Santa Claus Countdown

Burgin is 27 months old

Never underestimate the simplicity of something. If you do not have time, this Santa Face is quick and easy to printout. But if you do have more time, here are some other great websites that made Santa a little more gourmet!

1. Oopsey Daisey
2. Santa Pom Pom Countdown

Christmas Glass Painted Plate

This is a craft we did at our last MOPS meeting and I LOVED it!!

1. Take a see-through glass plate from Dollar Store or Old Time Pottery
2. Draw on the top in dry erase markers what you want to do for a design
3. Flip the plate over and begin to paint with glass paints. A little paint goes a long way.
4. Paint in layers and let it dry between layers (the paint dries very fast). For example, in this photo, I had to paint the berries and leaves on the hat before painting the white hat over it. I hope to do a final color layer over all of this to make it really pop. Just haven't had time.
5. Follow baking directions on paint bottle.
6. Add some cookies and give as gifts.

I can't wait to do more of these - such as:

1. A snowman with these Snowman Nativity Poems attached
2. A nativity scene
3. Angel
4. Stocking

The list is endless and so much fun!

Snowman Handprint Ornament

So easy and quick to make:

1. Brush wite Acrylic paint on child's hand and fingers.
2. Press onto dark colored Christmas bulb.
3. While drying, sit the bulb on a cut toilet paper roll tube. I was able to make 4 holders out of one toilet roll tube.
4. After it is dry, use permenant markers or paint to decorate the snowman. Note: when using markers, if paint gets on the marker it will make applying stubborn. Occasionally I had to scribble on a piece of paper to get the paint off and have the flow of color start again.
5. Add the date and name to the back, if you want.
6. Let dry.

This makes for great timeless grandparent and family gifts!

Gingerbread House

Burgin is 27 months old

I normally like to make everything homemade but when my sister gave me this store bought kit I figured I would give it a try. I have realized that the $7.50 spent on a store bought kit is well worth every penny. They give you a tray to help stabalize the house, more than enough candy and icing to decorate, and all the valuable time of not having to cook or clean up any mess. All your time and energy can be spent with your child making the house. Now that is $7 well worth it, and in my case, it was free - thanks Big Sis!!

The Present Game

This is something that can really be done at anytime of the year, but I got this idea from Secrets of Super Mommy (she does it around Birthday Time). For our religous ed class, I went around wrapping a ton of stupid items around the house (it is a little appalling how much junk we collect so easily). Items included toys from Kid's Meals, Office Items, etc. Then these were the rules for the class activity:

1. Sit in a circle. Explain that these gifts are not to be kept; it is ONLY for the activity.
2. Each student goes around one by one picking an item and giving it to the person to their right. The student who receives the gift, opens it and gives a sincere "Thank You, So and So", and then must say something they truly like about it. For example, for a rubber band - "Wow, this will help me stay organized" or for a red ball - "I love bouncing balls and red is my favorite color".
3. If needed, students can help each other.

The other great thing about this class activity was that the day after, Burgin got to spend about an hour opening all the unopened gifts. And the funny thing was that he acted just as excited and surprised as if it was a great present that he had never seen before!

Cereal Box Guitar

Burgin is 27 months

Another amazing project idea developed by Made by Joel. This took me no more than 5 minutes to make and it entertained Burgin for quite a while.

Glass Block Nativity Scene

I opened my Christmas present a little early: A Cricut Expression - Totally LOVE IT already. This is done using:

• Glass Block
• Christmas Village Cartridge
• Black Vinyl Lettering
• Bow - It's on wrapped around the outside even though it doesn't show very well

I used paper until I got the correct sizing.