I have been reading some very impressive blogs with ideas for exciting and creative Christmas crafts (like Advent calenders and Paper snowflakes. I have no time for intricacy at this time of year, but I had a day of making decorations on the weekend that was lots of fun
MissZ (2yrs) could almost make paper chains by herself, and definitely had fun helping me. We made them out of strips of leftover wrapping paper.
Then I had a bit of a paper snowflake frenzy. I used plain white printing/photocopy paper trimmed into squares. Fold each square in half 3 times through the centre of the square and cut random shapes. If that isn’t enough instruction, then try this tutorial with pictures. This can be an artform if done with a sharp knife and cutting board, but it is also really fun just freehand. Trying different shapes for different effects is very addictive.
I had a lot of fun on my craft chrsitmas day, and my toddlers loved helping me with this stuff. MissZ’s contribution was mainly about the guillotine, and MrJ (1yr) specialized in distribution of the tiny scraps of paper. Advent memories are made of this.
Anyway, if you are looking to do some last minute Christmas crafty things, here are some more simple crafty Christmas and gift ideas:
- Soap with snakes
This is a cool last minute gift. You will need to buy some glycerin soap. Takes about 15minutes.
- Jewel Case wall art
- Beaded bookmarks
- Handmade books
Again, an excellent way to palm children’s artwork off onto Grandparents. I mean, preserve children’s artwork.
- Walnut boats for decorating your tree
- Baking: Christmas and Cranberry biscuits
- Fabric gift tags
Oh so simple, suitable for the youngest of helpers.
I would like to use this for my kids paintings. I would scan the artwork fragment, print it out on photo-paper in the right size, and put it in the frame.
Image credit: cutendscene (Flickr)
This is a very retro shot embedded with so much emotion!
@roentarre: Yes, it’s a great shot, but not mine, unfortunately.