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Tree
Decorations the Kids Can Make
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
childs 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 storebought 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:
2 cups All -Purpose Flour
1 Cup Salt
1 Cup cold Water
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
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