Now that it’s December decorations and lights are starting to fill the streets and adorn houses, it’s time to celebrate Christmas again!
The cold weather at this time of year can make playing outdoors for children difficult, that’s why now is the perfect time to encourage creativity and get the family involved in some Christmas crafts!
Here are some of our favourite Christmas craft ideas for you to try out.
Paper Snowflakes
You Will Need:
- Plain white paper or card
- Scissors
- Hole Punch (Optional)
- String (Optional)
Instructions:
- Take your paper or card and fold it 2-3 times, you can do this with different sized paper to create different sized snowflakes!
- Once the paper has been folded use scissors to cut various shapes out of the folded paper. Make sure your child is supervised whilst using the scissors.
- Unfold the paper to reveal the paper snowflake you have created! Experiment with cutting different shapes to make different snowflakes.
- If you want to you can hang the snowflakes up. Use a hole-punch to create a single hole at the top of the snowflake.
- Tie string around the hole you created. You can now hang the snowflakes to the ceiling or even use them as Christmas tree decorations.
Gingerbread Man Garland
You Will Need:
- Plain brown paper or card
- Scissors
- Colouring Pens
- Your choice of decorations
Instructions:
- Fold your piece of paper into pleats so that both ends of the paper are on the same side. You can make the chain as long as you like!
- Place your folded paper flat on a table and draw half of a Gingerbread Man shape on to the first pleat. Ensure the arms and legs of the Gingerbread Man touch the edge of the paper so that they will be linked together when unfolded.
- Whilst still folded, cut out the Gingerbread Man shape.
- Unfold the paper to reveal your Gingerbread Man paper chain!
- Now you can decorate the garland in any way you like. Use coloured pens to draw patterns on to the men or use other decorations such as buttons or googly eyes.
- Once the decorating is complete, you can hang up your Gingerbread Man garland as a homemade Christmas decoration.
Salt Dough Snowmen
You Will Need:
- ½ Cup Salt
- 1 Cup Flour
- ½ Cup Water
- Acrylic paint in Christmassy colours
- Paintbrush
- Orange Toothpicks
- Small Twigs
- Felt Scraps
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 120°C, Mix the salt, flour and water together until a dough is formed.
- Knead the dough on a floured surface to stop sticking, until the mixture is smooth and elastic.
- Roll the dough in your hands to form different sizes balls, these balls will make up the bodies of the snowmen.
- Create the snowmen laying down on a baking tray, ensure the salt dough balls are touching each other so that they form a single piece during baking.
- Break or cut the end off of the orange toothpicks and insert them into the heads of the snowmen to create the nose.
- Add two small twigs to the bodies of the snowmen to create the arms. Be sure to do these steps BEFORE baking, whilst the dough is still soft.
- Bake the snowmen for approximately 2 to 2 ½ hours. Remove from the oven and leave aside to cool completely. For best results we recommend leaving to cool and dry overnight or for a minimum of 4 hours.
- Once cooled you can start to paint the snowmen any way you want. Add coloured dots for buttons and black dots for eyes and the mouth.
- If you have felt scraps available you can also fashion hats and scarves for the snowmen.
- Now the salt dough snowmen are complete you can add them to your Christmas decorations!
DIY Snow Globes
You Will Need:
- Small Jars (can be purchased at most hobby shops)
- Small Christmas themed toys to put inside
- Glycerin
- Fine Glitter
- Heavy Duty Glue
- Needle Nose Pliers
Instructions:
- Using your heavy duty glue, coat the bottom of your toy.
- Use the needle nose pliers to place the toy in the position you want in the jar, press down firmly and then let the glue dry.
- One the glue is dry fill the jar up with water. Add a small amount of Glycerin to the water, this will help the ‘snow’ to float better.
- Add enough of the fine glitter to coat the base of the snow globe
- Use the heavy duty glue to fix the lid in place. Once this is dry the snow globe is complete!
Cupcake Liner Christmas Trees
You Will Need:
- Assorted cupcake liners - Christmas themed designs work the best
- 12 x 12 inch card – Smaller card can be used for shorter trees
- Transparent tape
- Scissors
- Glue
- Ruler
Instructions:
- Roll your square piece of card into a cone shape, try to get a nice peak on the ‘tree’ by tightening as much as possible.
- Tape the cone securely using your transparent tape.
- Decide how tall you want your Christmas tree to be. Use a ruler and pencil to mark a straight line across the bottom of the cone.
- Cut along the line to remove the excess card, leaving your Christmas tree with a flat bottom.
- Select two or three different cupcake liner designs for the tree. Cut the cupcake liners straight to the centre and then cut out the flat section, leaving just the ruffles.
- Using alternating patterns, press the cupcake liners you’ve cut out around the cone, using transparent tape to hold them in place.
- Once you reach the top of the Christmas tree, use one of the liners to form a cone for the top.
- Glue this in place to create the peak of your Christmas tree.
- Your Cupcake Liner Christmas Tree is now complete!
We hope these Christmas craft ideas provide fun for the whole family over the Christmas holiday period.
We provide a range of Junior Easels that are perfect for arts and crafts activities and encouraging your children to be more creative.
At Early Learning Furniture we are experts in early years’ educational resources and supply school classroom furniture, school library furniture and play equipment to primary schools, pre-schools, nurseries and playgroups.
For more information about our products please contact us or call our sales team on 01733 511030.
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