Christmas Countdown Day 3: Crafts for Kids

I'm a bit short on time today, so I'll just be posting a few ideas and a couple of links where you can find MANY more.

Elf Bowling from the long thread. How cute is this? I know my kids would have a ball (pun intended) with it! Click here for instructions.

 

Jennwa from The Ramblings of a Crazy Woman is full of do-able ideas for kids' crafts. And I really admire people like her who actually do all the messy, fun stuff, rather than just collect the ideas in a folder. ;) Just click on this link for instructions to the above crafts along with many, many more!

 

Another favorite link of mine these days is Blissfully Domestic, specifically, their Creative Bliss and Blissful Kids sections. Tons of ideas and tutorials there, like this one for making your own snowglobes.

I know several of you have annual gingerbread house decorating parties, either with friends or just your family. It's a great tradition! But, if you're like me and just don't have the patience (or skill) for all of the baking and assembling, or if you just don't trust that all of the pieces of the purchased gingerbread kits will fit together (The Great Gingerbread Decorating Disaster of '06, anyone?), then this idea is for you. It comes from Kristi Cutler at Everything is Pink. She and her family use a pre-made wooden house year after year.

You just add the frosting and candy, and then stick it under the faucet and wash it all off a few weeks later when you're ready to take it down. That's right...you heard me correctly, just wash. it. off. Is that genius or what? I emailed her about it, skeptical, and she said her mother-in-law has had the same house for 30 years! As long as you stain and seal the wood, you're good to go for a generation or more. Gen-ius.

Click here to read more about Kristi's house; they even add lights to theirs, and they use it for other holidays, too, just using the approriate holiday candy...a "haunted" Halloween house, a sweet red, white, and pink Valentine house...the possibilities are endless!

And if you were holding a decorating party with friends, you could make them their own houses in advance to take home as a party favor that will last forever. I actually got the dimensions for Kristi's house from her this summer so we could make some at our Annual Craft Weekend, but you could easily make up your own; that part does not take a genius. ;)

   

Moving on, one of our favorite homeschool sites is Enchanted Learning for printables and craft ideas. It is a paid membership site, but that's only to get it ad-free. You can still check out their ideas and get many of the printables without signing up if you're willing to put up with a few ads. Click here for their Christmas Craft and Printable page.

Of course, there are also the old standbys of Family Fun and Martha Stewart...never a shortage of kid-friendly ideas at either of those sites.

Also, I was thinking today how the mini canvas magnets I posted on Monday would be a perfect kid project: let them loose to create miniature works of art for Grandma's refrigerator.

So this December, get messy, get glittery (Shelly!), and have some Christmas fun with the kiddos.