DIY Jingle Bell Wreath Ornament

I guess we are in full christmas mode right now. We made another ornament yesterday evening. Thats three in a row. Well A insisted we had to do one more and i couldn’t think of a more easy ornament to make than this Jingle Bell Wreath.

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What you need

• Jingle Bells (we used gold & silver bells)
• Pipecleaner (we used silver sparkle)

How to

• Miss A(4) and Miss D(3) threaded the jingle bells to the pipecleaner. It does take some fine motor skills to slide the pipecleaner through the top of the bell.
• A alternated gold and silver – when done, looked gold on one side and silver on the other). D liked to finish silver first then gold – when done looked half gold and half silver). I liked the way both looked.
• Leave some space at the ends of the pipecleaner.
• Once done, bend the pipecleaner to make a circle and twist ends to secure.
• Make a loop with another pipecleaner and hot glue it to the wreath. You could also use a ribbon or jewellery cord for this.

This looks absolutely beautiful on the tree and my kids loved shaking it to hear the bell sound. Very Christmasy!!

DIY Popsicle Stick Reindeer Ornament

My LOs favourite song this season is Reindeer Hokey Pokey(A’s class performed for this in school winter assembly this Tuesday) & Rudolph the Red Nose reindeer. They sing this everyday and have to watch it atleast once before bedtime. So, we decided to make a reindeer craft last evening. This Reindeer Ornament is easy to make – takes less than 5 mins and kids love it.

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What you need

• 3 popsicle sticks
• 2 googly eyes
• 1 red pompom
• Ribbon
• Glue

How to

• Glue 2 popsicle sticks together at one end to make a V.
• Glue the third popsicle stick perpendicular to the V shape about one inch from the ends.
• Glue the red pompom on the end of the triangle – reindeers nose.
• Glue two googly eyes to either side of the craft sticks forming the reindeer’s face.
• Cut a small piece of ribbon or jewellery thread, form a loop, and glue to the back of the craft sticks to hang the ornament.

Miss A(4) & Miss D(3) loved making this ornament. I showed them where to glue the sticks, pompoms and eyes and they did it all by themselves. I let it dry overnight and the girls put it up on their tree before they left for school this morning. 😀

DIY Star Ornament – Kids Craft

My LOs enjoyed making some ornaments for our tree last year and i love to see them on the tree this year. Now, they have their own christmas tree and love decorating it. This Star Ornament is perfect for it, super easy to make, looks cute when done and is a great for building fine motor skills.

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What you need

• Pipecleaner
• Pony Beads (we used clear ones)
• Twine

How to

Let your LOs thread the beads onto the pipecleaner. A(4) & D(3) did this patiently. A even counted the number of beads (was totally her idea – guess its the impact of doing similar math activities). Once they were done, i twisted the ends together and bend it into star shape. Then used a hemp cord, made a knot and gave it to them. They happily put it up on their tree.

You could bend the pipecleaner into star shape before you thread the beads for a perfect shape, because it was a lil tricky to get a good shape after. It takes approx. 45 beads and one pipecleaner to make one star ornament.

Hanging Ornaments – Christmas Activities for Kids

We simply love the holiday season. A & D get super excited when they see any decorated Christmas tree. Last year (first time we had a Christmas tree at home) they were in awe with all the ornaments and couldn’t keep their hands off them. They kept taking the ornaments out and moving it all the time.

They do the same now and sometimes they have an disagreement where to place it, pulling them at the same time. This had me fearing they might pull the tree over. So i got them two small porch trees and some dollar store shatterproof ornaments.This was a surprise for the girls. They saw the tree and the ornaments in a tray, after school and were very excited to decorate their trees all by themselves. This is a great fine motor activity and also allows them to express artistically. They take off some ornaments now and then, change positions and so on. They are so happy now and don’t mess much with the big tree.. 😀I think this might be one of our Christmas traditions, we will be doing at least for the next few years.

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Sticker Christmas Tree – Kids Craft

Sticker Christmas Tree is a simple & cute craft for kids to make this holiday season. This fun activity is great for fine motor skills – hand eye coordination & pincer grasp.

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What you need

• Green, Black & Brown construction paper
• Glue
• Stickers
• Marker

How to

• Draw and cut christmas tree from the green construction paper and the trunk from the brown construction paper.
• We didn’t have brown paper, so coloured the trunk using crayons.
• Draw zig zag lines on the tree using a marker.
• Give some holiday stickers to your LOs and let them decorate the tree with stickers along the line. We didn’t have any holiday theme stickers, so went with the princesses – our all time favourite.

This was a quick evening activity for Miss A(4) & Miss D(3) today. The Christmas tree was up in Ds preschool and As school as well and they were so excited about it. Our tree is not up yet and that made them a lil sad. So we made this sticker tree and hung them up for some festive mood.

A did this with so much concentration and followed along the lines all the way from top to bottom. D was a little on and off. She first put a sticker for the star, the hanging ornaments on the edges and one for the trunk. Then put few stickers on the lines. She liked space between the stickers.

Once they were done, they colored the trunk brown using crayons and glued the tree on a black construction paper. Then A added more stickers for the star and hanging ornaments for the edges and D added some more stickers on the line. At this point both their trees looked almost the same. Once they were happy with how their tree looked, I gave them some painters tape to put it up on the wall. They were so happy and excited.

Christmas Tree Collage – Toddlers & Preschoolers

My girls are in complete Christmas mode right now and we have been having a lot of fun making simple crafts. One more night and its time for presents 😀 Christmas tree collage is easy, fun and quick craft for toddlers & preschoolers to make.

What you need

• Green Construction Paper
• Crepe Streamers (different colors) – you could also you tissue paper
• Scissors 
• Glue stick

How to

• Cut out christmas tree from green construction paper.
• Cut the crepe streamers into small pieces. If your LOs are good with scissors, you can let them do it. Or let them tear it – great fine motor activity and having different colors means you can discuss those as well.
• Give some glue and the cut/torn pieces to your kids.
• Let them glue it onto the christmas tree. 

Miss A(3yrs) & Miss D(2yrs) were all excited to use the glue stick. Once they were done decorating their tree, they wanted to hang it on our tree😂… since it was too big for that, i suggested we put it up on the wall. Finally, we all agreed to put it up on our refrigerator. So we laminated it, and the girls used painters tape to stick it on the refrigerator. 👍 They were so proud of their work and showed it to their dad with all joy when he was back from work. 😀 Little Joys of Life!

🔔 Wish you & your family a Merry Christmas! 🔔

– Lavanya

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DIY Jingle Bells Bracelet

We started this activity to make a jingle bell wreath ornament for our christmas tree. But my LOs had other plans – they wanted to make a bracelet out of it. 😀 This jingle bell bracelet is so simple and fun to make and it definitely brings in Christmas cheer.

What you need

• Glitter Pipecleaner (you could also use regular pipecleaners or jewellery thread)
• Jinglebells (silver & gold)

How to

• Give the pipecleaner and jingle bells to your kids.
• Let them string the jingle bells through the pipecleaner.
• Tie the ends to make a bracelet or anklet. You could glue a pipecleaner bow to it, tie a string and hang it on your tree. Makes a beautiful ornament.

Miss A(3yrs) & Miss D(2yrs) got all excited to see the jingle bells. Pushing them through the pipecleaners was challenging for the little hands. These bells dont slide easily into the pipecleaners like beads. But they were able to do it – needed some patience & concentration. Once they were done, we made bracelets out of it. They loved wearing it all evening and took it out only when it was bedtime.😀

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DIY Cardboard Gingerbread House

Its always fun to decorate gingerbread houses. Every kid loves it. This simple diy Cardboard gingerbread house lets your LOs decorate their own gingerbread house over and over again. Its so fun & festive. 😀

What you need

• One Empty Cereal Box
• Hot Glue
• Velcro Strips and dots
• To decorate – Mini Ornaments, pipecleaner candycane, felt santahat & felt stockings, bows, Foam star stickers (all from dollar store)

How to

• Make a house using the cereal box. Each cereal box provides enough cardboard to make one gingerbread house. 
• I’m a rookie when it comes to this part. Here’s what i did. Open the box and make it flat. Cut a big part of the box and fold the sides make a base and two side walls. Then measure & cut other two sides and roof from the remaining. Hot glue everything and it holds pretty well. 
• Trust me, You can do a better job than me. 😀
• Cut and stick the self adhesive velcro strips (hook side) on the cardboard house. It works great to stick felt pieces directly on it.
• Stick the fuzzy side of the velcro dots on the mini ornaments and pipeclener candycane.
• I hot glued the foam star stickers and bows on the house, so that it stays put.
• Invite your kids to decorate the gingerbread house.

Miss A(3 yrs) & Miss D(2 yrs) enjoyed decorating their gingerbread house and i loved to watch them do it. 😀 They dont spend much time on it though. May be 20 mins or so each time, but they play with it often.

Santa Hat Christmas Ornament – Toddlers & Preschoolers

I came across this diy ornmanet on facebook and wanted to give it a try. Its very simple and so doable for toddlers & preschoolers. What’s more cute than the ones mades by your LOs.😀

What you need

• Red Jumbo Craftstick- 3 (you could also use regular or mini craftsticks)
• Cotton balls or white pompoms
• Glue
• Twine

How to

• To make a hat- Stick the craftstick together to form a triangle, sandwiching the twine inbetween to hang the ornament. The proceedure is just the same as the Popsicle stick Christmas Tree except you dont have to trim the craftsticks.
• Give some glue to ur LOs and let them glue the cotton balls to the bottom of the hat and one on the top.
• If your using plain craftsticks let your LOs color it red and let it dry before you glue the cotton balls to it.
• Your ornament is ready.

Miss A(3yrs) & Miss D(2yrs) loved doing this and loved it even more when they hung it up on the tree. Miss D followed my lead and just placed the cotton balls on the bottom and one on top, whereas Miss A wanted cotton balls all over the hat. I love them both. They definitely look cute on our christmas tree. 😀 Every now and then i catch my LOs taking it out and putting it back on a different spot. 

Name Tree – Christmas Theme

Name Tree is a Christmas themed name recognition activity for preschoolers. I personally love themed activities. It makes it more fun & interesting for kids to learn. 😀

What you need

• Construction Paper (White, Green, Yellow, Brown)
• Marker
• Glue
• Scissors
• Labels

How to

• Cut out triangles from green construction paper to form the tree. To match the number of letters in your kids name.
• Write the name on the triangles using markers. (One letter per traingle)
• Cut out a small rectangle from the brown paper for the trunk.
• Now let your LOs stick the triangles & trunk onto a white paper using glue. ( in order – to form their name tree)
•  Cut out star shape from yellow paper and stick it on top and your tree is ready. You could also draw a star using markers.
• Extend the activity – Laminate the finished piece (for reuse). Write down the letters to form their name on the round labels. Let them match the labels to the tree.

Miss A(3 yrs) & Miss D(2 yrs) were so excited to make their own name tree. They enjoyed it more when i laminated it and gave them the labels to match the letters. Miss D took us by surprise by matching it perectly. Miss A did it like a pro. She spelled out each letter as she did it. We also revised our shapes (triangle, rectangle, star & circle)👍 I left it in their shelf last week with some labels and they did it over and over again. 😀