With Christmas coming soon and children being let out for winter break, here are a few arts and crafts that will keep your young ones occupied in a fun and creative way.
Handprint Santa
Materials Needed: (for 1 card)
-Red construction paper as well as a sheet of green construction paper
-Paints (finger paints, tempera paints, etc) (Red, black, and white)
-Glue Stick (Liquid glue works as well)
-Paper plates
-A plain note card
-Googly eyes
Instructions:
1. Cut out the shape of Santa’s hat from the red construction paper and glue it onto the card. Glue the googly eyes about an fingertip away below the hat.
2. Pour the white paint onto one paper plate and black, red, and pink (mix red and white) onto another. Have your child make their handprint (with the white paint) and place it on the card (fingertips away from the hat). Allow them to use their fingertips to paint in the trim of his hat, nose, mouth and rosy cheeks.
Candy Sleigh
Materials Required: (per sleigh)
-Square tissue box
-Candy canes
-Red tape or paint
-Candy
Instructions:
1. Cut off the top of the box and trim the edge so that it resembles a sleigh. (Front lower than the back).
2. Cover the sleigh with red tape or paint (you may leave the pattern already their if your child wants)
3. Cut holes in the lower corners of the sleigh and insert candy canes as the “runners”
4. Fill the sleigh with candy
Edible Snowmen
Materials Required: (per snowman)
-3 large marshmallows
-M&M Minis
-Frosting (White works best)
-Gram crackers
-Thin stick pretzels
(Feel free to pick other candies for your child to add for different aspects i.e. a hat or scarf)
Instructions (for the basic body):
1. First put a pretzel into the bottom of the first marshmallow, then push it through the second. You may need another marshmallow to go through that second marshmallow and the top of the last marshmallow. This makes his body.
2. Next put two pretzels in the middle of his body for arms.
3. Use a little bit of frosting to stick marshmallows to the body for the eyes and buttons.
4. Coat a gram cracker in frosting on one side and place your snowman on it. This makes his snow covered ground.
5. Feel free to add more candies to your snowman to make him as unique as you want. (Twizzlers work well for scarves and you can use peppermints as a brim of a hat with a dot on top for the top part of his hat)
6. Let him dry and eat him as a nice treat.
Remember to have extra marshmallows and smaller candies because kids tend to eat their supplies before they’re done. =]
Dog-Bone Wreath
Materials Needed:
-12 in. cardboard circle (12-in. Styrofoam wreath works just fine)
-Scissors
-5 yards of ribbon and a matching bow
-Large dog bones
-Small dog toys
-Tape
-Evergreens (optional)
Instructions:
1. Trace a 8 in. circle in the middle of your cardboard circle and cut out the inner circle with scissors.
2. Tape the ribbon onto the back of the cardboard wreath (tie it to the Styrofoam wreath if that’s what you’ve chosen to use) and start winding it around the circl on a slight diagonal. Once you’ve gotten around the circle, cut the ribbon and tape it down.
3. Cut ten 9 in. lengths of ribbon for attaching the dog bones and toys. Attach eat treat separately by first placing the object on the wreath and securing it by placing ribbon across it. Flip the wreath over and tie the ribbon into a secure knot (make sure there is no slack in the loop) Leaven a 3 in. space for the bow between the first and last treat.
4. Fasten the bow or tie it into place.
5. If you’ve chosen to add evergreens, tape them onto the cardboard (or push the ends into the Styrofoam).
6. With the remaining length of ribbon, tie a loop on the back of the wreath at the top so that it can be easily hung for all to see.
This will be surely enjoyed by your family dog and is a fun activity.
Sparkling Snowflakes
Materials Required:
-12-in. white iridescent pipe cleaners
-Clear tri or sunburst beads
-Needle and fishing line
-White iridescent pom-poms
Instructions:
1. Cut 6 pipe cleaners in half to create 12 pieces. Hold 11 pieces together and tightly wrap the last piece around the middle of the bundle, as shown, twisting its ends to secure it.
2. Spread the pipe cleaner pieces into a starburst shape and thread about 5 beads onto each pipe cleaner half as shown
3. Using the needle, thread the pom-poms on the fishing line, then tie the snowflake to one end of the line.
