Category: Winter Projects

Handprint Wreath

2 Comments

handprint-wreath-6

This easy “wreath” to adorn a door or fridge makes a wonderful keepsake, since you’ll be capturing the size of your child’s hand. Consider making one every few years to keep a record!

Adults only: Cut the center from a paper plate, leaving the rim intact; set aside.

Trace your child’s hand on green or red construction paper. You can then use this hand as the template, and cut out as many more hands as you need to march around the rim of your plate.

handprint-wreath-2

Travis has been very into tracing lately, so this was his favorite part of the project. He also thought his red hands looked like the stop hands at traffic signals.

handprint-wreath-1

We then smeared glue all around the rim of our plate, and I asked Travis to help me arrange the hand prints, though to be honest, his interest faded for this part.

handprint-wreath-3

We glued on three small red circles to be “berries” as the finishing touch.

handprint-wreath-5

Happy decorating!

Popsicle Stick Christmas Tree

Leave a comment

popsicle-tree-4

Why stop at one Christmas tree when you and your child can craft together this adorable second? Travis was so excited when he realized what shape we were making with our popsicle sticks.

First, you’ll need to get good and messy with green paint. Paint as many popsicle sticks as you need to make a tree shape – be prepared for green fingers so you can paint all the way to the edges! Once the popsicle sticks dry, cut a few into smaller pieces so your tree can taper at the top. Leave two sticks unpainted to serve as the trunk.

popsicle-tree-1

Have your child help you arrange your “tree” on poster board, then glue each “branch” down, starting from the bottom up. Travis loved seeing the tree take shape as he worked!

popsicle-tree-2

Then it was time to decorate! Party confetti from the grocery store worked perfectly as ornaments and tinsel, but use any sparkly crafty items you have at home that can be glued on.

popsicle-tree-3

For the star on the top, we traced a star-shaped cookie cutter on construction paper, then cut out and glued on. A very cute and festive project.

Dough Ornaments

3 Comments

dough-ornaments-9

We decorated the tree early this year, and to get further into the holiday spirit, decided to make homemade ornaments of our own! Adding spices to the dough makes your whole house smell like Christmas. With holiday music playing in the background, it was the perfect project to kick off the festivities.

In a large bowl, have your child help you combine:

1 and 1/2 cups flour

3/4 cup cinnamon and nutmeg

1 cup salt

1 cup water

If the dough is too sticky, add a bit more flour once you turn out onto a surface to knead it together. Travis adored mixing the dough, and couldn’t wait to get his hands messy when I showed him how to knead.

dough-ornaments-1

We then rolled the dough to about 1/4-inch thick, another step Travis loved since I finally have a child-sized rolling pin for him.

dough-ornaments-2

We used gingerbread men cookie cutters, but any holiday shape – or even just circles – would work great for this project.

dough-ornaments-3

Using a straw, punch a hole near the top of each ornament so you’ll be able to hang it after baking.

dough-ornaments-5

Transfer your ornaments to a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes.

dough-ornaments-6

Once the ornaments cool completely, thread ribbon through the holes and adorn your tree!

dough-ornaments-7

Paper Snowflakes

1 Comment

snowflakes-4

Thanksgiving is over, and so although December is not yet here, we’ve shifted into winter and holiday mode in our house! We haven’t had snow yet, but I wanted to make our apartment into a winter wonderland for Travis, and that meant we would need snowflakes.

This project is definitely a grown-up one if you have a toddler or younger. Children in kindergarten or above will likely be able to help cut, curl, and glue the snowflakes, but it takes fine motor skills – even for this mama!

That said, Travis loved pulling out his safety scissors to “cut” alongside me as I worked, making it a fun family project even for the littles.

snowflakes-1

Cut white paper into 1/4-inch wide strips, and then cut to 6 inches in length. Curl the end of each strip around a pencil tightly.

snowflakes-2

To make one snowflake, glue together 6 to 8 long strips of paper. Fill in the middle of the snowflake with smaller pieces of curled paper.

If you have the patience, you can create dozens of these, and hang from a window. They also make a lovely addition to a Christmas tree.

snowflakes-5