Holiday Fun!

The holiday season is not only the perfect time to break out the boxes filled with old memories but it’s also a great time to create new ones! What better way to do that then to create a variety of homemade tree decorations with your little one! Not only will this provide a wonderful opportunity for bonding but it will also give kids a chance to work on basic skills, such as cutting, pasting and so much more! Below are a few ideas that are not only easy, but equally as adorable.

Dangling Snowman

What you’ll need

3 round objects

Scissors

Craft foam, white and orange

Glue dots

Monofilament

Buttons

Permanent marker

Ribbon

How to make it

Using the round objects as patterns, cut out 2 white foam circles in each size.

Place one set of the circles on a flat surface, spacing them 1/4 inch apart. With glue dots, glue a 12-inch piece of monofilament across the circles as shown, then firmly press the matching circles on top.

Use more glue dots to attach buttons and an orange craft foam nose. With a permanent marker, draw on eyes and a mouth. Finally, tie a ribbon scarf around the monofilament at the neck, and then knot the line above the head to create a loop for hanging.

 

Colorful Christmas Cats

What you’ll need

Wooden craft spoons

Small Beads

Acrylic paint

Fine-Point Permanent Marker

White card stock

Green Tissue Paper

Glue

Red Beads

Pipe cleaners

String

How to make it

To make each one, first coat a wooden craft spoon with acrylic paint. Paint a patch of the same shade onto a piece of white card stock and let the paints dry.

Cut a 1⁄2-inch square from the card stock, then cut the square in half diagonally and glue the 2 triangles to the top of the spoon for ears. For a tail, curl a 6-inch piece of pipe cleaner and glue it to the back of the spoon.

Glue on black seed beads for eyes and draw a face with a fine-point permanent marker. Add a holly collar by twisting two or three 1-inch squares of green tissue paper around the tip of a pencil, then glue them in place, adding a few tiny red beads or glitter for berries. Glue on more beads for buttons.

Make a hanger by tying a piece of string into a loop and gluing the knot to the back of the spoon. Let all the glue dry completely before hanging.

 

Spoon Santa

What you’ll need

Red felt

White faux fur

Pushpin

Glue or Glue Dots

Monofilament

Googly eyes

Wooden craft spoon

Small white pom-pom’s

How to make it

Cut out a red felt hat that’s slightly taller than the craft spoon handle (ours is about 3 inches). Use a pushpin to poke a hole through the felt about 1/4 inch below the tip of the hat. Thread a 7-inch length of monofilament through the hole and knot the ends to create a loop.

Cut out a fur strip to trim the hat and glue it in place. Then cut out a fur beard.

Glue the hat and the beard to the spoon as shown, then stick the googly eyes to the wood. Finally, glue a small white pom-pom to the tip of the hat.

 

Jessie Degraffenreid

Assistant Director-Springfield 3