How to Make a Gingerbread House

Would you like to make a gingerbread house? There are a few options. Either start from scratch, which may take more than a day to complete, or buy a Gingerbread House Kit which includes all of the items you’ll need to build this holiday favorite. Whatever the choice, your kids will have a lot of fun making it. This is a perfect way for them to use their imagination and creativity.

If baking is not your thing, simply go out and buy the kit so that your kids can spend more time decorating it. Putting the house together is pretty simple. Just follow the instructions given in the kit. You will need edible glue to hold the pieces together. Make the glue using this recipe:

1 egg white
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1-2 cups confectioners sugar

Make sure the glue is thick – like glue should be. Put it into a piping gun, and you are set to go.

Once the house is built, you get to start on the fun part. Let the kids pick out what types of candies they want to use to decorate the house, for example, gum drops, M&M’s, candy canes, or cookies.

Here are some more ideas:

· Put some trees in front of the house. How about using pretzel sticks with green candy leaves attached?
· Add food coloring into part of the glue to add color to your gingerbread house. Use the colored glue to outline the windows, roof, and other parts of the house.
· Make gingerbread cookies as people and set them in front or inside of the house. Decorate the gingerbread cookies to give them a more personal touch.
· Perhaps the kids would also want to add a chimney. Use licorice squares.
· Add a gingerbread Santa cookie on the roof.
· Want to add your family pet? Buy animal crackers and place them outside the house.
· Take a graham cracker and pipe on the family name, or the names of the kids who decorated it. That’s a great personal touch.

There are so many ways with which kids can decorate a gingerbread house because their imagination is never-ending. The main thing is to provide the tools and then have fun doing it. Whether it is a small, medium or large gingerbread house, the possibilities are endless. Not only will they have fun, but it will be a learning experience as well. Be sure to take lots of pictures!

Fun Santa Crafts

If there’s one thing that kids love to do it’s create things. The holidays are just the right time for them to have free reign with crafts. Since everyone is hard at work decorating the house, kids can lend their creativity to the moment by creating their own decorations of Santa Claus.

When you mention Christmas kids think of Santa Claus. The bearded man in the red suit has fascinated young ones for decades. Show the kids how to make fun Christmas crafts that feature Santa.

Before you buy anything, check around the house. Primary colors for Santa Claus are red, white, and black. Go on the hunt for materials that match this description. A bag full of cotton balls can be turned into a white beard for several crafts. Pipe cleaners, wooden clothespins, pieces of fleece or felt, and Popsicle sticks are excellent for many holiday crafts and Santa crafts are no exception.

Once you’ve turned the place upside down, head out to the store for the items that you are missing. Using items that you already own saves money especially when there is more than one child and they want to make a lot of crafts.

Let’s return to those cotton balls. If you have some generic Christmas stockings lying around, give them a face lift. Use a black marker to draw the face of Santa Claus on the stocking. Attach a cotton ball beard, eyes, and a nose with non-toxic glue. These items can also decorate Santa Claus hats and scarves. Be sure to let the crafts dry completely before hanging or wearing them.

Paper bags are for more than just lunch sandwiches. The end of the bag where it folds can be outfitted with a Santa Claus face to make a merry puppet. Make hands and arms with extra felt pieces. Let kids stand their puppets up on canned food cans to dry. This idea also works well for sock puppets.
Red plastic cups or small terra cotta pots can be turned over and used as Santa’s body. A Styrofoam ball can double as Santa’s head. Give kids the space to decorate and dress Santa the way that they want to. Get them to make enough of these Santa cups or pots and place them on your table as a small gift for each dinner guest.

Using clothespins and pipe cleaners, you can create miniature Santa ornaments for the Christmas tree. Remember, younger children will need more help and supervision no matter which craft they are making. For older kids, spread the craft items out over the table and see what their imagination can conjure up.

Santa is a big part of the celebration of Christmas and therefore should be part of the household decorations and festivities as well. Santa crafts are easy holiday fun that allows kids to contribute to the decorations and be proud of their completed work too, so let them show their creations off as much as they want to family and friends who come by to visit this holiday season.

Fun Nativity Crafts

The nativity is one of the central themes of Christmas. Nativity scenes are depicted on church lawns, in Christian plays, and outside of homes. Learning about the nativity can be fun for kids when you use crafts to teach them.

The birth of Jesus Christ is the focus of the Christian nativity. He was born to Mary and Joseph in an animal stable because there were no rooms available in the nearby inn. Using a water trough filled with straw for a bed, Mary gave birth to the savior and laid him there. After the birth, the Christ child was visited by shepherds, wise men, and a host of angels. The men followed the North Star to his location in the east.

These are the basic elements of the story. Read the story to your children first to give them an idea of who was involved in the scene. From there, the crafting can begin.

Kids can make their own manger. Using Popsicle sticks and glue, fashion a manger for the baby Jesus. If you don’t want to use real straw, Spanish moss will work just as well. A small baby doll can portray the baby Jesus. Kids may want to paint the manger to make it stand out. Display their mangers in a central location for everyone to enjoy.

Coloring books and children’s websites have free printable coloring sheets that depict the nativity. Give each child a piece of poster board or a cardboard presentation board to work with. After coloring the Nativity pictures let the kids come up with their own nativity scene and paste it to the cardboard. If the children want to paint things different colors, it’s ok. Let them, even if baby Jesus turns out to be purple and Mary and Joseph are green. Let them express themselves through their crafts, no matter how out of the ordinary it may be to you.
A fun nativity craft that the entire family can enjoy is the making of an Advent calendar. “Advent” is the time of the holiday season that is represented by special programs at church on each of the four Sundays before Christmas. Each day beginning with the first Sunday after Thanksgiving, the focus is on the Nativity story.

There are a variety of ways to make an Advent calendar. Each day of December through Christmas Day, families do something special pertaining to some aspect of the birth of Jesus Christ. Children can decorate each space on the calendar with a symbol of the Nativity. At the end of each day, the family will gather to look at the symbol for the day and study a certain part of the Nativity story.

The Nativity is important to understanding the spiritual reason for celebrating Christmas. Allow kids to express feelings about the Nativity through their crafts. You can join in too and make it a family affair.

Holiday Centerpieces Kids Can Make

When sitting down to Christmas dinner, all eyes go to the center of the table. This is because there is a beautiful centerpiece there that was made by your kids. Don’t spend money purchasing something elaborate for the holiday table this year. Let the kids (with your help) do the honors for the family. Here are some centerpiece ideas that are easy enough for kids to create.

Decorative centerpieces can be crafted from items that you already possess. Things that you use to decorate the house each holiday can be converted to an arrangement for the family dinner table. Gather a few things and see what you and the kids can come up with.

It’s possible that a string or two of lights can be spared. What about a few sprigs of greenery? Put some of those on the table. No one ever uses every single ornament on the tree. Get the kids to pick the ones they like and add them to the stockpile. Wire bows, wrapping paper, small boxes, and candles are good items for centerpieces. If you don’t have any, invest in some decorative flat marbles that are frequently used in flower arrangements. That should be plenty to get started with.

When most people think of holiday centerpieces they see candles and greenery. Try them together and separately. You will need a platter or a charger plate for the base of your centerpiece. Charger plates come in holiday colors and compliment whatever you decide to put on them.
Candles can create a centerpiece all by themselves. Let the kids choose candles of various sizes and colors. Let them mix the heights and colors of the candles however they choose. As an accent have them place colored marbles between and around the candles. The light will sparkle off the marbles when the candles are lit, creating a pretty glow.

Greenery looks rather plain all by itself. To spruce it up, add a string of colored or white lights. A touch of sprayed on snow can be added to the tips as well to give it more of a winter feel.
How about adding some glittery ornaments? Red ornaments resemble large shiny holly berries sitting atop the greenery. Ornaments can be arranged in a glass bowl with miniature pine cones to create a different kind of centerpiece. Floating candles can also be placed in a bowl of water and lit during dinnertime.

The ideas are plentiful when it comes to centerpieces for the holiday dinner table or coffee table. Let the kids create as many as they can think of. If you have more than you can use, give them away to friends and family to adorn their holiday tables as well.

Kids Crafts that Double as Gifts

If you plan on sending homemade gifts this year, get the kids to make some crafts that you can use for specifically for that purpose. The kids will have a blast, you’ll enjoy the time together and the stress relief of doing it all yourself and the recipient will feel extra special knowing the gifts were made by the little ones. Here are a few ideas to get your kid’s big imaginations started.

When it comes to kitchen items there are tons of crafts that kids can make and you can give as presents. Craft stores sell blank aprons in various colors. Kids can decorate these aprons using craft paints, stencils, and iron-on shapes. For unique shapes, use the cut edge of a white potato dipped in paint. Oven mitts, placemats, dishtowels, and napkin rings are other examples of kitchen crafts kids can turn into gifts with just a few simple decorations.

Do the kids like to sew? They may not be ready to operate your Singer sewing machine yet but they can learn cross stitch and latch hook techniques. Cross stitching uses colored thread and a needle to create designs on a pre-dyed pattern. For Christmas, there are cross stitch angels, snowmen, Santa Claus, winter scenes, and other holiday patterns. Completed patterns can be turned into wall hangings or framed for grandparents or other friends and relatives.

Potpourri is used at all times of the year, but more so around the holidays. Take the holiday scent of dried flowers, leaves, and pine cones and give it to someone else. Kids can make drawer sachets. All that’s needed is some festive cloth, needle and thread, and the potpourri. They can create a square sachet or a drawstring purse sachet so that the potpourri can be changed to other scents whenever the recipient likes.
Candles are a favorite of many. At night it’s easy to light pine scented candles and feel like you’re sitting under the stars without the cold air of winter side effect. Kids can make candles, too. Purchase wax, wicks, and jars from a craft store. Let the kids decide which scents they like. Glass paint in red, green, silver, and gold will do for decorating the jars in holiday style or simply add stickers.

Christmas ornaments go over well as gifts. Let your kids make some of their own designs. They can make Christmas stars or snowflakes out of Popsicle sticks or make paper ornaments. Whatever they choose to use, have them write or paint the year on the ornament and sign their name as the creator. Then you can keep them for years to come as a memory of the holidays and the time you spent together making them.

Encourage your child’s creative side this Christmas. Everything from picture frames to holiday decorated socks are easy enough for kids to make on their own or with a little assistance. Once they are through, they can give their creations to teachers, friends, and family members for Christmas presents.