Christmas Ornaments

[Momof4]

we made something like these today http://pinterest.com/pin/323133341983541275/

I saw terrarium ornaments. they looked so neat and the kids would love playing with the dirt and moss. I plan to make them next week

We made bejewelled snowflakes today with 3 popsicle sticks tied together but the only work I did was to tie the sticks together with the ribbon and make it into a hanger then the children put all the sticky jewels on themselves.

[BrightEyes]

loulou the terrarium ornaments are so neat!!! This is something I would love to do!!

Momof4, I used a half foaming shaving cream/half white glue mix. I also cut out the three circles for the snowman and put glue on it and then the child puts the circles wherever they want on the page. I have a snowman ornament out as a visual aid but again I let them do the craft themselves other than the prep. Older children tend to put the the circles on top of one another and then "paint" the mixture onto the snowman, but in this picture the circles ended up literally on top of each other and the mixture was finger painted on. Then I gave googly eyes and beads for the eyes, nose, mouth etc which they stick wherever they think it should go . To try and down-size the extreme mess that was bound to happen with a one year old, lol, I kept clothes close by and ran to the sink heh! It was still messy but that's what makes it so fun!!! And I love that it turned out looking like a melted snowman!!!

[apples and bananas]

I love the melted snow man.

I did an ornament hand print as well, but without the cool looking snowmen on it. I'm impressed! We also did the upside down handprint rudolph on the front of a Christmas card with a poem on the inside:

This isn't just a reindeer as you can plainly see.

I made it with my hands which are a part of me.

It comes with lots of love especially to say,

I hope you have a very, Merry Christmas Day!


We did reindeer food today. The kids had lots of fun mixing oats with sprinkles and sparkly sugar and of course... sparkles to make it magical.

Next week we will be working on a centre peice. I have a friend who sells Xmas trees so I'm taking a bunch of cuttings and sticking them into some floral foam. I have young ones, but I'm hopeing they can grasp the concept of sticking the stick into the foam... we'll see. LOL

[Momof4]

Apples&B, the reindeer food is a great idea. I have old things in the cupboard that I could use up that are probably expired, like oatmeal that I never use. I just have to make sure the parents know that it is inedible, hehe. Did you put it in a baggie or something else?

Littlefeet, here's what I do when we paint or use messy crafts - I put dishsoap and warm water and a cloth in a bowl and put it on the table for quick cleanups for each child who gets extra messy. But I have to admit that I like to tell the children that it's ok to get glue or paint on their hands (just hands) for short periods of time and I have painting smocks that cover clothes & arms. Getting messy should be part of the fun of creating.

[BrightEyes]

a&b, I LOVE the poem!! SO cute!!!

[apples and bananas]

The Magical Reindeer Food.

I used all the left over, stale coloured sugars, oatmeal and other assorted decor from my cupboard. I had a ton of stuff left over from last Christmas... guess I should clean out my cupboard more often. I bought the cute little bags at the bulk barn with christmas pics on them. You know... the ones you'd fill with bulk candy at halloween, but with Christmas decor on them. They were about 35 cents each. And I printed out the following poem and attached it to sparkly paper.

A magic food for Santa's reindeers to help them in their flight, with special moondust sprinkled in to shine throughout the night.

And of course, we sprinkled some magic in there... (sparkles) The sparkles stick to the oats and makes them sparkly.

The kids had a blast making them and all of mine are little (15 months - 18 months and 3 years) And very little of it ended up in their mouth... and what did end up in their mouth came right back out. LOL

I told the kids that they can't eat it because the magic only works on reindeer. They are to sprinkle it on their lawn on Christmas eve so the reindeer can refuel on their journey.

[bright sparks]

I make reindeer food every year at my Xmas party. I use the oats with edible sugar in green and red. That way I don't have to be in any way concerned about the little ones eating it as it is completely edible. I buy pots from the dollar store(3 for $1)I fill the sensory tray or the water table up with the ingredients and put plastic spoons in for the kids to stir with and fill their pots up. When they are done they decorate the pots with Xmas stickers.

Its such a great all around activity that even the youngest kids can get something out of and at my Xmas party its a great opportunity for parents to interact with their children in an activity.

I still have to empty my camera onto my computer with pictures but I will post some soon. We are decorating our trees daily. Even though it's the 13th already, everyday when the box of assorted"decorations " comes out they are super excited to pick theirs and stick it on.

Yesterday we made Xmas cookies with the cool Christmas coloured chipits.

My preschoolers are making a simple Xmas card this week which isn't a big flashy thing, but is promoting fine motor skills. I have a sticker sheet for each of them which has a tree and then all sorts of decorations and candy canes that they decorate it with. Just the task of peeling those stickers off is working wonders for all those little muscles in their fingers and muscles. It's also a great independent activity for them. All those looks of concentration, sheer determination and tongue chewing that goes along with the peeling of the stickers is hillarious and cute to see

Another craft we are starting today, and maybe finishing tomorrow is foil ornaments. I have cut out shapes of ornaments from sturdy cardboard and then the kids will cover them in foil. Once thats done they will paint their ornament any colour they like. Once the paint is on I give them a q tip to wipe of paint from the foil in fancy patterns. Here is a link to this super easy and cheap Xmas craft. I'll post mine when they are done.

http://www.busybeekidscrafts.com/Eas...Ornaments.html

This is the craft for my preschoolers next week

http://www.busybeekidscrafts.com/Nor...nterpiece.html

and our baking activity too...

http://christmas-forever.tumblr.com/...-to-make-these

[BlueRose]

Yesterday we made Salt Dough Hand Print ornaments. We are going to paint them today.

To Make:
1/2 cup of Salt
1/2 cup of Plain Flour
1/4 cup of water (give or take)
Make hand impression and cut out hand shape with a knife leaving a border.
Poke a hole in the top for hanging.
Bake at 100c/200f for 3 hours
Paint, Seal and ready to hang

This makes one hand print.
I think that we might also do cookie cutter ornaments out of this dough as well, I just need to buy more salt.

[apples and bananas]

Yesterday we made Salt Dough Hand Print ornaments. We are going to paint them today.

To Make:
1/2 cup of Salt
1/2 cup of Plain Flour
1/4 cup of water (give or take)
Make hand impression and cut out hand shape with a knife leaving a border.
Poke a hole in the top for hanging.
Bake at 100c/200f for 3 hours
Paint, Seal and ready to hang

This makes one hand print.
I think that we might also do cookie cutter ornaments out of this dough as well, I just need to buy more salt.

I tried this last year, but I found they were too heavy to hang on the tree.

[BlueRose]

I tried this last year, but I found they were too heavy to hang on the tree.

I noticed that too. They should be ok to hand on a wall.