Craft/Activity/Gift Ideas
I know that title is so broad, but I wasn't sure what else to name it. I almost put this under Christmas Traditions, but I thought I'd start a new topic and see if you all had some ideas out there too.
Last night, Aidan asked me if we'd be making our "Christmas Chains" again this year. I was kind of surprised, but very pleased because I was afraid he'd be outgrowing them. Instead, he's really looking forward to it.
Every year in November we make one of those old-fashioned paper link chains. I'm sure you all remember them from childhood! Cut strips of paper make a loop and staple or glue, and add links on to make it as long as you want. Well, in our family each boy makes their own and it's 24 links long. It get hung on their bedroom doors and each night in December before going to bed they get to rip off one link. It's basically a countdown to Christmas. I started this as a group activity for a MOMS Club I belonged to when they were very young. It was a great visual way for the little ones to actually see the chain getting shorter, to explain once all the pieces are gone, then it's Christmas. Of course at 6 and 8, they understand counting days just fine but it's become a really fun activity that we do together and they really look forward to. We decorate all the links with stickers and coloring and glitter glue and whatever else we can think of.
I'm always looking for other ideas for crafts and activities to do with the kids, even homemade gifts they can make. And I know there's a ton of stuff out on the Internet, but it's overwhelming to sort through. I also like to hear the personal stories of doing the activity and how it went.
Is there something you've done with your children that you all really had fun doing? A craft that turned out neat? A homemade gift that was a huge hit? The weather's going to be turning colder and we'll be looking for more indoor activities to occupy us soon!
Syndicate
AddThis
Yay! I'm glad! I have a sewing machine, but I have to re-learn how to thread it every time I use it...My mom used to make her own clothes, but when it came to teaching me, we just butted heads over things and both got frustrated (remember, I don't like being told what to do Wink). So I've kind of learned on my own, but I haven't done anything really elaborate...just simple things like bean bags and a Mai Tai sling...My mom got me some maternity patterns and material with my last pregnancy, but it ended just 3 weeks later and I never made the shirts...Maybe I'll give it a go this pregnancy...
Oh, I LOVED these things when I was little! I hadn't thought about those in ages! It's so cool they still make simple things like this
Thanks Elsie, that looks so cool. Morgan will love that and I am definitely adding it to the must by now list
Mikki Hogan
Publisher of UniqueParenting.com
They still make them. I found quite a few on amazon.com, here's a link to one of them:
http://www.amazon.com/Potholder-Loom-With-Wool-Loops/dp/B000PELNOS/ref=p...
Thanks Elsie, this is an excellent idea and I think Morgan would love it! I will get going on finding more info about this and share with her. Thanks.
Mikki Hogan
Publisher of UniqueParenting.com
Mikki-Has Morgan ever worked on potholders? I used to love doing that when I was a kid...My family had a plethora of potholders...In fact, I think my grandparents were beginning to hide when they saw me coming with more "gifts"...LOL It's a fun activity for a girl who likes small projects, and it wouldn't require much oversight from you either...
My aunt Dodie has always amazed me with her ability to sit down and do nice little crafts like that. I have made several attempts and like Elsie, they never get finished. I am more of a BIG project kind of gal, like re-landscaping our back yard, remodeling the bath, re-finishing furniture and building rat mansions. These get done and the kids really enjoy them. My Morgan also loves the little things like sewing and painting, for this reason I have aimed to downsize my ideas and help her with these little crafts. Lately she has jumped into sewing words on kitchen wash cloths and mending items around the house.
Another really fun, sort of big craft, we like around here is re-decorating. This usually doesn't involve buying anything be the relocation of furniture, different layouts and draping blankets for new spice and so forth. We are renters so some things are limited but we love to paint too!
Mikki Hogan
Publisher of UniqueParenting.com
Those are great ideas Cheryl. I'm not very crafty, so I admit I'm bad at these types of activities. We did gather leaves this year and I wanted to melt them between wax paper to make a window collage, but I never got around to it Embarrassed. That's what usually happens to my "projects" Grin.
One thing we did, that turned out really sweet, is I had him use fingerpaints to paint 3 sheets of paper. Then we went and bought frames for the artwork and hung it in his room. He was so excited to show everyone his room with his artwork. I just took them down the other night because we're re-making his room into a more big-boy decor and the colors didn't go...but it was fun while it lasted and it made him so excited to see that mommy framed his painting and hung it on the wall.