5 Creative Christmas Crafts That Your Kids Will Love To Make!

“Mom, I’m bored!” Three words that can make a parent cringe, especially after hearing them repeated over and over throughout the day. Everyone looks forward to Christmas break, but within a day of cold, miserable weather, those three words begin to make an appearance, to the annoyance of parents everywhere! So, what can you do? Well, you can put on a set of headphones, and listen to some nice music loud enough to drown out the noise, or, better yet, try to come up with some fun ideas to keep the kids occupied.

• Make some great homemade Christmas cards! Give the kids everything they need to make their own cards – construction paper, card stock, scissors, glue, glitter, pencils, crayons or markers and any other craft material you have. Make sure that every year you cut the fronts off of all your old Christmas cards so that your kids can use them to add onto their own cards. It’s a nice way to teach the children about recycling, while letting the younger kids have the ability to make something nice as well. Your family and friends will love the cards, and the kids will feel proud of what they have made.
• Make a beautiful snowglobe! Making their own snowglobe will be a thrill for the kids, and can be used as wonderful Christmas gift. Find some old glass jars, like baby food or mayonnaise jars, or clear plastic containers. Clean them out really well, and make sure they are dry. Get some small plastic Christmas or winter decorations – ones that float if possible. You can also find some winter- themed stickers or foam cut-outs at your local craft store, which are always nice to use. Let the kids decorate the outside of the jars however they want, using stickers or the foam pieces. Put a couple of the floating pieces, (snowflakes or stars work great), onto a piece of string. Glue a figure to the inside of the jar, and make sure the string is underneath to anchor it, which will form the base of the snowglobe. Fill the jar with water and add some glitter. Glue the lid back in place with waterproof glue, and wait for it to dry. When everything is dry, shake it and set it lid down, and the kids can see the beautiful globe they have created!
• Whip up some great tasting candy crafts! Use your imagination, and you can come up with some really tasty gifts for the kids to make. Take a roll of hard candy, like Lifesavers, and use it as the main part for a train. Find some individually wrapped round candies for the wheels, and put a square candy on top for the front. (You can use a caramel candy or Starburst, and put a Hershey kiss on top!) Add a string and they can be used as a Christmas decoration. Let the kids use their imaginations, and they can come up with some pretty unique looking, (but great tasting!) gifts.
• Make a garland tree! The kids will love building their own tree from scratch, and decorating it with their own decorations. Get a large piece of green poster board paper, and cut out a circle. Make a slit in the circle, to make a cone shape. Tape the cone tree together well, and let the kids wrap some artificial pine garland all the way around, completely covering the cone. Fasten the ends well so that the garland doesn’t come undone! Let the kids decorate the tree with some lightweight paper ornaments that they can also make, and they’ll have their very own tree.
• Build a homemade fireplace! Now, this isn’t really as labour intensive as it sounds, as it won’t be a real fireplace! Find a large cardboard box and cut an opening in one side. With sponges, paint the bricks on the box, leaving enough room between the “bricks” for the “mortar”. The kids can paint inside black, and paint some “flames” at the back. Paint some empty paper towel rolls brown, and stack them inside the fireplace for logs. Let them decorate the top of the box for a mantel. You’ll now have a cozy fireplace in your house, and you can all sit down and have a cup of hot chocolate!

There are so many Christmas and winter crafts that kids can come up with. Encourage them to use their imaginations, and you’ll be surprised at what they can come up with. And, the best part is, you’re teaching your kids the gift of giving, especially gifts that are homemade and given from the heart. You can be sure that this will be something they’ll carry with them for the rest of their lives.

Are you a mom who’d like to get together and chat (or vent!) with other moms online? Have I got the place for you! It’s called CafeMom, and it’s a place where you can talk about anything with other mothers. Join groups of like-minded moms, start a journal, post pics — there’s lots to do!

The best part is: it’s FREE to join… Can’t go wrong there!

Check Out the Largest Social Networking Site for Moms. Join CafeMom Today!