Have a Crafty Christmas

And so the countdown begins and the excitement mounts. It’s a stressful time for adults but children just wanna have fun, fun, fun…

So here are some more tips for keeping Santa’s little helpers doing just that. Get ahead with all you need for our suggested craft activities and games and you even might find time to put your feet up and have five minutes peace while they have a ball.

Guess Who?

This is such an easy, inexpensive game for adults and children alike. All you need is a Christmas hat, pen and post it notes.

Write down the name of famous characters on the post-it notes. You could choose Christmas related characters - Snowman, Father Christmas or Rudolph or opt for Disney heroes and heroines like Elsa from Frozen, Mulan or Cinderella, Prince Eric from the Little Mermaid, Peter Pan or Captain Hook – the choice is yours. Help the children come up with ideas or just give them a list of names to choose from. Pop the sticky post-its into a box and let the children takes turns in pulling out a name which is then stuck to their forehead. The “character” then has to ask questions which require only a yes or no answer to determine who they are.

Snowman slam dunk

You will need paper cups for this game, felt tip pens or crayons depending on the age of the child, stickers, glue, coloured paper, cotton wool or felt for decorating.

Invert the cups and draw a Snowman’s face on the front of the cups. You can make them as elaborate or simple as you wish. Then stack them in a pyramid, the more the cups the better the fun.

Then take aim using a plastic aerated or foam ball or for extra fun make your own snowballs from stuffed white socks – there’s no need to cut them, just stuff with paper or wool, tied at the ankle and there….. you have your snowball! You can also ring the changes by collecting plastic bottles, decorating them with all or some of the above and setting them up for ten pin bowling. Using the same balls, see who can knock them all down in on.

Christmas decorations

For these decs you will need pipe cleaners, red and white beads, paper plates, paints, glue, glitter and string or raffia. APRONS vital !

Remove the circle from the paper plate and paint the rim green, then get the children to make green handprints and cut round them - alternatively you could use green card. Then stick the handprints with the fingers facing out onto the rim of the plate in the shape of a wreath. Next cut out small red circles or use red pom poms to create holly berries at the top and bottom of the wreath. Finish off by gluing a red ribbon to the bottom of the plate – then you can either punch a hole through the top for another ribbon or string to create a hanger. You can make the wreath each year – don’t forget to add the date on the back and bring it out every Christmas as a wonderful personal keepsake full of nostalgia for Christmases past.

Another craft activity which the children will love to get down and messy with are potato mash baubles.

You obviously need a potato masher for this! Dip the masher into the paint and press onto coloured  craft card – it can be dark or lighter card depending on the background you want. Once the paint has dried add glue, then glitter and stick a square of card to the top of your bauble to create the metal top of the bauble. Cut each one out – you can then replicate what you have done on the reverse of your bauble. Punch a hole in the tip, thread some ribbon through the hole and suspend from the tree.

Have fun !

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