Favorite Christmastime Crafts

Favorite Christmastime Crafts

Though we may not believe in Santa Claus anymore, Christmas remains a special time of year for many of us. It brings many childhood memories to the fore and allows us to honor and pass on traditions -- trimming the tree, decorating cookies, and singing Christmas carols to our children. But for children, Christmas is all that and more. It is downright magical. You can help your child experience some of that magic by spending some time doing Christmas-inspired activities. Looking for something new for your tree? Try crafting a homemade ornament. Looking for a special something to put on your door or table? You cannot go wrong (at least from your kids perspective) with a wreath made of marshmallows and cornflakes. We at Savvy have compiled dozens of activities that you can do with your children -- activities that will let you and your child capture the magic of the season.

Handprint & Footprint Angel

Activity for 1-5 year olds

Here is a sweet way to remember the holiday season! Dip the sole of your child's foot into white tempera paint and place it down on a piece of blue paper. The heel should be at the top of the paper and will become the angel's face. Then dip the palms of both your child's hands into the white paint and place them on either side of the footprint, fingers pointing downward. These will be the angel's wings. Use a marker or paint pen to add eyes to the face and a halo on top of the head -- older kids can do this part by themselves. Optional but cute: Cut out the angel figure, laminate it, and place a magnet on the back to display it on the refrigerator.

Materials Needed: Construction paper, tempera paint, markers

Handprint Wreath

Activity for 1-6 year olds

Trace your child's hand onto green construction paper or card stock. Cut out 10 - 12 individual hand shapes, allowing older children to help if they are able to use scissors. Gently fold a paper plate in half and cut out the center, leaving a circular outer ring. Glue the paper handprints around the paper plate rim. Decorate with glitter glue and a red ribbon. Be sure to write the year and the child's age on the back.

Materials Needed: Green paper or card stock, scissors, paper plate, glue, glitter glue, red ribbon, pen

Cornflake Wreaths

Activity for 3-6 year olds

To make the wreaths, melt butter and marshmallows in a saucepan until smooth. Mix in a few drops of green food coloring -- enough to get the color wreath you want. Then add the cornflakes and stir until the cornflakes are fully coated in the marshmallow mixture. Spread out the cornflake mixture on a cookie sheet. Once it has cooled, mold cornflakes in a small wreath-shape circle. Add red hots for berries. A fun activity and delicious treat!

Materials Needed: 3 tablespoons of margarine, 10 ounce bag of mini-marshmallows, 6 cups of cornflakes, green food coloring, red hots

Dough Ornaments

Activity for 2-6 year olds

These ornaments are great holiday gifts that children can give. Make the dough ahead of time by combining baking soda and cornstarch in a saucepan. Pour cold water in and cook over medium heat stirring constantly for about 5 minutes, until the mixture thickens. Remove from heat and cover with a wet paper towel until cool. Once cool, get your child involved in the next steps. Knead on a waxed paper covered surface until dough is smooth. Then roll out dough to about 1/6 inch thickness and cut with cookie cutters. You should end up with 2 to 3 dozen ornaments. Make a hole in each ornament for ribbon. Let air dry for 2 days turning ornaments over periodically. Now it's time for your child get creative by painting the ornaments and gluing on sparkles. (Note: The dough is also fun to play with but doesn't keep long.)

Materials Needed: 2 cups baking soda, 1 cup cornstarch, 1 1/4 cup cold water, wax paper, rolling pin, cookie cutters, ribbon for hanging ornaments, and decorating materials such as paint, glue and sparkles

Kind Thoughts Christmas List

Activity for 3-6 year olds

This is a simple activity to get your kids' minds off the commercialism of Christmas. Ask each member of your family to think of something that they wish for someone else for Christmas. Place the list on the refrigerator and add to it each night. You'll be surprised at what you can all come up with, and none of them require a trip to the store!

Materials Needed: Paper, pen, kind thoughts

Beaded Christmas Ornaments

Activity for 3-6 year olds

This is a fun holiday activity and also promotes hand-eye coordination. Take colored beads (red, green, and white are nice for Christmas), and string onto a pipe cleaner. Bend into desired shape. For specific ideas, try alternating red and white beads and shaping into a candy cane or use green beads, adding a red bead after every 4 or so and bend into a wreath.

Materials Needed: Pipe cleaners, colored beads

Chocolate Covered Stirring Spoons

Activity for 3-6 year olds

These chocolate-coated stirring spoons are a fun gift to make and give to anyone who likes a hit of chocolate in their coffee or is a fan of extra-chocolatey hot chocolate. To start, microwave 12 ounce bag of chocolate chips in a heat-proof bowl until melted. You may want to pull the bowl out after a few seconds to give it a stir. (If you don't happen to have a microwave, you can also melt the chocolate in a heat-proof bowl over a pan of simmering water.) Now dip the plastic spoons in the chocolate until the chocolate covers the bowl of the spoon. Dip them one-by-one, placing them on waxed paper after you pull them out. When partially set, after about 5 minutes, dip the chocolate covered spoons into sprinkles or colored sugar. Wrap in cellophane and tie with a ribbon.

Materials Needed: Heavy, good-quality plastic spoons; bag of chocolate chips, any flavor; sprinkles or colored sugar; waxed paper; cellophane wrap and colored ribbon