This is not a new idea for anyone, but one of my favorites never the less. We spent last weekend baking and decorating sugar cookies. Jack is actually getting pretty good, although he dislikes anything getting his hands messy. Marsy enjoyed herself, but spent more time eating the sprinkles off her tray that dropped from the cookies than she did actually "decorating." Needless to say, we have lots of yummy cookies that were made with a lot of creativity and Christmas spirit.
PAPER PLATE SNOWMEN
We spent the other morning making paper plate snowmen, and they were so much fun. Basically we just taped two paper plates together, and then cut out arms, legs, and a hat to glue to each one. We also added some decorations to make them more fun (googly eyes, pom-poms, and yarn for the scarf).
SANTA HATS
Yesterday the kids and I made Santa hats out of red construction paper. Maren really liked playing with the cotton balls for this one! It was a gluey mess, but lots of fun!
SNOWFLAKES
We made these cute snowflakes out of wonton wrappers for a yummy,wintery snack. Jack and I folded the wontons into quarters like you would if you were making a paper snowflake. We then cut designs into them and laid them on a greased cookie sheet. After brushing them with melted butter and vanilla, we baked them at 350 for 5 minutes. When they came out of the oven, we sprinkled them with cinnamon and sugar.
HOLIDAY TRAIL MIX AND COCOA
What better way to spend a cold, icy afternoon than by making a holiday trail mix and having a cup of hot cocoa? The kids and I put a bunch of their favorites into a holiday trail mix and warmed up with cocoa. What a treat!
CHRISTMAS FINGER PAINT AND CHRISTMAS TREES
Jack and I used our kool-aid finger paint recipe to make green and red finger paint. We thought this would be fun to enjoy during December. The kids then painted green Christmas trees and added red ornaments. We added a glitter star to the top of their trees too (Jack insists that all Christmas trees have a star at the top), but more ended up on the floor than on their paintings and Milo has been walking around with silver glitter in his whiskers ever since.
REINDEER PLATES
The kids had a lot of fun making these cute reindeer plates one cold afternoon. Maren loves the wiggly eyes!
FROSTED TREES
We did this activity last year at our holiday party, and it was still just as much fun. Jack and Maren loved getting to pick out how they wanted to "decorate" their trees. Afterwards, Maren wolfed her tree down and licked the remaining icing off her fingers, while Jack picked at the leftover decorations on his plate and refused to dirty his hands by trying to eat the tree. Go figure!
ELF ADDITION GAME
Jack and I had a lot of fun printing off the elf addition game (www.makinglearningfun.com/themepages/ChristmasElfRollandColorAddtion) and learning while we colored. In this game each player gets a picture of an elf. Each feature on the elf corresponds with a number. The player rolls two dice and adds the numbers together. If the number matches a number on the elf, the player gets to color it in. The first player to color the entire elf wins.
MAKING ORNAMENTS
Last Wednesday we were snowed in, and printed off a couple of the ornaments at www.makinglearningfun.com/themepages/ChristmasOrnaments.htm. After the kids were done coloring, we laminated them with home laminating paper and tied ribbon through them to make ornaments. Jack is really excited to see his own pictures on his tree. This is a really quick and easy activity.
JACK'S FAVORITE DECEMBER BOOKS...
Santa's New Suit- Laura Rader
The Christmas Humbugs- Colleen Monroe
Twelve Hidden Days of Christmas- Macky Pamintuan
Hurry Santa!- Julie Sykes
The Little Engine That Could and the Snowy Blowy Christmas- Watty Piper
I Spy Merry Christmas- Jean Marzollo
You Are My Miracle- Maryann Cusimano Love and Satomi Ichikawa
A Very Marley Christmas- John Grogan
The Night Before Christmas- Clement Moore
Here Comes Santa Claus- Gene Autry and Oakley Haldman
Corduroy's Christmas Surprise- Lisa McCue
MAREN'S FAVORITE DECEMBER BOOKS...
Spot's First Christmas- Eric Hill
My Christmas Gift to Jesus- Dandi Daley Mackall
That's Not My Santa...His Hat Is Too Soft- Fiona Watt
Maisy's Christmas Day- Lucy Cousins
Merry Christmas, from Biscuit- Alyssa Satin Capucilli
Biscuit's Christmas Eve- Alyssa Satin Capucilli
Frosty the Snowman- Jack Rollins and Steve Nelson
Christmas Stocking- Dawn Sirett
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