When holiday season approaches, it becomes essential to devise new methods to keep children engaged and content for long hours and even days. Fortunately, children are naturally inventive and crafty. So, one of the most effective ways to keep them busy is to provide them with exciting crafts to work on. In the following article, you’ll discover a range of traditional and imaginative craft activities to keep your kids busy.
Craft Bookmarks
Bookmarks are always a reliable choice; they’re not only enjoyable but also inspiring to create. Over the holiday season, reading is a popular pastime, increasing the need for bookmarks. These can be gifted to family and friends as well. If you’re trying to inspire your children to read more, creating bookmarks during the holidays can be an effective way to pique their interest in storytelling.
Making a bookmark is very simple and straightforward; all you need is a piece of card, some pens and pencils, and any decorations you want to include. Start by using an existing bookmark as a template to draw the outline, then get creative with a design; think animals, characters from books, or fantasy creatures. When you’ve finished decorating it, taper the ends with scissors.
The good news is that kids are creative and crafty, so one of the best ways to keep them occupied is to give them some fun crafts to work on.
Crafting Beautiful Candles
Paper Plate Crafts
Paper plate crafts are a classic form of creative expression for kids; not only is it creative, but it’s simple, affordable, and accessible. All you need for some fun paper plate crafting is a supply of paper plates, some drawing and coloring materials, and some textured items for decoration. Some nice ideas for plate decoration include pipe cleaners, yarn, natural elements, and stickers.
A basic face is the easiest thing to create for a plate craft, but you have the freedom to be as imaginative as you want with the face you select. For instance, consider crafting plate portraits of your family members or celebrities. You can also opt for a beloved character from a book or film. Another fun idea would be to create paper plate faces of one another and have family members guess who it is.
Crafting Cards
Crafting cards is typically linked with Christmas, but they are also significant during other events like birthdays, Easter, and various special occasions. If your children are on holiday, or you’re looking to occupy some free time on weekends, consider purchasing the necessary materials for a card crafting session. This way, you can spend a few delightful hours together, engaging in a creative activity.
Making cards is quite simple; you just require cardboard, pens and pencils, embellishments, scissors and tape, along with some time and a space to unleash your creativity. It can be beneficial to use a pre-existing card as a model for your card’s size, decor, and internal writing. After you’ve cut your card to the desired size, you can start decorating it based on your creative ideas.
Crafting cards is very easy; all you need is some cardboard, pens and pencils, decorations, scissors and tape, and some time and space to get creative.
Nature Crafts
Nature crafts are an excellent way to embrace the season, explore the local wilderness with children, and create lovely items that you can share with your friends and family members. Some nature crafts you can make include necklaces, lamps, pine cone roses, and wicker items made by weaving different grasses and straws. Some of these crafts require online instructions.
To fully embrace the season, consider going on a nature walk with your family to gather materials for crafting. It’s beneficial to have a crafting plan in mind before the walk; this way, you know exactly what items to look for. Pine cones and chestnuts are versatile crafting materials, so aim to locate a bountiful forest for foraging.
Origami Crafts
The art of folding paper originates in Japan, where it has a long tradition; in fact, origami is considered an art form, and people can create some quite amazing models and figures. However, origami is also excellent for children during the holidays, and you don’t need to be an expert to have some fun crafting paper animals, people, and fantasy creatures, only paper.
If your children are not proficient in origami, it’s advisable to start with the basics; initiate by constructing paper airplanes, ships, and hats. This will familiarize them with the process of folding and forming 3D shapes. Once they acquire some fundamental skills, they can progress to the well-known and simplest origami animal – the crane. Subsequently, they can attempt creating other animals.