Christmas Arts & Crafts #2

Apologies for the radio silence.  I have been fighting a cough and it has been winning.  I will try and get more Christmas items posted asap because, well, it is nearly here already!

Christmas Trees 

This isn't a hard one but it is a fun one to make.  Nothing special but it gives the kids something to make for Christmas and to take home.

Either collect Ice Lolly sticks or buy them from a craft shop.  If you are lucky they will have coloured ones.  If not then you will just have to get the kids to paint them before hand.

One stick is needed for the 'trunk' of the tree and at least two more to cut/snap as the branches.  Use glitter, stickers, paints, pens....whatever you want to decorate your tree.  Be creative or just let the kids decide from a bunch of different items.

St Nick Sacks

Here in Austria we celebrate St Nikolaus on the 6th of December.  So this is really for this particular fest.  However you could use the same idea for Santa Claus as well.

If you are having a Christmas event where the kids will get to collect sweets & fruit like a stocking then this is a nice craft idea.

The sacks were ordered from a craft catalogue and the rest is just pieces of paper and felt we had left lying around.  Oh and come cotton wool.

This may also be a nice way to pack up presents for the parents or maybe you can think of something else you can use it for.  They definitely look good hanging up around the room before Christmas.

Paper Stars

This is a very easy one but a nice item to make on one of those rainy/snowy Winter days.  They look nice hanging around the room and you can use up your left overs or splash out for some cool shiny paper if you want.

Draw the star on some coloured paper and let the children cut them out themselves.  Wind some glittery thread or ribbon around the star and add some shiny stones or whatever you have lying around.

These are easy and quick to make.  You can make them as simple or as extravagant as you want.  Use your imagination or better yet, make a sample, show the kids and then let them create their own!  You may be surprised at the ideas they have!

Christmas Arts & Crafts #1

Christmas is one of those busy times of the year.  Not only are you busy privately but in work there is loads to do.  Making presents for the parents?  Decorating the room?  Here are a couple of ideas you can use!  More to come!

Glue Stars 

This is extremely easy to make and very nice to decorate the room or to give as presents.

All you need is baking paper, a glue gun and glitter.

Draw a star shape on the baking paper so the kids have a guide.   Then use the glue gun (help the kids!  This is hot stuff!) and trace the star using the glue.  Then fill the star with glue strands.

Before the glue dries you can sprinkle glitter on the stars.  They harden and get cool pretty quickly but make sure you check before letting the kids touch them.  Brush off excess glitter somewhere you want glitter to fall ;)  Then you can put them on a pretty ribbon and hang them up,  hang them on the windows or pack them up as presents.

Nespresso Angels

I am always looking for ways to recycle my Nespresso coffee capsules.  A couple of  years ago I came up with this idea.  Angels!

You need a ball for the head.  We used polystyrene balls but you can also use fimo or anything else that springs to mind.

The wings are made from feathers.  You could also use tin foil, coloured paper or something else you have lying around.  Be creative and try and recycle!

For the hair we used up some glitter pipe cleaners we had left over from something or other.  Although this wasn't out first choice it was something we had and could spare.  One of the good things about these angels is that we used stuff we just had left over from other projects.

The legs/feet were just thin ribbons.  These went up through the capsule (the used capsules have holes already in the top) and ball and also served as the band to hang up the angels.

The children drew faces on the angels and each angel was so different from another.  It was amazing.  The capsules can also be coated with glitter for an extra Christmassy shine!

Make sure you prepare the capsules before hand and clean them!  They start to smell otherwise.  Also make sure that there are no sharp edges left over when you remove the foil on the capsule to empty out the coffee grinds.  I have cut myself a couple of times and you don't want that to happen to the kids!

Snowmen Photo Holders

These cuties were Christmas Presents for the parents from the children.

The metal holders were ordered but you could also make them yourself if you really want to save money.  The wire needs to be thick enough though.

The snowmen are made out of Fimo (I am sure you can use other modeling clays).  A small ball for the head.  Bigger ball for the body.  Add a black hat, eyes and mouth.  To make them look more colourful we added scarves.

Make these as big or small as you want.  Make sure you have all the colours you need and let the kids choose from a variety of colours for the scarves.

Don't forget to make a hole in the snowman using one of the metal holders before you bake the fimo!!  Otherwise you can't add the stand!  The stand also needs a little glue to stay attached!

Add a photo to the presents!  We took pictures of the children with a santa hat on.  You can also use reindeer antlers etc.

St Martin's / Lantern Fest Songs #4 & Christmas Songs #1 : The Star Children

This next song is suitable for both Lantern Fest and for Christmas.  All about stars this is one of my favourites and is adapted/translated from a German song.

You can make up some actions for The Star Children or just let the kids dance around as stars during the chorus....use your imagination!  This song could be the highlight of a Christmas concert or just a nice song to sing with your star shaped lanterns.

The lyrics complete with the guitar chords can be found here.   The chords are not too difficult but you can listen to a recording of The Star Children below to hear how the melody goes.  A reminder : This is just me being recorded by a phone/computer so it is not the best quality but hopefully enough to get an idea how it should sound.

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