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.

Santa and Snowmen Candy Bars

Thank you Martha Stewart for such a great idea! Easy and fun to make Santa and Snowmen Candy Bars. If I find a link, I will post it (it was in her November 2010 Magazine)

Christmas Sensory Bin

Burgin is currently 27 months old

The Christmas sensory bin is filled with:

• Red and White Soda/Milk Caps
• Mini Ornaments
• Stuffing
  

Christmas Tree Day

Winner, winner, Chicken Dinner!

Turkey Handprint Craft

Burgin is 27 months old

Another adorable craft that they did in Burgin's MOPS daycare class. Make a Turkey out of hand prints!

Thanksgiving Cube

Burgin is 27 months old

Burgin made this (more like colored it), in his MOPS daycare class. The idea is that the child makes the cube and then rolls it. Whatver lands on top is what they say they are thankful for. I couldn't find a similar cube on the web, but a cube can easily be made by cutting two milk cartons and fitting them together. Cover them with paper and drawer or paste some pictures. or use a folding dice template from the web.

Balloon Lightsaber

Burgin is currently 27 months old

Idea Source: Filth Wizardry

This is a test run on Filth Wizardry's Balloon Lightsaber. I didn't want to spend a lot of time making them all fancy if case my 2 year old could care less. But not surprisingly, anything with balloons and a flashlight, he got very excited over.

Note: Not any balloon pump will do, you must use one small enough for the twisty balloons.

Daniel and the Lions Craft

1. Use a small yellow paper plate, or color a regular one yellow.
2. Add ears and googly eyes and ears
3. Add strips of brown yarn with glue.
4. Draw a nose and mouth.

Felt Turkey

Burgin is 27 months old

Source: I have to find where I got the template.

After printing, cutting the template and the felt. I glued the turkey head together and onto the body. Burgin was able to put the Turkey's feathers on. I also covered a small pizza box with felt to use as a felt board and store my felt board crafts.

In our Religious ed class, students will each put a feather on saying something that they are thankful for.

Turkey Cookies

Idea Source: Thrive

Thanks to Thrive for this adorable and easy edible item to make. Mine didn't come out as good as theirs, but I also had a 2 year old wanting to help!!

Thanksgiving Tree

Burgin is 27 months old

Everyday we glue a silk leave to a tree I drew on our slider. When we glue it we say something we are Thankful for.

Helper

Burgin is 27 months old

Burgin loves helping around the house, so any opportunity I see to include him, I do. This t-shirt folding contraption I got a few years back at a flea market allows Burgin to easily help. Although, I know I bought it for far less than what I see something similar costs at Amazon.com

Homemade Drum Marble Activity

Burgin is 27 months old

Create a drum:

1. Cut a balloon and stretch it across something with a rounded edge like a pot.

2. Use a rubber band to help hold it in place, if possible.

Experiment:

Drop a marble gently onto the homemade drum. It is really neat to watch how it continues to bounce and doesn't fall off. If you bounce it too hard, it will bounce off almost immediately.

Craft Failure

Not every craft is a success. This would be in the craft failure category. I thought by dipping strips of yarn into a bunch of watered down glue and then placing them in a cookie mold would create craft. Maybe I didn't have enough patience to let it dry fully or maybe I didn't use enough glue but as soon as removed the mold, the yarn turned into a blob!