By Staff
Holiday decorations, fun can all be done at home
It's beginning to look at lot like Christmas…which means there is plenty to do.
In between shopping and cooking, you have to squeeze in time for decorating and finding activities to keep your children busy.
Here are a couple of easy arts and crafts projects that you and your kids can do together. They are all designed to brighten up your home for the holidays or make some delicious and fun treats for your seasonal festivities.
Materials for these projects can be found at most Hartselle craft or discount stores.
Christmas Place Mats
Cut up old greeting cards, glue the artwork onto a piece of construction paper or light cardboard, and cover it with clear contact paper. You can also have your child cut his or her gift wishes from a catalog or magazine and glue them onto paper to make a wish-list place mat.
Glitter Balls
Pour glitter into a shallow dish. Spread glue evenly over a Styrofoam ball and roll it in glitter. Let the ball dry and attach a thread for hanging it on the Christmas tree.
Christmas Tree Picture
Cut out a Christmas tree from green construction paper. Use a paper hole punch to punch out dots from various colors of construction paper. Glue the dots to the tree for decoration and add sequins or glitter and a star at the top.
Paper Plate Wreath
Cut a hole in the center of a green paper plate. Cut or tear red and green tissue paper into small pieces. Have your child twist or crumple the paper into small balls and glue them onto the plate. Add a ribbon bow.
Cookie fun
To save time, buy plain cookies and ready-to-use gels, icing, and candied decorations. Then let the kids spend their time creating fanciful holiday treats. Larger cookies can be made into greeting cards by writing a personal message with tube frosting.
Christmas trees
Use pointed paper cups to mold lime gelatin "trees." Cut away the paper when the mold is firm and decorate your tree with cream cheese or whipped cream.
Christmas card magnets
Help your child cut images from old Christmas cards. Cut small pieces of magnetic strip and attach one to the back of each cutout. Use the magnets to decorate the refrigerator or stick them to a baking sheet and bring them along when you're traveling.
Cinnamon ornament
Glue two cinnamon sticks together. Glue on more cinnamon sticks one at a time to make a little bundle. Let your child knot ribbon around the middle of the bundle and tie the ends of the ribbon into a loop for hanging. Tuck a sprig of holly or other greenery under the ribbon knot.
Reader's Digest Christmas tree
Get an old copy of Reader's Digest and beginning with the first page of the magazine, fold down the top corner so the top edge meets the binding. Sharply crease the fold. Let your child fold the remaining pages in the same way.
Fold the front and back covers last and tape or staple them together so the pages fan out to make a tree shape. Spray-paint the tree in green, gold, silver, or white.