One of the best ways to encourage children to enjoy the arts is to let them get involved. Children naturally love creating, and putting together art — especially related to Christmas — can be a great way to keep kids busy, and help them practice their creativity.
If you are looking for some fun ways to help your child express his or her inner artist this Christmas, here are some ideas for fun things you can help them do:
Christmas Cards
Let your child help you with the Christmas cards for everyone on your list. Grandparents love receiving handmade Christmas cards from little ones. You can have your child create a small picture to go inside the card, or have your child create a card out of cardstock or construction paper.
The card doesn’t have to be just a crayon drawing, either. Consider using cotton balls for snow, using glitter, or painting instead of coloring. If you have stamps, you can use those as well. Create a mixed-media card with textures. There are a number of ways to make a card unique and fun, and your child will love putting it together — and recipients will love opening their mail to find it.
Paper Plate Wreath
One of the most basic of Christmas art project is the paper plate wreath. Get a paper plate, and cut a hole in the middle. Then, around the edges, it’s possible to decorate the wreath. One of the most common ways to decorate is to use tissue paper. Take one-inch squares of green, red and other colors of tissue paper. Wrap them around the eraser end of a pencil. Lightly dip the tissue paper in glue, and then apply it to the paper plate. It is possible to create bows, flowers and other designs in the midst of the tissue paper greenery.
Instead of using tissue paper, it’s possible to decorate the wreath with small pinecones, buttons, holly berries, dried flower petals, and real greenery.
Paper Stocking
My son completed this project over the weekend. He took two pieces of construction paper, and traced out a stocking shape on one. Then, he cut out the stockings at once, so they would match. Going around the edges, he used a hole punch to create small holes, about half an inch apart. Next, he took some yarn, and then threaded it through the holes. Next, he decorated the stocking. You can use glitter, paint, and more. Cotton balls make a great “fluffy” top.
We only had yellow yarn at the time, so that’s what he used with the green construction paper, but it still turned out fun for him, and he rather enjoyed the exercise. He ended up filling it with little notes and drawings and presenting it to his father.
You can also use fabric and some simple sewing techniques to create a stocking. A little fabric paint and glitter can make it fun, or choose material with a Christmas print.
Arts and Crafts Basics
For the most part, it’s fairly easy to find to put together an “art bin” for your kids. Construction paper, card stock, yarn, glitter, glue, buttons, water colors, crayons, markers, popsicle sticks, and cotton balls can pretty much provide the basis for any art or craft project your kids might want to do.
What are your ideas for Christmas arts and crafts for kids?
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