Some cheap chrissy craft activities to do WITH the kids. Note- active particpation by parents and children!

all of the materials needed for these activities is as cheap as they get- can all be found in cheap $2 junk shops.

Table centre piece

Basically, you get some cardboard, and cut out some identical shapes. Decorate these any way you see fit. Cut a slit

from the bottom to the middle on one, and from the top to the middle on another. Slot these together to make a 3D centrepiece that wil stand on its own. You can of course, add more than two peices together to make a VERY 3D craft.  Hint- this works great with xmas trees and stars. templates can be found in colouring in books or online.

PLacemats

Use some cardboard (A4 is good) as a bacground, cut some felt into a christmassy shape and stick it on. decorate you scene with felts and wha ever else you deem worthy. Keep it relatively flat. If you dont have access to a laminating machine, you can use clear contact to cover the placemats. We tried this activitiy yesterday, but got a bit carried away ans used pom poms for baubles on our xmas trees some of the foam shapes for presents and other decorations, and some metallic scoobies for strings of lights to decorate our christmas tree. no way could we contact or laminate them! They will be good to hang up on the wall though. Daddy's is perfect and precise, Liams is a jumple of stuff on everywhere (he had more fun putting the glue on with the paint brush) and mummys is kinda in between the two! We loved it.

tree ornaments

you will need some non-stick baking paper or something for this one.  use some of that white pva glue that dries clear and peels off to make a snowman picture. Do it really thickly. make a loop at the top to put a pipecleaner through. While it is still wet stick some eyes or other decorations on your snowman. Leave it to dry for a few days. carefully peel it off the paper, attach a pipe cleaner to the loop and voila! Of course, if your tricky you can use some food colouring to dye the glue before hand and make other pictures, and nicer decorations, but this one is quicker and less fuss involved. This can also be usedas a bit of a science experiment- its educational!

Christmas Cards

This is my favourite. Have the kids decorate some cardboard, or some blank cards that you can sometimes buy in a packet from the cheap stores. Stick a greating on the inside, and send off to the rellies. if you cut two slits in the middle of the card, you can actually make a pop up card! all you have to do is insert the card with the slits into another card... the glue a hand print or a footprint or a christmas tree or whatever onto the part that stands up when you open the card.... its lovely.

Pet rox

Pet rox usually accompany my kids chrissy cards to relatives. basically its a rock with a fat base. have them paint it, glue some googly eyes on it, maybe some pom pom or whatever. If the rock is big enough you can glue some felt onto the base (recommended anyhow- stop it from scratching surfaces) and write a note to the receiver there. Pet rox make awesome paperweights.

These activities are some of my favourites to complete with children, and i beleive they truly bring the magic back into christmas. Hopefully they may give you some ideas for things you can do with your children over the christmas holidays and enjoy some quality family time together.

*** Remember- MESSES CAN BE CLEANED UP! DONT BE AFRAID OF MAKING A MESS! ***