by Angela Billings
In so many homes Christmas decorating is taken entirely away
from the children. Some parents may set up a small tree hidden away in the
child's room or basement and allow the child to decorate it. I find this very
sad. What kind of memory does this leave the child with-one of feeling that
their contribution to the festivities does not matter or that their ornaments
are not "good enough" in turn making them feel bad about themselves or maybe one
that lets them believe that store bought decorations are better than homemade
ones which in turn just drives home the commercialization of Christmas.
In my home we have an Angel on top of the tree that my son made
and colored in kindergarten and other decorations he has made and this year we
will add more from him and my 2 year old daughter. We do have store bought lights
and some ball ornaments but we also plan to string cranberries and popcorn and
make more decorations. Our tree may not look perfect to those who are set on
perfection but our tree is perfect in the fact that it is decorated with love as
a family. Here are some ideas if you and your children would like to make some
decorations (and memories) for your tree.
Salt Dough Ornaments
The recipe is as follows:
Mix together slowly until you get the mixture the consistency
you want it (like a cookie dough) You may need to add more water/flour as
needed. Then roll out thin, like a cookie dough and cut shapes with cookie
cutters and paint .Be sure to make a hole for hanging by using a straw before
letting them harden. Let them air dry. You may need to turn them over
occasionally.
Paper Chain Garland
Simply cut strips of red and green construction paper and fold
in a circle and tape or staple and then add another strip through that loop and
keep going until you have the length you prefer.
Sandpaper Ornaments
Cut sandpaper into a holiday shape and then let your children
rub cinnamon sticks over the sandpaper shape.Punch a hole for adding ribbon to
hang on the tree.
Cinnamon Sticks
This is really simple.Just tie ribbon around cinnamon sticks and
tie on your tree branches.
Felt Gingerbread People
Another simple one is make a gingerbread man template and make
outlines on brown felt and cut them out and let the kids decorate with paints,
glitter, markers, buttons, rick rack,etc.
So many more fun tree decorations can be found by doing a search
for "kids easy Christmas crafts" on your favorite search engine.
Angela Billings is a stay at home wife and mother who publishes an online
newsletter Home and Family Weekly. http://www.homeandfamilyweekly.com