Want the children to be part of the Christmas decorating this year? Have your children make one of these Christmas-inspired crafts.
Christmas Hand Tree
Get some green poster board or construction paper and have your child trace his hand in pencil on the board or paper. Using child-safe scissors, have him cut out his traced hand. This will be his Christmas tree. Put out an array of decorative items for him to use to decorate his tree. These decorative items might include, sequins, glitter, small pipe cleaners, thin ribbon and small strips of silver icicles. Each child should decorate his Christmas tree as he seems fit. Put the completed Christmas trees on plain white poster board, to accentuate the tree, and hang from the mantle or from the refrigerator.
Strings O' Things
Instead of going out and buying those expensive garlands to wrap around your tree or mantle, have your children brainstorm ideas on items they can string up. They can let their imaginations run wild. Give them bowls of popcorn (plain popcorn that you let get stale for a day or two works best), cranberries, cereal loops and other items they have thought of (that will not get rotten) along with some string and a needle so they can create a garland for the tree. Since they will be working with a sharp needle, be sure to always supervise your children. You may want to give the kids a thimble to wear on their thumbs so they do not poke themselves with the needle.
Felt Ornaments
Some of the least expensive craft items to purchase are pieces of felt. Have your kids design ornament shapes on regular card stock. They can come up with designs like Santa, stockings, Christmas trees, manger scenes, stars, snowflakes and reindeer. When they have drawn their designs, have them use child-safe scissors to cut them out of the card stock. They will use the designs as patterns to help trace their felt counterparts. Be sure to have many sheets of felt available in all colors, especially the Christmas colors of green, red and white. Once they have designed their felt ornaments, glue them onto card stock, so they have a hard backing. Have an adult insert hooks onto the ornaments so they can be hung from the tree.
Pine Cone Trees
If you live in an area where you cannot walk outside without stepping on a pine cone, start collecting some of the bigger and more open cones. If not, you can go to a crafts store to purchase some inexpensive pine cones. Have an adult spray paint the pine cones different colors like green, silver and gold, in a well-ventilated area. After the pine cones are completely dry, set out an assortment of different decorative items like felt pieces, glitter, sequins, pom pom balls and card stock. The pine cone will serve as the "tree" that the children must now decorate. Have the children design a tree topper like a tree or an angel out of the felt and card stock. They will then use the other items to decorate their trees. These pine cone trees can be placed in various spots around the house for some instant Christmas cheer.
