Wednesday, December 21, 2016

My favorite {easy} Christmas crafts!


One of Sloan's favorite things to do is art, so my early childhood education degree comes in quite handy!  I taught preschool through college and eventually taught second grade (for only a year because I got pregnant and decided to stay home!).  Art is the fun part of teaching so I love that I get to do my favorite crafts with the girls now.   I know I'm a little late in the month sharing these, so maybe pin this and come back to it next year if you don't have time this week!

***Lot's of you have asked me to share some preschool activities and crafts and I promise I'll work on that in the new year!!

I saved all of Sloan's Christmas crafts from last year and pulling them out this year was so fun.  It was fun comparing how big her hands have gotten and how much more artistic she is!  I love activities that don't take a lot of prep or parent involvement, but more importantly I love activities that are cheap!  We do have a lot of art supplies on hand, but I try to always use things that we already have before going out and buying things.

One of my favorite Christmas crafts are popsicle stick tree ornaments.  They're cheap, easy, and they hold a toddlers attention for a long time!  We made them yesterday afternoon so I thought I'd share!  Sloan loved it and worked on them for close to an hour.  P sat and played with pom poms for awhile, she was so interested in what Sloan was doing.


Popsicle stick Christmas tree ornaments
What you'll need:
-popsicle sticks (I had green popsicle sticks left over from last year.  If you can't find green ones you can have your toddler paint them green or just use them without paint.)
-glue (I used hot glue to attach the popsicle sticks and elmer's glue to attach the "decorations")
-decorations (we used rhinestones, pom poms, and sequins)
-stars (for the top of your trees)
-string or ribbon

I hot glued the popsicle sticks together while Sloan was napping.  This will ensure they'll stay glued together for years to come.  I also hot glued the string to the back of the trees so that they can be hung on the tree.  It was also nice having everything ready to go right when she woke up.  I split the "decorations" up into silicone muffin cups so that it was easy for Sloan to grab them, but not messy.  She squeezed elmer's glue onto the trees and decorated them.  Easy as pie and it kept her busy for so long!  We're keeping a few and giving the rest to grandparents and uncles!



This tiny little topknot kills me.  It needed to be documented.

Have I ever mentioned that P always curls her toes and that Sloan did too when she was a baby?  Also needed to be documented.



Cookie cutter stamping
This one is probably the easiest and cheapest!  It's also a great activity to do year round, I only do it at Christmas because I only have Christmas cookie cutters (I'm not much of a baker!).  Just simply put a little paint on a tray or paper plate and let your child stamp the cookie cutter into the paint and then onto a piece of paper.


Handprint art!
This is something I do every year and for most holidays.  It's cute and always fun to look back on their little hands and feet.  I don't have any photos of the ones the girls made this year, but I've gotten all of my ideas from Pinterest.  Check out my holiday board on Pinterest for some fun ideas!

Cutting snowflakes
This one seems like a no brainer, but I never see people do it anymore!  Sloan has been practicing cutting like crazy so we're going to attempt cutting our own snowflakes tomorrow!  I can't wait to put them on our windows!

Glitter pinecones
Another super easy and fun craft!  My friend Liz actually reminded me of these, I remember making them when I was little!  Here is an easy tutorial.

Image via www.kidscraftroom.com

I hope you have fun doing one or some of these activities with your little ones!  Happy Holidays friends!!

Xo

Marisa

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