Category: Christmas

Little Tree Crate

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We loved our Swirly Ornaments holiday crate from Kiwi Co., and the kit for Little Tree turned out to be just as wonderful. The project set the stage for a festive mood inside our apartment on a drizzly December morning. Read on!

To start making the tree, we first needed to do some math, dividing the kit’s green pipe cleaners into two equal piles. This was a neat way to introduce Travis to counting out two sets of something, just as you would for dealing out cards in a game, for example.

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Cut the pipe cleaners from one pile in half, and leave the others long.

Insert the provided wooden stick into the round wooden stand.

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Starting with the long pipe cleaners, wrap around the stand.

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Repeat with the short pipe cleaners. Travis loved the wrapping, and insisted on doing so himself for each one.

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Adult step: snip the pipe cleaners at an angle, so your tree is a triangle shape. Travis was really psyched to see our fake tree in the same tapered shape as our real tree.

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Peel the backing off a provided star sticker, and attach at the top of the tree.

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Next up, thread on the provided beads and bells as ornaments. “Which are ornaments and which are lights?” Travis wanted to know.

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Good question, but either way, all beautiful!

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To make the base, use any round bowl to trace a circle onto the provided red felt.

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Cut out and decorate with the provided gold glitter glue.

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Travis was equally delighted by the “presents” that can go under the tree – two wooden cubes, onto which we glittered-glued pom poms.

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You can set your tree out as a pretty decoration, and we also plan to leave it alongside cookies and non-dairy milk for Santa on Christmas Eve! It’s also the perfect size to be a play tree for your child’s stuffed animals.

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To round out our festive morning, we made hot cocoa and added in a cute Snowman-themed spelling lesson from Education.com.

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This fun picture word match was a great way to cuddle up inside during the cold winter months and practice Travis’s spelling skills. For more spelling activities and printables like this check out Education.com!

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In sum, we had all the makings of a cozy winter morning.

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Swirly Ornaments Crate

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Kiwi Company occasionally puts out special holiday-themed crates, and we’ve been holding on to this one since last December! Reading the title on the box, I imagined the final product would be ornaments with beautiful swirls. Little did we know the method to make the ornaments was swirly, too!

Travis was so excited seeing the three plastic globe ornaments, since we had just set up our tree. Add two of the provided watercolors (in primary colors) to each globe for a quick lesson in color mixing. You’ll be able to make one orange, one green, and one purple ornament. Next squirt in a drop of the glittery silver paint.

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Add a marble, and get swirling! As you swirl, the marble will help the paint coat the entire globe.

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As a parental aside, this was very precarious proposition with a four-year-old. Of all the Koala projects we’ve ever done, this was by far the messiest! It was quite hard for Travis to swirl enough to coat the inside of the ornament without also spilling paint, so step in if you need to.

He loved the drying method that came next though; upend the ornament over a provided paper cup. The marble and any excess paint will fall out.

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We set ours aside to dry for about an hour.

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Ideally, flip the ornaments at this point and allow to dry on the inside, too, overnight. Travis was too impatient though and wanted to pop in the provided corks and seal them up!

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To finish each ornament, we wrapped a sparkly pipe cleaner around the neck.

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Add a silver ribbon (a great chance to practice tying a bow), then thread a provided bell onto the pipe cleaner. Hook the end.

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Now it’s ready to hang on your tree!

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The kit also suggested gifting the ornaments (just slip on a gift tag and it’s ready to go)…

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…or attaching one to your stocking as a sparkly decoration.

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Let the holiday season begin!

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Twig Stars

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There is a beautiful, yuletide feel to these stars, although here we are crafting them in October! Make them now, or set the idea aside for the upcoming Christmas season.

For each star, you’ll need 5 sticks that are roughly the same thickness and length; break any to the proper size if they are too long.

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I hot glued the stars together, then set Travis up with tidbits to decorate them – berries, pine needles, a bowl of glue, and a bowl of glitter. Little pinecones would look sweet, too.

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First dunk the berries in the glue, then immediately transfer to the glitter. He loved this part!

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If you like, dunk in the tips of your pine needles, too, or any other nature finds you have to add to your stars. Let dry completely.

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The next morning, we dabbed glue all over the stick stars, and added our berries and other treasures.

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Travis got a bit impish and loved smearing glue over the leftover glitter on our work surface, too. Good thing I had things covered with a layer of foil!

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Hang the resulting stars from twine, indoors or out.

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As mentioned, these would be beautiful at Christmas, but will light up a windowsill or other area of your home any time!

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Sponge-Print Wrapping Paper

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Enlist the kids help with gift wrapping this year… not just to wrap up the presents, but to make the wrapping paper first. Not only will they enjoy making this easy DIY gift wrap, but they’ll be so proud when they see gifts presented to loved ones in the paper that they made.

To start, cut sponges into shapes and glue onto old jar lids – the sponge should be cut until about the same size as or smaller than the lid. Simple shapes like triangles and squares are easiest, but get fancy if you’re handy with a paring knife!

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I spread out a leftover roll of craft paper, and Travis immediately set to dipping his sponge stamps into paint…

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…and dotting all over the paper. He liked making “patterns” as he worked.

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Sometimes he spaced the stamps far apart, and sometimes he liked clustering them, so we ended up with a final product that was decidedly his creation.

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We also had fun swirling together blue and white paint to make a light blue.

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Once the paint is completely dry, it’s gift wrapping time!

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What fun wrapping ideas have you used this holiday season? Please share in the comments!

Coffee Candles

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This is a beautiful and simple project, and to be honest was more of a craft for the grown-up in the room than for Travis! But he loved the materials involved, which were completely novel to him. Whether your little helper actually pitches in with the craft or just plays with the materials, it’s a cozy winter afternoon activity to do together.

The goal was to decorate the bottom of pillar candles with whole coffee beans – a toasty smelling and lovely touch that will add beauty to your holiday decorations or would make a great gift if wrapped up in cellophane with a big bow.

First, Travis needed to investigate the coffee beans. He loved the way that they felt and smelled – it didn’t hurt that we used an intense dark roast!

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The next cool object was the candles, since I don’t usually have these around the house. He loved the smooth wax, and was very curious how the wick and flame work (adult supervision required around candles at all times, of course!)

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To decorate a candle, you’ll need tacky glue (not white school glue) so that the coffee beans will hold in place as your little assistant helps glue them on. We decided we liked the beans best with the dimpled side facing outward.

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As mentioned though, Travis’s interest quickly turned simply to playing with the coffee beans. He was soon delightedly busy with a coffee bean kitchen…

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….while mama glued on the beans. Since it was just me, I actually switched to using a hot glue gun, which held the beans in place even better than tacky glue.

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Once the beans are set, place your holiday candles where friends and family can enjoy their sight and aroma too!

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Give a Super Soup!

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Need a gift for teachers that they’ll actually use? Assemble the dry ingredients for this warming winter soup in a jar, add a hand-made note from your child, and tie it all with a pretty ribbon for a perfect gift. Thanks to High Five magazine for the suggestion!

First, the full recipe, because you’re going to want to make a batch of this soup at home, too:

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Ingredients:

  • 1 and 1/2 tablespoons low-sodium vegetable bouillon cubes, crumbled
  • 1 tablespoon dried parsley
  • 1 tablespoon dried minced onion
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/8 teaspoon celery seeds
  • 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 cup tricolor rotini or fusilli pasta
  • 1 cup chopped carrot
  • 2 chopped celery stalks
  • 1 and 1/2 cups cooked and chopped Gardein chickn
  • 1/2 cup oyster crackers
  1. In a large pot, combine the bouillon, parsley, onion, black pepper, thyme, celery seeds, garlic powder, bay leaf, pasta, carrot, celery, chickn, and 6 cups water.
  2. Bring to a boil, then cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 15 minutes.
  3. Uncover and remove the bay leaf; continue to simmer for an additional 5 minutes.
  4. Serve with the oyster crackers!

To prepare the soup as a gift, have your child help layer the ingredients from the bouillon through the pasta in a 1-quart clear glass jar. Travis loved adding in the herbs:

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And untwisting caps to smell each one before we added it!

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Place the oyster crackers in a small zip-top plastic bag, and nest atop the other ingredients. Put the lid on the jar and tighten.

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Write out the recipe instructions on a recipe card (Note: teachers will supply their own carrots, celery, and chickn when the time comes).

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Have your child decorate the index card with crayons or stickers. Of course Travis needed to help punch a hole in each index card.

Super Soup (6)Now slip a ribbon through the hole and secure around the lid of each jar.

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Think that your kid’s teacher would prefer something sweet to something savory? Check out the Rocky Road Brownies we used for a gift mix last year!

Don’t forget to save the recipe and make a big pot of this for your own family, too.

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Hand-Shaped Dish

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I’m a sucker for any craft that incorporates the size of a child’s hand. Last year, we made  a wreath featuring Travis’s handprints. This year we switched our art medium to clay. This little dish is perfect for holding holiday candies, and would also make a great gift for grandparents on your Christmas list!

To start, we gathered our materials: air-dry clay and balloons. Balloons and clay first thing in the morning? Travis was in heaven!

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Blow up one balloon to a size your child can comfortably hold in his or her hand; set aside.

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Trace your child’s hand onto a piece of paper and cut out; set aside.

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Now flatten your clay using a rolling pin until it is large enough to hold the handprint.

Use a clay slicing tool or plastic knife to cut around the handprint.

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Now here’s the slightly funny part: drape the hand over the balloon, and let sit somewhere kids can’t touch it or mess with it until dry.

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Once dry, remove the balloon and set your hand on the counter as a decorative dish.

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Don’t forget to inscribe with kids’ names and the year, so you’ll always remember!

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Starry Holiday Table Runner

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This project is a great way to get kids involved in holiday décor! The result is charmingly homespun and sure to delight relatives or other visitors at your holiday table.

To start, I prepped a star stencil. Ideally, you’ll want to use a real star stencil from a craft store. I printed a star template on paper and cut out the star shapes, which worked in a pinch; if you use this method, however, be sure to have several templates on hand, as each one can only take a coat or two of paint before tearing.

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Next we prepped our workspace, unrolling a large length of craft paper, and pouring white paint into a foil pie plate.

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Travis loved helping thin the paint with just a touch of water, for a creamy consistency.

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Next I showed him how to hold the stencil in one place on the paper, and paint over the exposed open star shapes. He loved the challenge, and although his paintbrush sometimes slopped over the edges, this only added to the charm of our final runner.

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Keep moving your stencil until you’ve covered the entire length needed with star shapes. He even pretended he was a professional painter as he worked!

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We left the paint to dry, and then I cut the craft paper to form a thinner rectangular runner, with a triangle snipped from each end for a banner-like effect.

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The runner is perfect under our advent calendar display while we wait for the day to actually celebrate with relatives, and then we’ll move it to the buffet table!

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Cardboard Learning Tree

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This is a great activity that combines seasonal holiday crafting with a little learning. If you play your cards right, the kids won’t even know you’ve slipped in some education with their fun!

For the shape of your tree, you can either paint a large piece of cardboard (holiday gift delivery boxes, perhaps?) or poster board. We chose poster board because I knew it would be easier to cut out the tree. Either way, Travis was thrilled when I said I needed the entire thing painted green.

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We left the paint to dry overnight, and the next day I cut out the tree shape.

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Next we gathered supplies for the “ornaments.” Use holiday-themed cookie cutters or other shapes, and trace the outlines on colored construction paper.

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Don’t worry if your kids don’t trace perfectly, you can always neaten up the lines when cutting the shapes out later.

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The next step was even more fun: laminating the cards. Although this step is optional, it will definitely make your paper pieces last longer. Travis adores whenever he’s allowed to help laminate, so this was a big hit.

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I cut out the shapes, and set them aside.

We hung our tree on the wall and added a brown piece of construction paper as the trunk.

The final step was to add Velcro strips to our tree and ornaments. Place the soft side of the Velcro on the tree at random intervals, then attach one rough Velcro piece to each ornament. Travis loved this even before we added the learning element, hanging his ornaments and then changing their positions.

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There are so many games you can play from this point on! First, I numbered the ornaments one through twenty with a wipe-clean marker, for a number search game.

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A simple wipe with a paper towel and we could play alphabet games. One suggestion is to hide the letters in your child’s name, and have them pinpoint those on the tree.

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As an alternative, write the upper and lower case of a batch of letters, and have your child find the pairs.

In full honesty, Travis was way more into the mechanics of this game (taking on and off the ornaments, wiping them clean with paper towels), than he was with the learning games, but we’ll play again over the course of the next few weeks!

Advent Christmas Books

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We didn’t have a proper advent calendar for Travis this year, but here’s a neat idea I nabbed from Parents magazine. Each night of December leading up to Christmas, set one holiday book under the tree for a special storytime.

The first night that Travis noticed a tissue-paper wrapped item under our tree, his eyes popped with delight. It soon became his favorite part of our bedtime ritual, rushing up after dessert to discover what awaited under the tree.

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There’s no need to buy 25 holiday stories! You no doubt have a few at home, but supplement the list with picks from your local library.

Some of our books were hits and some were misses (the pickings grew a bit slim at the library towards mid-December), but that didn’t lessen Travis’ delight tearing through the tissue paper each evening.

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Save favorites for the final week before Christmas. In our house that includes The Polar Express, Twas the Night Before Christmas, and The Snowman.

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Other books, ranging from the silly to the sweet, included:

Little Blue’s Christmas

The Animal’s Santa

Where is Baby’s Christmas Present?

Gingerbread Christmas

Santa Shimmy

and Christmas Parade

What holiday books are favorites in your household? Please share in the comments!