on the back, you'll have a keepsake for years to come. I have seen these laminated and with a current picture of the child on the back too.

SOAP FLAKE WREATH

Mix soap flakes with water to make a thick mixture. Add green food coloring or tempera and put on paper plates with the centers removed for a Christmas wreath. Add seeds or buttons for berries.

STAR SANTA

Many years ago a story was told about a star that wanted to fall down to earth and make the children happy. A fat, jolly gentleman picked him up and said I will have a pattern of you made for all the boys and girls." Mrs. clause made the pattern, cutting it out of red paper. The children used their white crayon and made a face on one of the points., Arms and legs on the other points and a belt across the middle. The Star Santa hung on the Christmas tree and made the children happy.

GUMDROP TREE

GUMDROP TREE
On your walk find a small branch of a tree or bush to use for the tree. Strip the leaves off the branch if there are any remaining. Next make the tree stand upright by sticking it in a mound of clay, or in a small cup that has been filled with sand. Paint the tree and stand white and when the paint is dry, stick a gumdrop on the end of each branch.

PAPER PLATE HOLLY WREATH

1 Paper Plate
Green and Red Construction Paper
Small ribbon bow
Cut green construction paper into holly leaf shapes aprox. 2" x 3". Cut the center of a paper plate out and glue the holly leaf shapes around the edges, completely covering the plate rim. Cut ½" diameter circles from red construction paper. (you could use red buttons for the holly too) Glue in sets of 3 around your wreath. Glue bow to bottom of wreath.
I have used this idea before but assemble it slowly. I post the paper plate ring on the refrigerator on December first. After cutting enough holly leaves to cover the ring, I put them in a sandwich bag and post it near the paper plate ring. I tell the kids that whenever we do a good deed in the month of December, we will glue another leaf to the wreath. (If they are big enough I have them write the "good deed" on the leaf first.) By Christmas Eve the wreath will be decorated with all the good deeds of the month, and we add the bow and buttons then. All you have left to do is put the year on the back of the wreath, and you have a great memory to decorate your home in years to come.

ICICLE ORNAMENTS

Use scraps of metallic or gift wrapping paper to make these icicles for your tree. Punch a hole in the top corner and fasten a string to it. Begin rolling the side corner around a straw. Hold it tight! When you get near the opposite corner, put a little paste on the corner and roll to the end.

GARLAND

Children love to make garland for your tree. They can make it from a number of components. Stringing popcorn is an age old favorite, but you can string cranberries, round cereals, beads. One of my favorite garlands that I put on my banister each year, is made from the beads off an old wooden bead car seat cover. We snipped away until all the beads were in the bucket, and then strung them all together on cotton string. Look around your home for items that will make a garland. I have seen the tiny pinecones (about 1 to 1 ½ inches) twisted on a length of wire, a garland for the fireplace or windowsill.

BELLS

Make some bells to accompany songs. String a bead on yarn or string and push both ends up through a hole made in a jar lid. Adjust the length so the bead swings freely in the jar and tie off the yarn in a know on top of the lid. Reinforce the string with tape. Different size jars will have different rings. Be careful with these, they are made of glass jars, and if they break could be dangerous. You can also make bells from a metal funnel.

PAPER PLATE SANTA

PAPER PLATE SANTA
Have your child draw a face on a paper plate, and glue on red triangle for Santa's Hat. Use a cotton balls on his hat and for his beard. Or cut out holes for eyes, and mouth, and punch two holes to make a mask.

BIRD SEED ORNAMENTS

Tie a yarn loop on a pine cone, spread peanut butter all over pine cone, roll in birdseed, hang outside a window.

A WISH COLLAGE FOR CHRISTMAS

Wonder what your kids want for Christmas? If the children are too small to list what they wish for, supply them with a toy catalogue or toy advertisements and let them cut out pictures of what they would like Santa to bring them. They can put the most desired item on the top of the page and other items further down. A great plus to this activity is they can't fit dozens of pictures on one page, and will have to choose carefully!

EGG CARTON BELLS

Make ornaments from egg cartons to hang on your Christmas tree, or whenever you would like to make simple bells! Cut apart the sections of an egg carton. Have the kids paint them, or use the white Styrofoam kind of egg carton. You can make them sparkle by sprinkling glitter on the wet paint or painting with watered down glue and then sprinkling some glitter on. Attach a tiny bell to a pipe cleaner and insert it up through the center of the egg carton section. Bend the top of the pipe cleaner to make a hanger for the ornament.