Christmas Craft -Really quick and simple crafts for kids

Cute Reindeers

These cute little guys can be made to hang as ornaments from your Christmas tree, stuck up on the wall with some blue tack to create a little reindeer family OR stuck onto wrapped Christmas presents as a nice extra decoration.

For each reindeer you’ll need: 3 x pop sticks (plain, coloured, short, long – any kind you like!)
2 x googly eyes
1 x small pompom ball
1 x pipe cleaner
craft glue 

1.Glue two pop sticks together to make a ‘V’ shape.
2.Glue the googly eyes half way up each pop stick.
3.Curl the pipe cleaner around and around the centre of the third pop stick then bend the two ends of the pip cleaner to look like antlers.
4.Glue the third piece on, placing it above the eyes.
5.Glue the pompom ball to the bottom of the V to make a nose and leave it all to dry.

I showed Miss Two how to make the first reindeer, and then let her glue and stick all the other reindeer's together (with my guidance). She loved picking her own colours and being in charge of creating her reindeer's.
While she was busy picking and gluing the eyes on, I made the antlers as they were a little too difficult.

Tips: You can glue the pop sticks in advance if you have young children or if you’re unable to leave them in their position to dry.

Christmas Wands

These wands are the perfect accessory for your little ones Christmas costume, as the star on the top of your Christmas tree OR the kids can play with them as a magic Christmas wand.

For each wand you’ll need:

1 x polystyrene foam star (I got a mixed pack of 6 from Kmart for $3)
1 x stick
ribbon/s
red paint
glitter

1.Poke a hole in the foam star with the stick.

2.Put a bit of glue on the hole. Position your ribbon over the tip of the stick and push it back into the same hole. This is to keep the stick stable and secure the ribbon.

3.Let your child paint the star all over, turning it over to paint both sides.

4.Give them some glitter to sprinkle over their freshly painted star and then leave it to dry.

This has by far been the best Christmas craft I’ve made with Miss Two. It’s very quick easy to make and they look great. Best of all she loved making it and loves playing with it.

You can also to this idea with almost any foam shape you like, just add ribbon and paint!

Reindeer Muesli/Chocolate bars

My kids loved making these. 

You just need coloured Christmas paper, tape, pipecleaners, eyes, pom poms and glue and something to wrap. we used snack bars but you could use any tubular or rectangle packaged gift.

1. Wrap your item in the coloured paper like a present and tape together

2. Cut the pipe cleaner in half and tape to the back.

3. Glue the eyes and nose on.

Great little gift for classmates or friends.

Mistletoes

Other than getting the kids footprints in paint these are so easy and so cute.

Once you have your footprints and they have glue them to some thicker card of a different colour. It makes them stand out and makes them last a little longer.

Pop a hole in the top and thread a string or ribbon through the top. We used a pipecleaner. 

Tie a prettybow and glue or staple it to the top and its done! 

Do you make Christmas craft with your little one?

 

Just incase you missed it, you may like our How to Bow like a Pro article.
Make your own ribbon bows and save heaps.

Christmas with Alvin and a Wookie ?!

Christmas Songs that everyone should know

Week Three!

Are you enjoying your weekly dose of Christmas Songs ??

First Song:

"The Chipmunk Song (Christmas dont be late)"

Written by Ross Bagdasarian (a.k.a. David Seville - The Chimpmunks Adoptive Father) in 1958. Bagdasarian recorded all the voices though the credits are given to the fictitious Chipmunk Characters.

It reached number one on the Billboard Top100 in the US and stayed there for four weeks. Funnily enough was the only Chipmunk single to ever reach number 1.  
Ross Bagdasarian had only one other single that being "Witch Doctor" which also topped the charts in 1958. 

Fun fact for you. The Chipmunks were named Alvin, Simon and Theodore. They were named after Liberty Record's President Al Bennett, Owner Si Warnoker and the engineer on duty when it was recorded, Ted Keep.

After 45 years the song made it back into the Top 100 in 2008 after the success of the movie "Alvin and the Chipmunks"

This song won Three Gramys and Bagdasarians "Witch Doctor" won two Gramys for Musical Engineering.  



Second Song:

"What do you get a Wookie for Christmas (when he already owns a comb)"

From the Album "Christmas with the Stars - Star Wars Christmas Album"

I kid you not!!

Most of the Album is sung by Anthony Daniels (C3PO).  

It is however most known for the first professional recording of Jon Bon Jovi.  
He sings the lead vocals in  "R2-D2 We Wish You A Merry Christmas."
Jon Bongiovi (his birth name) was employed to sweep floors at the studio where it was recorded. His Cousin owned the studio and co produced the album.  

The Track list for the album is :
"Christmas in the Stars" – 3:17
"Bells, Bells, Bells" – 3:15
"The Odds Against Christmas" – 3:04
"What Can You Get a Wookiee for Christmas (When He Already Owns a Comb?)" – 3:24
"R2-D2 We Wish You a Merry Christmas" – 3:16
"Sleigh Ride" – 3:36
"Merry, Merry Christmas" – 2:09
"A Christmas Sighting ('Twas the Night Before Christmas)" – 3:43
"The Meaning of Christmas" – 8:08

On a side note, did you know there was a television show "Star Wars Holiday Special"
It was aired only once. November 17 1978 in the U.S. and Canada on CBS.  
George Lucas was quoted as saying "If I had the time and a sledgehammer, I would track down every copy of that show and smash it."
There is lots of random facts and history and Lucas quotes about it but you can look it up i just wanted to share this totally odd song.

Have you ever received a Christmas gift 

that was totally odd??

I got a plain black nothing special plastic soup spoon for a gift a couple of years ago .....  odd 

yes i use it.

week one: Cable Knits and Bad Perms, Lots of them

week two : You can't have Christmas without a little Bing or a little Bowie

From now till Christmas each week we are sharing Christmas Songs that i think everyone should know.

Why?  Why not!    No real reason just some are so great and some so bad and some are just hilarious!

I'll include some fun and fascinating trivia (that you just wont want to miss) and maybe a little story of my own.

I would really really love for you to get into this with me -  maybe sing a tune and share some stories with us :) 

Christmas Foam Trees - Easy Toddler Craft

3D Christmas Tree Craft for Kids

Glitter Christmas Trees

You’ll need:

• Small polystyrene foam cones (I got a pack of 6 from Kmart for $3)
• Soft confetti or small/fine glitter
• Craft glue or double sided sticky tape
• Clear contact
• White card or pre-cut paper stars
• Scissors

Before you start this project with your child, make sure you have everything set-up. It’s best to prepare your foam cone with the craft glue OR double sided sticky tape before they begin so it’s nice and tacky, ready for sticking.

Put some the confetti/glitter into a tray to keep it all in the one place (and to minimise mess!). Your child can then roll the cone over and over again getting all the little pieces to stick to it, creating a lovely homemade Christmas decoration.

Once it’s dried it’s best to cover it in contact to keep all the little tiny pieces on there – you’ll definitely need to do this if you've used double sided sticky tape as they will drop off over time.

Cut out, or help your child to cut out a star for the top of the tree. You can also buy pre-cut stars for very little cost from most craft places.

Make a small cut at the top of the tree. With a touch of glue, stick a star in place.

Fuzzy Christmas Trees

You’ll need:

• Small polystyrene foam cones
• 20+ pipe cleaners for a cone
• White card or pre-cut paper stars

*This is a little tricky for the younger ones and I had to do most of it with Miss Two but she still helped by choosing the colours and poking them in the foam.

Start by poking the end of the pipe cleaner in one part of the foam and with tension, tightly wrap it around the cone then push the end tip into the foam to secure it. Continue this until you can’t see anymore of the foam.

Make a small cut at the top of the tree. With a touch of glue, stick a star in place.

We have a few foam cones left so our next attempt is going to be a lolly and a chocolate Christmas tree!

What other creative ideas can you think of to make these cones festive for Christmas?  

Tuesday is IBOT link up day with Jess http://essentiallyjess.com/

Decorate your own Trick or Treat bags!

You’ll need:

• Paper bag/s
• Orange paint & paint brush
• Halloween stickers - I found this packet at the two dollar shop, they also sell them at most craft stores.

I squeezed some paint onto one side of the bag and let Miss 2 brush it all around.

She then picked out the stickers she wanted, I helped peel them and passed them to her to position where she liked. 

We left them to dry and that afternoon turned them over and did the same to the other side. 

Once they were dry I wrote ‘Trick OR Treat?’ on the sides.

Now my two little monsters are all ready to go trick or treating on Thursday 31st of October!

Awesome Toilet Roll Monsters!

You’ll need:

• 3 x toilet paper rolls
• 10 squares of toilet paper
• 2 x large black pipe cleaners (OR 10 x standard pipe cleaners)
• 1 x A4 sheet of orange paper
• 3 x pipe cleaners - for arms
• Stickers - for the eyes, nose and mouth (OR use googly eyes, paint, texta)
• Craft glue

Mommy Monster 

Squeeze some craft glue on the roll and wrap all the toilet paper around then glue the fold down.

Twist a pipe cleaner around to create the arms. 

Decorate using stickers,googly eyes, paint or texta.

Pumpkin Monster 

Cut the paper in half, length ways.

Glue the toilet roll and wrap the paper around gluing down as you go. Glue the fold down. 

Twist a pipe cleaner around to create the arms. Decorate the eyes, nose and mouth using stickers, googly eyes, paint or texta.

*I folded a pipe cleaner to make legs but the legs made it wobbly and I think it looks better without them.

Fuzzy Monster

Twist the two black large pipe cleaner ends together to make one long one. 

Using craft glue or double sided sticky tape, wrap the large pipe cleaner around and around the whole roll.

Twist a pipe cleaner around to create the arms.

Decorate using stickers,googly eyes, paint or texta.

Check out our Halloween Paper Pumpkins

Super easy paper pumpkins!

For each pumpkin you’ll need:

• 1 x A4 paper
• 2 x paper fasteners
• 1 x green pipe cleaner
• Pencil - to curl your pipe cleaner and pierce the paper strips
• Orange crayon - to colour the paper (OR use paint/pencil/texta)
• 2 x googly eyes (or you can draw them on)
• Black paper - for the mouth and nose
• Fishing line or string - to hang

Cut the paper into 8 even strips. I did this by folding the paper in half and cutting along the fold, repeating this until I had the 8 strips.

Using the tip of the pencil I pierced a small hole at each end of every strip of paper.

Give these strips to your child to colour in orange.

Show them how to poke the paper fastener through the holes, point out that the coloured side needs to be facing down. Open the fastener to secure.

The next bit is a little fiddley so you may need to help out. Bend the strips around and poke them individually through the second paper fastener. Open the fastener to secure.

Using the pencil curl the green pipe cleaner. Twist it once under the top paper fastener.

Tie the fishing line/string where you tied the pipe cleaner.

Sticky tape or glue your googly eyes, nose and mouth on.

Your paper pumpkin is ready to hang anywhere you like.

*Make a few and use A3 paper to make a little paper pumpkin family!

How about making some Halloween Cookies :) - Click Here!

Dinosaurs Garden - Fun Holiday Activity

Looking for something fun to do one day my five year old loved making this and still months later goes out and plays with it.  Most of the plants survived being moved around a few times and are starting to sprout and grow. Everyone who visits seems to like it and can't help themselves and move a dinosaur around. 

You'll need :

• A base.  we used the largest flower pot base we could find and then just drilled a couple of holes in it.  You could use any sort of plastic storage container, litter box, baking tray. 

• Potting mix or soil. 

• Environment items like rocks and we used an old branch broken up. We also used a smaller flower pot saucer for a lake.

• Plants.  Succulents are best as they don't really mind being snapped off and planted somewhere else.  We had a variety at our place already but if you don't maybe a neighbour wouldn't mind you having a piece of theirs? 

• Some dinosaurs we had a collection already but you can buy small packs of dinosaurs from most department stores or variety stores.   You don't need to use dinosaurs how about fairies, Lego men or army men.  Any of those little figurine type things. 

Green Eggs & Ham – for your little Sam-I-Am

Dr Seuss Green Eggs & Ham

  

  

 This is my daughters FAVOURITE book, it gets read several times a day and taken everywhere. I’ve even found her sleeping with it a few times!

So I made this little dish for her very worn, over read book.

This would make a great platter for a kids party or an event like Book Week.

You’ll need:

• A dozen eggs
• 2 tsps American mustard
• 1/3 cup whole egg mayonnaise
• Paprika
• Salt & pepper
• Green food colouring

• 600g sliced ham (we use honey leg ham)
• 1 packet cocktail forks
• *optional flat leaf parsley for decoration

Hard boil the eggs.

Cut the eggs in half, length wise using a sharp knife. Remove the yokes and put them in a bowl to make the filling.

Place your halved egg whites on a serving tray with a bowl in the middle for the ham rolls.

I used parsley on the base of the tray to help keep the eggs in place and for garnish.

Mash up the yokes with a folk then add mustard, mayonnaise, paprika, salt and pepper. 

Once it’s all combined start adding your green food colouring a little at a time, mixing as you go until you get your desired shade of green. *You can use the Natural Extras green but it doesn’t quite give the nice green for Green Eggs and Ham so I used the standard food colouring in the end.

Pipe the filling into the eggs using a piping bag (or place your filling in a large zip-lock bag and snip one corner).

When that’s finished cover the tray with cling wrap and place them in the fridge to set the filling.

To make your ham rolls you take a slice of ham and roll it into itself, secure it in the middle by putting a cocktail folk through it on a 45 degree angle.

I trimmed the ends of the ham to give them a neat look (and kept the cut off for sandwiches).

Place your ham in the bowl with the cocktail folks pointing upwards.

Your green eggs and ham is ready to serve!

Have you seen our other great Childrens book and recipe posts see Each Peach Pear Plum Pie here