Christmas Crafts with Children - Gifts

I can't believe it's less than 10 days until Christmas!  It seems to have crept up on me and I'm still busy making gifts as well as shopping for the few I need to buy.

Here in the North-West of England, the schools break up for their Christmas holidays at the end of this week meaning there's nearly a whole week before Christmas. That means there's plenty of time to get creating and I've got some gorgeous Christmas Crafts perfect for children to make and gift during this festive season.

Bird Seed Feeders

 

If you have friends and family who love the birds that visit their garden, then these bird seed feeders make fabulous gifts for them.  Grab your cookie cutters (you can purchase festive shaped ones to from supermarkets) and get creating a beautiful gift and feed a few birds at the same time.

This tutorial from Pink Pistachio, is super simple to follow. 

Hot Chocolate Spoons

 

Food is a very popular gift at Christmas and these hot chocolate spoons are just adorable - I mean, who wouldn't be pleased to unwrap one of these on Christmas Day? 

Cherished Bliss has written this fabulous tutorial to get you started over on her blog.  Have fun thinking up the different flavours and fancy bits you can add to your spoons and then wrap them in some cellophane, tie with pretty ribbon and give as gifts this Christmas (or just enjoy yourself!)

Christmas Biscuits in a Pretty Box

 

Find your favourite biscuits recipe (this one from BBC Good Food looks great) and bake up a treat this Christmas.  Whilst your biscuits are cooling, grab a paper plate and some ribbon and follow this tutorial from It's Always Autumn, and create a cute little basket to pop the biscuits in ready to gift to family and friends.

Handprint Ornaments

 

A beautiful gift for grandparents, these salt dough handprint ornaments are quick, easy and possibly slightly messy, to make.  Nest of Posies has written this great tutorial over on her blog.

Christmas Crafts with Children - Cards

December is upon us and that means Christmas crafts! 

Schools, playgroups and families up and down the country will be creating cards, decorations and gifts with their children and there's a plethora of ideas out there to choose from. Over the next few weeks, I'll be sharing my top picks for you to try out with your children.

Today's post is all about handmade Christmas cards. Fun to make and gorgeous to receive, handmade cards are a popular festive make. 

Messy Cards

If you've read my previous posts, you'll know that I'm a big fan of printing with paint! These cards are created using hand and finger prints and are fantastic for children of all ages. Grab your bottles of non-toxic children's paint, and a packet of baby wipes (trust me, you'll need them!) and create sone beautiful cards.

Check out this cute and simple tutorial to make some beautiful Christmas tree cards - 

http://funhandprintartblog.com/2011/12/adorable-handprint-christmas-tree.html

Christmas Trees

I just love this tutorial to create Christmas trees from cake cases. Really simple to do and a great opportunity to work on fractions with children! Christmas themed cake cases can easily be picked up at supermarkets and I know that, here in the UK, Home Bargains and Poundland stock them to. 

Take a look at this handy tutorial to create yours -  http://www.oneperfectdayblog.net/2013/12/06/cupcake-liner-christmas-tree-ornaments/

Colour Chart Trees

I just love the idea of using paint chart cards (available from all good DIY shops) to create Christmas trees. Sadly, I couldn't find a tutorial for these but I'm pretty sure you can work it out from the picture! Grab some green shade cards and cut out a triangle for the tree. Cut a trunk from some brown paper and then use stitckers, wash tape, ribbon, buttons and sequins to decorate your trees.

Buttons

I love buttons and they have many uses, besides the obvious! This tutorial shows you how to create beautiful festive button pictures for cards. Great for older children, you can experiment with different designs, size and shapes of buttons. 

Go and take a look at this tutorial - http://craftsbyamanda.com/homemade-button-christmas-cards/