Put those idle hands to work and get them involved in the holidays -- whether its for Thanksgiving or for Christmas, by letting the children (of all ages!) create special cards, wrapping paper, placemats or place cards for the holiday table with their own unique designs.
Materials List
- New Cello sponges -- find them without being pre-soaped if you can
- Alternately, visit your craft store and buy pre-cut designs from cello sponges.
- Use the old fashioned potato-stamping method if you like instead. This ages old craft
simply requires you to carve out the design on one half of a potato. A raised area of
about 1/4th to 3/8ths of an inch is desired. Potatoes can be stored in tightly wrapped
plastic in the refrigerator for a number of days.
- Scissors
- Ruler
- Colored Pens or Markers
- Appropriate weight and sized paper for the chosen items. Colored papers are nice for
placemats. If you want to splurge, look in your art supply store for some of the beautiful
Canson colored papers made in various colors and sometimes multicolored textures. You can
pre-cut the papers to the right sizes for smaller aged children.
- Paint. Fingerpaints work great -- or choose from any of the various craft paints. The acrylic ones cost a bit more, but have a bigger variety of shades. Stenciling paint is also an option.
- Old Clothes! Sometimes it is as much fun to find out how your clothes turn out as how the project on the paper turns out.
- Covering for the workspace. Unless you have a table that you don't mind being "refinished".
- Disposable plates, plastic or paper, to put the paint on.
- Craft Sticks, (You know, popsicle-sized wooden sticks) to help dish the paint out if needed, or to stir.
Cut a basic, simple design from the sponges. Patterns can be traced on them
before they are cut for those of us who are not artists. (Thank goodness!) Different sizes
are good because they provide variety. Small dots and big stars, for instance.
The sponges should be dry and free of soap or dirt. If you can't find any which are
plain, then rinse them out well in your sink by letting them soak a couple times in clean
water.
If you purchased already cut designs, you're ahead some time. They come in all sorts of
shapes from dolls to dinosaurs, from stars to triangles.
Use one paper plate for each color, and put a glob of paint on it about the
size of a quarter or so. This should flatten out to be big enough for your stencil to fit.
Now -- begin printing! Use your imagination to create unusual and personalized
decorations.
- Newspaper lets you recylce paper and can still make an interesting background for various designs on your wrapping paper.
- Get a roll of newsprint (white or not-so-white) and let everyone (adults included) make
designs for wrapping paper.
- Use a heavy weight paper to create a cover for a memory book of a holiday event with the family.
- Decorate placemats the day before, and let the children set the table with their
placemats for everyone.
- Name cards at family holidays can make the kids feel extra special, especially if they
helped decorate the corners of the cards.
- Create greeting cards (find out what size envelopes you can get first!) and have one
made for each member of the family who can't be there. Everyone can then sign the
creations later and mail them off. What a surprise!
- Make a paper tablecover -- decorated with the talents of the next generation. Set aside a mock "table runner" area down the middle for intensive artistry! Let the artists sign each portion they've worked on.
In all, have a fun Holiday, and get every member of the family involved in either helping
or busy doing something. Turn that television off, and use the experience for learning and
loving.