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DAYCARE CHILDRENS CHRISTMAS
CRAFT IDEAS
GROOVY CHRISTMAS
Have your kiddos make a paper chain and extend them from the
ceiling to the
floor and tape to the floor in a Christmas tree shape.
The kids can also make ornaments that can attach. Add a
lava lamp underneath
and you too will have a groovy Christmas!
CHRISTMAS WREATHS
Pretzel Wreath
You'll Need:
Little Pretzels
Curling Ribbon
Glue
String the curling ribbon through the pretzels.
Use an over-under /under- over pattern so that the pretzels will
lay flat.
Apply glue to secure each pretzel as you form a circle. Add
another layer of pretzels onto the top. Glue on a Sprig of pine
or holly and this makes a beautiful gift.
Tip: Consider gluing the wreath onto a paper plate or a circle of
cardboard for extra security.
Cinnamon Cut Outs
Mix 3/4-1 cup applesauce with one 4.12-oz. bottle ground cinnamon
to form a stiff dough. Roll out to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut with
cookie cutter. Make hole for ribbon. Carefully put on rack to
dry. Let air dry several days, turning occasionally. Makes 12
sweet smelling ornaments.
Pasta Christmas Wreaths
You'll Need:
Small Paper Plates
A Variety of Different Pasta
Glue
Silver or Gold Spray Paint
Bow
Cut center out of the paper plate. Glue pasta noodles around the
outer ring, completely cover the paper plate. Let glue dry and
then spray paint the
desired color. Use a Glue gun to add the bow!
SANTA COUNTDOWN
To help children wait for the big day we do the following calendar
activity:
take a photo copy of Santa's face and hat and glue to the top part
of a white paper plate.
I draw 25 circles to make the beard. In each circle I put a number
in the middle of the circle(1-24) on as his beard.
Each day starting Dec. 1, we glue on one cotton ball in the number
for that day.
At the end of the month you will have filled in the entire beard
and Christmas is here!
ELF DAY
I have centers set up around the room for the children to go to.
-Cooking center - they make reindeer
sandwiches. Cut bread diagonally, spread with peanut butter. Add
two M&Ms for eyes (or raisins), use a cherry for the nose on the
corner of the bread, and use 2 curly pretzels for the antlers.
-Gift center - here they mix food
coloring in with the white playdough to make red or green
playdough.
-Gift Bag Center - here they dip a tree shape cut
from a sponge (or candy cane shape) +-9*into paint and stamp it
on a white paper bag.
-Reindeer Game Center - I have reindeer and
feed buckets here with the reindeer names on them for them to
match up bucket to reindeer.
-Wrapping Center - I have many different
types of wrapping paper samples laminsted here and they must
match up to 2 that are alike.
-Gift wrapping center - I have small
boxes and extra paper and tape in this center for them to wrap
the boxes up.
-Santa's list - I have the children's
names and pictures in my pocket chart and there are clip boards
here with fancy paper decorated with a Santa and lines for them
to make Santa's list of good boys and girls (copying the names
from the pocket chart).
ORNAMENT
Collect the small clear plastic balls that knee-hi's come in.
At Christmas, I use a woodburning tool (or
something that will drill a SMALL hole) to put several small holes
in the "globe", including one exactly in the top center. I
let children fill these
globes with highly scented potpourri, small bits of colorful
ribbon, small pine cones, anything that is colorful and
Christmasy. I put a piece of
ribbon in the centered hole, and knot it from the outside and
inside (this is the hanger, and is done before the children fill
the globe). Snap the bottom
back on, and there is a beautiful ornament to put on their tree at
home!
AOL CD ORNAMENT
I use free AOL disks (they can be found in many stores)
Cover the label with felt
Have children decorate the shiny side using glue, glitter,
confetti pieces,
tissue paper scraps, etc.
You can write a message/date on the felt side or add child's
photo.
Put yarn or ribbon through the hold for hanging.
CARD
This is a cute card I made last year with my kids. Paint one of
their feet white and stamp it on blue paper. Then get yellow
paint (we have paint that has glitter in it which works nicely)
and paint both of their hands -- using the heel of the foot as
the "head", stamp one hand on either side of the foot. Cut out
an oval big enough to be a head, and use a pipe cleaner formed
into a small circle for a halo. Glue these onto your body. You
have an angel! I wrote "Happy Holidays from your little angel"
on the side.
STAND ALONE STAR
This three dimensional star decoration is made from two paper
stars that are interlaced. These stars stand by themselves on a
table and make a great decoration.
you will need stiff paper, crayons, scissors
Two paper stars are needed to make one dimensional star. Draw two
identical stars on a piece of stiff paper . decorate the two
stars on both sides and cut them out. Make one slit in each
star, on one star the slit goes from an inner point to the
centre point, and the other slit goes from the outer point to
the centre. Slip the two stars together through the slits you
have just cut.For stability you may have to tape the two stars
where they meet at the slits
Where is Santa?
Sung to the tune: Are you sleeping?
Where is Santa? Where is Santa? (hands behind back)
Here I am! Here I am! (arms out in front making a belly shape!)
Merry, Merry Christmas! Merry, Merry, Christmas!
(keep arms up through the rest of the song!)
Ho! Ho! Ho!, Ho! Ho! Ho!
AN EASY CHRISTMAS PLAY
Night of the Christmas toys
I wrote this play a number of years ago and have used it three
times. Get large boxes (large enough for children to
hide inside) and wrap them with the bottom open. Watch
what the children wear for Halloween, you may be able to use the
costumes. I dress them up as toys based on what I can pull
together as costumes. We have had sugar plum fairies, toy
soldiers, teddy bears, raggedy ann and andy.
I pull together about 1 ½ minute of tape per character group.
For soldiers I use a march, for the ballerinas/fairies I use the
dance of the sugarplum fairies from the nutcracker, raggedy ann
I use a ragtime song, teddy bears I use the teddy bears picnic.
I string the songs together on a tape fading each one out.
The last song is the march of the Christmas Toys from Babes in
Toyland. I start the narration. "It is not just the
children who are excited on Christmas eve". Each group
comes out of their box and dances appropriately for their
character for the duration of the music then returns to their
box. All of the children come out for the march of the
Christmas toys as the finale. It has gone over so well
each time I have done it and it doesn't take much practice as
the children only have to dance.
CHRISTMAS GAME
This is a Christmas game like "Hot Potato". Wrap a small box
with
Christmas wrap. Place enough small prizes (like stickers or
M&M's) in
the box. Pass the box around the circle until the music
stops. That
child gets to open the box and get his/her prize. Continue
until all
children have gotten their Christmas present.
Ice Cream Cone Ornament
Materials Needed to Make One Ornament
1 glass ball ornament
(I'm not sure of the size, but I buy the boxes of ornaments from
Wal-Mart in
a package of 12)
1 ice cream cone
iridescent glitter
ornament hooks
clear acrylic spray
Elmer's glue
Directions:
Hot glue the ornament ball to the ice cream cone with the part you
hang on the tree facing up, not down inside the cone. Squirt
glue around the top of the ball. Allow the glue to drip and run
down the ornament a little. Sprinkle glitter on the glue. After
the glue has dried, spray the ornaments with the clear acrylic
spray to help the cone last longer. Allow it to dry. Use an
ornament hook to hang it on the Christmas tree.
EASY ORNAMENTS
Here are a couple of cute, really easy ornaments to make with your
kids. Buy the regular size holiday foil cupcake liner papers
Some have paper inside which come right out and you don't need
for this project, and some are just foil on the outside.
They come in gold, silver, red and green.
The kids made them as flat as they could, drizzled glue all over
them and glittered them. I then made 2 holes (using
a hole puncher) one right next to the other and hung them with
Christmas colored yarn (If you make 2 holes instead of one it
will hand on their tree with the decorated part facing the
front. If you have the time, let them do both sides and
just make one hole.
To make the other ornament I used tag board and cut ball shape
ornaments.
I did one fat and round and one long and round so the look like
real ornaments. Then I cut a circle out of the center of
the "ball". The kids picked what they wanted to cover the
back of the hole....I had colored cellophane, pieces of shiny
wrapping paper, and foil that I had gotten from a local
florist that they use during Christmas..it's green, or red, or
gold, or silver and if the kids make it very flat it's
beautiful. Then, again they drizzled glue and glittered
them. They were just beautiful and because of their shape,
looked just like ball shaped ornaments. Easy, cheap,
fun....but pretty messy with all the glitter...so I made
sure I put down my handy dandy plastic tablecloth from the
roll, and each ornament sat in a foam meat container while they
glittered them
Santa Lollipops
This is a simple ornament to produce en masse for classmates or to
hang on your Christmas tree. My kids continued playing with the
tiny paper
Santa hats long after the lollipops were history.
MATERIALS
Lollipop (the kind wrapped in plastic)
White and red paper
Hole punch
Glue
Red pompon
Googly eyes
Cotton balls
Thread and tape
1. First, turn your lollipop upside down, then decorate one side
of it as Santa's face. Here, we glued on a white paper beard
(with a punched hole
for Santa's mouth), a red pompon nose and two googly eyes.
2. To make the hat, cut a red paper semicircle, roll it up, and
tape it to form a cone (you may need to experiment to get the
right size). Glue
cotton ball trim around the hat's bottom.
3. Tape a loop of thread to the lollipop stick, then pull the
thread through the top of the hat so that it sits on Santa's
head. Add a bit of
cotton for a pompon.
ANGELS theme
Angels:
Need: Blue, white, and various flesh color construction
paper, White paint, Markers, and collage material (glitter,
sequins, pearls, yarn, ribbon, etc)
Paint the children's hands white and have them pres them onto the
blue paper. Set aside to dry. (I sprinkle them
lightly with clear glitter).
Have the child cut a circle from the flesh paper for the face of
their angel. Next they need to cut a triangular shape from
the white paper. Glue the face at the top of the triangle.
Use the markers to draw a face.
Decorate the white dress of the angel with the collage materials.
When the hands are dry, cut around them and glue them to the
back of the angel to become wings. You could also twist a
pipe cleaner into a loop and attach it behind the angel's head
to give it a halo.
Footprint angel
We use that new "foamy board" stuff, but used just poster board
before that was available. Trace each of your children's foot
once, using white (for dress) and both hands (using yellow for
wings). Cut out each part (Make sure they're labeled who they
belong to somewhere). Let the children glitter and glue the
hands to make wings sparkle. Take each child's picture
focusing on their head and face. Help the children glue hands
(wings) to the feet (body). Cut their face from picture and glue
to body. Add string to make it hang. Add a piece of the sparkly
pipe cleaner for a halo. Using a paint pen, date the bottom
The tag reads as follows:
This little angel is special you see;
Because she is a part of me!!
Her wings are my hands,
Her body my feet!
And on our tree she'll look very sweet!!!!
Flying Angel:
This one also uses the children's handprints. Paint just the
fingers of the child's hand with a gold or metallic color.
Press them down on the paper-be sure the fingers are spread
apart and extending upward. These are the angel's wings.
Next paint the entire RIGHT hand with a white or light pastel
color. Position this hand so that the thumb is on the
bottom. Line up the side of the hand with the gold fingers
so there is no gap. Press down. Now you should have
the wings and the flying body of the angel. Next either
paint a head, halo, eyes, etc or have the children cut one from
construction paper. Personalize, laminate, attach Velcro
to the back and
you have "heavenly helpers" tags.
Ten Little Angels
(Tune: "Ten Little Indians")
1 little, 2 little, 3 little Angels
4 little, 5 little, 6 little Angels
7 little, 8 little, 9 little Angels
10 little Angels in the band.
Wasn't that a band on Christmas morning
Wasn't that a band on Christmas morning
Wasn't that a band on Christmas morning
Christmas morning coming soon.
Hat, Whiskers, Belt and Boots
(sung to the tune: Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes)
Submitted by Wendy
Hat, whiskers, belt and boots
Belt and boots.
Hat, whiskers, belt and boots
Belt and boots.
Twinkling eyes and a little cherry nose.
Hat, whiskers, belt and boots
Belt and boots.
CHRISTMAS TREES
i did this project with my preschool class and it worked prettty
well with the older ones. First you have the children trace and
cut out there hand prints 2-3 will do. Then let them glue the
hands together upside down. You can punch holes in the finger
tips and give them a bunch of small square tissue papers and let
them cover the holes with this. it makes an awesome x-mas tree
HOLIDAY NECKLACES
After you have trimmed the tree, trim yourself with these
easy-to-make holiday necklaces. Simply restring the novelty
beads from wooden or plastic tree garlands onto dental floss.
(Check after-Christmas sales for great buys on these garlands
for next year.) String small ornaments along with the beads to
create a truly unique necklace. Since each garland can provide a
large quantity of beads, consider making several necklaces
similar to your own to place in your class dress-up area. You're
sure to receive compliments from admiring students and adults
when you accessorize with these seasonal necklaces.
JINGLE BELL WREATHS
Need:
small jingle bells (any color)
pipe cleaners
ribbon
This is an easy and cute craft for little ones to make! Take
out a pipe
cleaner and start threading the bells onto it. If you are using
several
colors - thread the bells on in a pattern. Leave about 1/2
inch on each
end. Take the two ends and twist them together and bend them down.
Form
the wreath into a circle. Tie a ribbon hanger on the top and
enjoy. You
can hang these on your doorknob, in a window, on the tree, etc.!
CHRISTMAS GIFT _ FOAM MAGNETS
Get a sheet of Fun Foam, a package of Christmas stickers, & a
strip of self-
adhesive magnet. Cut the Fun Foam in squares bigger than the
sticker, & the
magnet in about 1/2" pieces. Give each child a piece of foam, a
sticker, & a
magnet. Put the sticker on the foam, trim around it as desired
(leave some
color from the foam showing as a border) & stick the magnet on the
back.
These are great for any holiday/occasion. A variation is to
hot-glue a pin
back to it instead of the magnet.
CHRISTMAS ROCK CANDY
1 scant c. butter
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. cloves
3 eggs
1 scant tsp. soda, dissolved in about 2 tbsp. hot water
1 lb. nuts, broken in pieces (English walnuts)
1 lb. raisins
1 lb. dates, chopped
1/2 c. green cherries
1/2 c. red cherries
3 c. flour
Directions:
Mix all ingredients together. Drop with teaspoon on buttered pan.
I bake at 350 degrees about 15 minutes or until slightly
browned. If you double recipe, use only 5 eggs.
SHY SANTA
Isn't it the strangest thing,
That Santa is so shy?
(hide face with hands)
We can never, never catch him, (make fingers run)
No matter how we try.
It isn't any use to watch, (hold hand to
eyes and look)
Because my parents said,
"Santa Claus will only come
When children are in bed!" (shake finger)
POINTSETTA
POINSETTIA
Cut out 5 leaf shapes using red construct. paper.Glue the leaf
shapes in a circle onto green paper.In the center of the flower
put some glue & add some uncooked popcorn for the flower center.
SANTA SANTA YOUR PRESENT IS GONE - GAME
Materials:
Present: a sm. box wrapped up
Santa's hat: it is big enough to fit over the eyes & works like a
blindfold.
Procedure:
1.Select one child to be Santa & ask her to wear the hat.
2.Show the children the "present" & tell them that"this present
fell off Santa's sled & they have to look for it."
3.While Santa is blindfolded & seated,place the gift somewhere in
the room.
4.Remove the hat from Santa & ask the child to search for the lost
present.As
Santa gets close to the present,have the children say,"Happy
Holidays."
5.Once the present is found,let another child have a turn at
playing Santa.
Ways to extend:
*Put a snack of peanuts,raisins,carob chips etc...in the decorated
box.When the game is concluded,open the present & share the
snack.
SNUGGLE SOCK
Materials:
tube sock
fabric paint
rice
What to Do:
Fill a tube sock (white) with rice with a cute face fabric painted
on
the end and tied on the other end. With it came this cute poem:
A Gift For You!
This is called a "snuggle sock".
We made it just for you.
It's good for all your aches and pains,
Cause it makes you feel brand new.
Just pop it in the microwave,
And turn it up to one,
And then before you know it,
Your "Snuggle Sock"
is done.
Now take it to the Living Room,
And lay down on the couch,
And press your toasty "Snuggle Sock",
On the nagging little "ouch".
SIMPLE CHRISTMAS CARD
This is very basic so it can be easily adapted to any age. My
children loved it. I pre-cut the shape for the young ones and
had the older ones use a template to trace theirs.
Materials:
Construction paper - yellow and green or red
Yarn
Glue
Tape
One Jingle Bell
Have the children cut a bell shape out of the yellow construction
paper. Thread the yarn (about four inches) through the hole in
the bell. With the bell hanging down, tape the yarn to a piece
of construction paperfolded like a card. (It will need to be
toward the bottom of the card.) Gluethe bell shape over the
yarn, leaving the jingle bell hanging out to be the"dinger."
Decorate as the children wish - of course glitter is a favorite.
SANTA FINGER PLAY
Here is the chimney (make fist,
enclose thumb)
Here is the top
(place palm on top of fist)
Open the lid
(remove top hand)
and out Santa will pop. (pop up thumb)
GLUE ORNAMENTS
Materials:
Glue
Glitter
Paper
Wax Paper
Tape
What to Do:
Draw a Christmas shape -such as a bell- onto the paper; tape the
paper onto the table. Lay wax paper over the design, and tape it
to the table. Trace design with glue, you will want it to be
kind of thick. Sprinkle glitter over glue. Allow to dry over
night and then peel off of wax paper.
CARD HOLDER
Materials:
Gallon Milk Jug
Brown Paper - can use paper grocery bags
Glue
Crayons
Large Red Pom Pom - optional
What to Do:
Take the gallon milk jug and cut off the top section, just below
the handle. Cover with brown paper. Trace the childs hand on
another piece of brown paper, cut them out, and glue on as
antlers. Draw eyes and mouth,
and attach the big red pom pom for the nose.
MILK AND COOKIES PLACEMAT
One of my favorite projects is a placemat for Santa. Take a
sheet of white paper 8 1/2 x 11, in the upper left hand corner
print boldly, DEAR SANTA. I then draw a large tree in the
middle, a carrot on the right above which I write FOR RUDOLPH
and on the bottom I print LOVE. Obviously you could use
any Christmas design you wish, the tree just looks pretty.
The children color the tree and the carrot and we encourage them
to do their best work. Amazing how you can see the
maturity in their coloring. I then print their name in
pencil and they trace it as best they can. I add the
following poem which I have printed up and just glue it on in
place. I also add somewhere on the mat the date.
I then round off the corners and laminate them for the parents
to keep. Always a bit hit.
Here's some milk and cookies
That I have left for you
There's something for Rudolph
I hope he likes it too.
I hope you know I love you
I would tell you if I could
Please leave a little something
Because I've really been so good!
CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN
Use 20 red felt mini stockings which have been tied to a
longer piece of string and hang them from end to end. Each
mini stocking is numbered from 1 to 20.
In each stocking goes a tiny slip of paper stating what that days
special activity (or letter of week or color of day or special
poem song to be learned that day) will be, starting on Dec. 1.
Each day start with one child reaching into the stocking and
seeing what activity is planned for that day.
Filling each slip of paper and each stocking with ideas does
take some planning but it does make each day fun gives the kids
something to look forward to as they do not know what is planned
for each day.
This is Christmas
sung to 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star'
What is Christmas? We'll tell you.
It's putting love in all we do;
In our work, and in our play.
In our living every day.
It is showing love for others,
Father, Mother, Sisters, Brothers.
SNOWBALL TREE
Materials:
Styrofoam cone
green construction paper
cotton balls
toothpicks or straight pins
glue
glitter
possibly clear tape
Take a styrofoam cone and wrap it in the paper. Tape it together.
Stick the cotton balls onto the cone with the pins or
toothpicks. Lightly dab some glue onto the edge of the cotton
balls. Sprinkle glitter over the glue. Let your tree dry
completely before moving it.
"Hand-y" Holiday Prints
Whether its reindeer or jolly old you-know-who--this idea will
come in "hand-y." To make a Santa, assist each youngster in
painting the palm of his hand with a selected skin tone of
washable paint, and his fingers and thumb with white paint. Then
have him press his hand onto a sheet of construction paper. When
the paint dries have him use fabric paint to add eyes, a nose, a
mouth, a mustache, and a hat.
To make a reindeer, assist each child in painting his hand, but
not his thumb, brown. Then have him press his hand onto a sheet
of construction paper. Direct him to use his finger to spread
the paint to "draw" antlers. When the paint dries, have him use
fabric paint to make eyes and a nose on the reindeer face. Mount
these cheerful holiday works of art individually or attach them
to a larger sheet of bulletin board paper to resemble a quilt.
Sugar Christmas Tree Cones
1. Place a sugar cone upside down on a paper plate and cover it
with dark green frosting.
2. Add assorted small candies such as red hots, miniature MM's,
skittles, chocolate chips, etc.
3. Add different colored sprinkles.
4. Sprinkle on confectioners sugar so it looks like your christmas
tree is covered in snow.
PASS THE PRESENT
Youngsters will love this musical game that develops timing and
hand-eye coordination. After all, Christmas is a time for
giving, and giving, and giving! To prepare for play, gift wrap a
small box for every two students. Pair students, and then have
them sit facing each other. Give one child in each pair a
present. Have the children practice passing the gift back and
forth. Next, have them pass the gift each time you play a note
on a set of bells. Have them continue to pass the gift as you
play a steady beat on the bells. As a challenge, increase the
tempo of your steady beat. As a variation for older
preschoolers, have youngsters pass one gift around a group
circle as you play a steady beat.
WINDOW WONDERS
In advance, cut construction paper outlines of holiday or seasonal
shapes. Have a child choose a shape and then squeeze a line of
glue around it. Next, have the child select a sheet of tissue
paper and place it over the glued outline. When the glue dries,
help the child trim off the excess tissue paper. Display the
finished projects in a sunny classroom window.
Peppermint Cookies
1 1/4 c. crushed peppermints
1 1/3 c. sugar, divided (1/3 c. for topping, 1 c. for dough)
3/4 c. butter
2 eggs
1 tsp. peppermint extract
3/4 tsp. vanilla extract
2 1/2 c. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
Grind peppermint candies in 1/3 c. sugar until powdery with a few
larger chunks of candies. (This is best done with a food
processor.) Mix flour and salt in a small bowl. Mix butter, eggs
and sugar together in a separate, larger bowl. Add vanilla and
peppermint extracts. Add flour mixture in 3 parts to sugar
mixture until well mixed. Form dough into small balls, about 1
inch wide.
Roll dough balls in crushed candy mixture and place on an
ungreased baking sheet.
Bake for 8 minutes in preheated 350-degree oven. Remove cookies
from oven and let cool on baking sheet for 1 minute, then remove
them and roll them in the mixture once more before placing them
on a sheet of wax paper to cool.
SANTA CLAUSE PUNCH
1 qt. cranberry juice
2 pkg. raspberry Kool-Aid
2 c. sugar
4 qt. water
2 (6 oz.) cans frozen lemonade
2 (10 oz.) bottles 7-Up or ginger ale
Mix Kool-Aid, sugar and water. Add cranberry juice and lemonade
(undiluted).
Chill. Pour over ice in punch bowl. Just before serving pour 7-Up
in edge of bowl.
FLOWER POT BELLS
buy any size you wish - terra cotta flower pots (small)
have the children paint designs on them
buy large colored beads
nylon cording
bells
curtain rings
tie bell to inside bottom of pot. string nylon cord through the
hole of the npot then string a colored bead and knot
then tie a knot at the top about two inches from top of string
then tie on the curtain ring it is so cute a big hit and not
very expensive to do
ANGEL PICTURES
Make Angel pictures for parents at christmas time. First paint
child's foot white and place it on construction paper. Second,
paint their hand gold and place in middle outside of foot print.
Then paint their palm a beigh color or color to match their skin
and place it at heel of the foot. Allow to dry and then add a
face. I wrote " Our Little Angel" on the top of the construction
paper. You can even paint on slate and give as a present.
I'm a Little Reindeer
(Tune I'm a little teapot)
I’m a little reindeer, ready to fly.
I’ll pull Santa’s sleigh up in the sky.
Christmas is here; we can’t be late.
All the children just cannot wait!
Ring-a-ling-a-ling
(sung to the tune of “If You ’re Happy and You Know It ”)
If it ’s Christmas and you know it,[ring a bell ]!
If it ’s Christmas and you know it,[ring a bell ]!
If it ’s Christmas and you know it,
Then your face will surely show it!
If it ’s Christmas and you know it,
[ring a bell ]!
Sing additional verses,replacing the
underlined phrase with trim a tree,
wrap a gift,and say “Ho!Ho!Ho!” in turn.
CD ORNAMENTS
I made holiday ornaments out of the CD's. The children painted the
CD, (the side with the writing on it) in acrylic paint (red,
green or blue) for the December holidays. It took two coats on
some of the CD's depending on what color they were. Left the
other side clean, looks like a rainbow.When the paint was dry
pretty beads were glued on using tacky glue. After the glue was
dry, I sprayed them with an acrylic sealer. We hung the CD's on
the tree with a pipe cleaner through the center hole. Used the
metallic ones, looked really pretty. The children wrapped them
and gave them to the parents. Also VERY important... I stressed
to the children not to paint mommy and daddy's CD's at home!
PINE CONE CHRISTMAS TREE
Take a pine cone and put it in some water then roll it in potting
soil and sprinkle it with grass seed. Place in a sunny
window and water regularly, and watch your pine cone turn into a
mini Christmas tree.
EASY ORNAMENT
One clear round ornament per child Different acrylic colored
paints with the flip top lids
Just squirt some paint into the top of the ornament (can put a
couple different colors in it ) then let the children roll the
ball around in their hands being careful that they don't roll
the opening upside down so the paint does not pour out.
When you can not see in the ornament any more it is done.
Place it upside down to get all the extra paint out
and to dry on some paper towels. Put lid/top back o ornament
and it is done.
We just finished making these as parents gifts this year.
I also added the words "Christmas 2000" and the child's names to
the outside with a gold pen. They turned out beautiful and even
my toddlers could do them. :-)
CHRISTMAS TREES
Two years now we have made really cute Christmas trees out of
popsicle sticks. I spray painted one side of them green (that is
enough- you could do both if you REALLY wanted to!) Then I used
one whole one upright as the trunk, cut one in half for the
middle, and cut one about 1/3 of the way along to make one short
piece for the top and one long one for the bottom. this gives
you 3 cross branches that the kids glue on. We then glued
buttons on as the ornaments. I glue gunned a string to hang it
with. I hope this makes sense, they look really cute!
Note: I found it was easy enough to cut the sticks with heavy
duty kitchen shears
CHRISTMAS PRESENT SONG
Collect boxes in a variety of shapes such as square, circle,
triangle, rectangle, cylinder, tall, small, etc., and wrap them
in festive holiday wrapping paper. Then collect items
around your classroom which are the shapes of the boxes.
(There can be more than one object per box shape. Maybe
you could have enough objects so that each student may have one
object to hold. Have the children match their shaped
object to the similar shaped box.)
Hold up one box at a time and sing this song about it's
shape.
(tune: I'm a Little Teapot")
I'm a [circle] present
Just for you.
Because you are special,
Yes, it's is true.
What do you think can fit inside?
Look at the shape and then decide.
Then children find (or bring up) all the items that match the
box shape.
ORNAMENT
These are very easy for young children to make and they are
beautiful hanging
from the tree.
Cover toilet paper rolls with aluminum foil. Cut small
squares (about an inch or so) out of red, green and white tissue
paper. Have children scrunch the squares and glue them all
around the roll. They don't need to cover the roll
entirely because the silver paper underneath looks nice.
Add yarn to hang the ornament.
CHRISTMAS PIN
Christmas Pins
1 cup flour
1 cups warm water
1/4 cup salt
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. oil
Food coloring of your choosing
Mix together the flour, water, salt, cream of tartar, oil, and
food
coloring.
Stir over medium heat until smooth. Remove from pan and
knead until blended smooth. Place in plastic bag or airtight
container when cooled. Will last for a long time. To make
brooch(es), use cookie cutters that are Christmas-shapes
(stars, snowmen, etc.) Before they are totally dry, press pins
into backs of brooches (buy the pins at a craft store). When
they are dry, paint them with your favorite Christmas colors.
CHRISTMAS CONCENTRATION
Cut rectangular "cards" out of red construction paper, then cut
slightly smaller rectangles from wrapping paper (two from
each kind) and glue to construction paper. Laminate and
play Memory/Concentration. You can also use pairs of Christmas
stickers.
GIFT
As a parent gift we made hand print wreaths on muslin and added a
dowel to make it a wall hanging.
You cut a 15" X 15" piece of muslin. Paint the child's hand green
and make a circle for the wreath. Use their thumb to add red
berries. Add their name in the center and the year. The parents
loved them!
CHRISTMAS CENTERPIECE
We made the cutest center pieces for our Christmas luncheon with
the senior citizens. They are very simple.
You take a large red apple and core the top part out. Use an ice
pick and poke holes around the top outer edge. Have the
children poke long pine needles in the holes and stick a 5"
candle in the center. They look great and the moisture
from the apple keeps the pine needles fresh for a few days.Hint:
be sure to get apples that stand up straight.
RECYCLED CHRISTMAS ORNAMENTS
Materials needed: shredded newspaper
water
electric blender
cookie cutter (open on both sides)
wax paper
a fine mesh, metal or
plastic strainer
large bowl
yarn (any color)
paint
glitter (etc.)
Shred newspaper as needed. Have students cut the paper into
finger-size strips. (I found unprinted newspaper on discarded
rolls at the local printing office.) Soak in bowl of water
for a couple of hours. Put in blender with plenty of water (half
water and half paper). Liquefy the mulsh of water and paper.
Pour into strainer and press with fingers to strain as much water
as possible. Take the wet, paper and put into the cookie
cutter that is placed on wax paper. Fill in all areas
using a utensil to press mulsh in every crevice of the shape.
Remove cookie cutter leaving the wet paper in the shape of the
cutter. The mulch should be pressed to form a solid
figured-shape. Attach a 2 inch piece of yarn at the top
corner looping, and using a tablespoon full of mulch to press it
onto the cookie. This is the hanger. According to the
humidity in your area the cardboard cookie will dry at its on
pace. Once dried you can hang it, glitter it, paint it, or
decorate anyway you choose.
This makes a great Recylcling Science lesson for fourth graders.
Plus, they get to decorate their ornaments as gifts.
For my cookie cutter, I used a 10 inch gingerbread man. It
really turned out to be a cute gift for the students.
CHRISTMAS FLANNED BOARD STORY
The Little Blue Dishes:
Long ago in Germany there lived 3 children. Hans was the oldest.
Peter was next. And Gretchen, who was five, was their younger
sister. On Christmas Eve, Hans went out to play, leaving Peter &
Gretchen inside. It was almost Gretchen's bedtime, so Peter
helped her hang her stocking.
"Do you know what you want for Christmas, Gretchen?" asked Peter.
"Oh yes,"said Gretchen. "What I want most of all is a set of
little blue dishes!" Then she gave Peter a hug and went to bed.
Peter shook his money jar and out came a penny.
He put the penny in his pocket and ran to the toy stop. "I want to
buy a set of little blue dishes ,"he said to the shopkeeper. "I
have one penny."
"The set of little blue dishes costs 10 pennies,"said the
shopkeeper. "But you can buy this red candy heart for 1 penny."
So Peter bought the red candy heart and brought it home and put it
in Gretchen's stocking. Then he went to bed too.
Later, Hans came home. He reached into Gretchen's stocking and
took out the candy heart. "Oh, this looks good!" he said. And in
the wink of an eye , he ate it all up.
"Now I must buy something for Gretchen,"said Hans. He opened his
money jar and counted out 10 pennies. Then he took his money to
the toy shop. "What can I buy for 10 pennies?"asked Hans. "You
can buy these little blue dishes."said the shopkeeper. "There is
only one set left." Hans gave the shopkeeper his 10 pennies and
ran home with the little blue dishes. He put them in Gretchen's
stocking and went to bed. On Christmas morning Gretchen opened
her stocking. How happy she was to find the set of little blue
dishes! But Peter was very surprised. He didn't know how his red
candy heart had turned into a set of little blue dishes.
Do you?
Felt Board props:
a green stocking, 11 pennies, a set of little blue dishes and
a red heart.
PINE CONE CHRISTMAS TREE
Take a pine cone and put it in some water then roll it in potting
soil and sprinkle it with grass seed. Place in a sunny
window and water regularly, and watch your pine cone turn into a
mini Christmas tree.
ORNAMANETS
Here's another idea that we are doing...we have a Christmas tree
shape traced on a green sheet of paper, with hole-punch holes on
the tree. They have to cut out the tree on the black line.
Then we have them glue small colored tissue squares on the back
so that it covers the holes. When they turn it over and hang it
in a window, VOILA! Ornaments!
CHRISTMAS SUN CATCHERS
Cover an old CD in glue and then with Christmas type collage
items. When dry tie a ribbon to it for hanging through the hole.
Great Christmas sun catchers.
CHRISTMAS COLLAGE
Give the children large Christmas shapes cut out of heavy paper.
Provide them with glue and items such as the following: glitter,
sequins, red and green paper chips, aluminium foil, coloured
foil and bits of tinsel. Then let them glue as they like.
SNOWFLAKE ORNAMENT
We made snowflake ornaments out of the bottoms of strawberry
baskets.
You cut the bottom out of the basket, dip it in glue and then
glitter. Tie a string on for hanging
The children love doing them and the parents love them.
SNOWFLAKE STAMPING ART
Take the bottom of the baskets and dip them into white paint
that has white glue added to it. Then stamp print with the
paint covered bottoms of the basket onto blue/light blue
construction paper. Have the children sprinkle a good
amount of silver glitter onto the construction paper and shake
off. This is a very nice snowflake design art project.
WHERE IS SANTA?
(Sung to the tune: Are you sleeping?)
Where is Santa? Where is Santa?
(hands behind back)
Here I am! Here I am!
(arms out in front making a belly shape!)
Merry, Merry Christmas!
Merry, Merry, Christmas!
(keep arms up through the rest of the song!)
Ho! Ho! Ho!, Ho! Ho! Ho!
Santa Snowball Toss
Submitted by Kim
Cover the bottom and sides of a rectangular cardboard box
with construction paper. On a piece of paper, draw a Santa
face with a large mouth. Paint or color the face
with markers. Glue it to the box and cut out the
large mouth. Cover six large marshmallows (or use cotton balls)
with plastic wrap. To play - Place Santa against a wall.
Give each player six tries at throwing marshmallows into Santa's
mouth. See who feeds Santa the most.
Holiday Trees Cones
*cone shaped ice cream cones
*1/2 c margarine
*2 c confectioners sugar
*2 tsp milk
*green food coloring
*decorations (candy, raisins, dried fruit)
1. Combine sugar, margarine and milk in a bowl, blend well.
2. Add food coloring to tint the frosting green.
3. Cover the cone with the frosting.
4. Use the decorations to "trim" the tree!
Glittery Christmas Ornaments
Materials Needed: Wax paper, glue, glitter, yarn (various colors)
1. Cut yarn into various lengths.
2. Dip yarn in glue and lay on wax paper, over lapping each piece.
3. Let dry.
4. Pull yarn off wax paper, attach a string to the top, apply glue
and add
glitter.
5. Hang to dry.
Santa Claus Scramble
Write the letters S-A-N-T-A C-L-A-U-S on individual index cards.
Do this four times, making four sets, or forty cards.
Place the cards in a brown paper bag. To play - have
the players divide into two teams on opposite sides of the room.
Pass the bag that contains the letters. The teams alternate
in picking a letter. The first team to combine their letters to
spell SANTA CLAUS wins!
DOUGH RECIPE FOR MAKING ORNAMANTS
The one I use is 2 C. flour, 1 C. Salt. - Add water to desired
thickness.(Like playdough).Roll dough about 1/4" thick and
cut out ornaments. You can bake these at 200 degrees for 1 hr.
on each side. It speeds up the drying time. Or you can let air
dry, but keep turning over to dry totally. Then paint when
totally dry. They paint nice.
SCENTED ORNAMNET RECIPE
You mix equal amounts of applesauce and Cinnamon. It forms a
dough. Make sure you put the whole for hanging in before
it dries. These take several days to dry but they smell
fantastic. I pulled mine out from last year and the scent
was still strong. Yum!!!
Branch Art
have one large sheet of white tissue paper for each child.
Using soft and firm needled pine branches, have the child dip
the branches into a variety of shades of green paint. then
brush the branches across the tissue paper. After they are
dry, dot on red or purple paint (looks like berries) with wine
corks. These turn out quite pretty. They make nice
wrapping paper, or a hanging in the window.
Candles
MATERIALS: TP tubes, white glue, paint (whatever color you
would like your candles to be), gold celephane paper/orange or
yellow construction paper.
PROCEDURE:
1. Sit TP Tube up on end on your workspace. Apply glue
to rim of tube so that the glue will drip down the sides of the
TP tube and dry.
2. When glue dries, paint the entire TP tube. This
will dry looking like candle wax has dripped. The glue
drippings are colored w/the tube. Hope this sounds clear.
3. Now cut a flame shape and glue to the inner edge of the
top of the tube using the gold celephane paper, yellow or orange
construction paper...or paper of your choice.
Do a few of these and use TP tubes cut to different sizes too.
Affix them in some garland or such for a pretty candle
centerpiece/arrangement/etc.
Christmas Wreath
Depending on the size, place 6 - 8 pretzels in a circle on a piece
of wax paper or foil. (Label foil or wax paper with child's name
for easy identification.) Next you make a second row that
overlaps the first, but these pretzels you dip in glue first.
(Top row should be 1/2 on one pretzel and 1/2 on the next.)
Adjust the shape if you need to, then set aside to dry -- at
least one day.
Older children should be able to lace a ribbon in and out of the
pretzel holes, for my pre-K we just add a bow at the bottom.
Also glue "red hots" candies for berries. Let dry.
Trim a photograph to fit, then glue the wreath on the photo.
Be sure to date it! Add a loop for hanging on the top.
You can also spray pretzel wreath and berries with acrylic spray
before adding bow and photo.
Handprint Keepsake
This method of making a handprint keepsake for your parents works
wonderfully. Just like the kits that you buy at the store.
The best part is that the plumbers putty can be reused! It
peels out of the hardened plaster very easily.
Plaster of paris
plumbers putty
oval plastic cover for aluminum pan
Knead the putty til nice and smooth and place in the center of the
oval cover
Press child's hand into putty
Pour in prepared plaster of paris
Let dry
We found out that all plumbers putty are not created equal.
The brand that worked for us was manufactured by a company
called Hercules. |
