Countdown to Christmas

"I once bought my kids a set of batteries for Christmas with a note on it saying, toys not included."
 -Bernard Manning

December is here again, which means it is time to start counting down to Christmas.  Every day this month I am planning on posting a project.  Some are going to be decorations, some ornaments, and some present ideas. 

This craft project I created for a Christmas in July project at a camp.  These projects are kid tested and easy to prep for.  Plus, craft sticks make for a classic homemade ornament look.

Materials:

• Red paint
• Brown paint
• White paint
• Peach paint
• Black paint
• Black sharpie
• Small heart shaped foam piece
• Small square shaped foam piece
• Two very small triangle foam pieces
• Small pink, red, and orange circle beads
• Two black buttons
• Yellow bead
• Small white pom pom
• Brown pipe cleaner
• Small strip of felt
• Small strip of plaid fabric
• Ribbon
• Scissors 
• Paint brush
• Markers (of choice colors)
• Tacky Glue

Directions:

1. Prep for craft by painting the craft sticks.  Paint brown sticks for the reindeer, white sticks for the snowman, and mostly red sticks (except for the bottom part black and a little bit from the top a strip of peach paint).  Paint hearts white, triangles brown, and squares black. Let dry.

Santa:

   1. Glue heart onto the craft stick to form a beard.  Point the point of the heart towards the black.  

   2. Draw a face on the Santa using the sharpie.  Also, draw belt and buttons on his suit.  

   3. With white paint, draw stripes on the boots and the white strip on the bottom of the hat.  

   4. Carefully glue the the pom pom on the top of the hat and the pink bead onto the heart.

   5. Attach ribbon to form a way to hang it onto the tree.

Reindeer:

   1. Paint two white ovals a third of the way down on the brown craft stick.  Let dry.

   2. With the sharpie, draw a mouth on the reindeer and two black dots on the eyes.  

   3. Glue the red bead on the reindeer. 

   4. String the yellow bead onto the plaid fabric.

   5. Tie around the bottom of the reindeer.

   6. Glue the triangles onto the side of the heads of the craft sticks for the ears.

   7. Create antlers out of the pipe cleaner, and glue onto the craft stick.

   8. Attach ribbon to form a way to hang it onto the tree.

Snowman:

   1. Draw a face onto the snowman.

   2. Glue orange bead onto the snowman for the carrot nose.

   3. Draw stripes or a pattern onto the felt. Cut small cuts in the sides of the scarf. Glue the scarf onto the snowman.

   4. Cut the square into the shape of a top hat and glue onto the snowman.

   5. Glue buttons on the snowman.

   6. Attach ribbon to form a way to hang it onto the tree.

There are so many books about Christmas, so many of these posts wont include book ideas with them.  May your holidays be filled with joy and crafting.