Tis the season to be making Christmas crafts. Yes, I know that makes you cringe and put your fingers in your ears. Hee hee. You see, I adore Christmas, I love buying and making Christmas crafts, and I start Christmas shopping in August. Now I’ve confessed, see? I’m one of them. Those people who start doing Christmas stuff in August.
But truly, now is the best time to make Christmas crafts. There’s just over a month until Christmas insanity begins and you’re too busy doing holiday events to even think about making crafts for your preschooler. December is a very bad month to try and do crafts. I make cookies in December, but that’s about it. Mostly, my daughter and I do crafts together.
I actually create a lot of my gifts in the summer, because I have time to order supplies and really think about what I’d like to make. I’m also a slowpoke crafter and an especially slow knitter, so this allows me to create gifts at my own pace, which is definitely glacial.
What can you create for your preschooler this year, even if you have no crafting skills?
1. Play silks. These are squares or rectangles of silk that children can use for dress up clothes and as props in play. Order them from companies like Dharma Trading, then dye them yourself. You can even purchase silk dyes.
2. A plant press. This is a simple kit made of two identical pieces of plywood, layers of paper and cardboard inside, and a strap around the outside. Children can use it to press leaves and flowers. If you’re feeling artistic, you can paint the wood.
3. A stenciled shirt, night wear, or even shoes. Adorn a piece of clothing with a stencil or a transfer of your child’s favorite animal or storybook character. You can also buy iron-on patches and cut them into shapes like hearts and stars. No artistic ability required, I promise!
4. Nature blocks. Cut apart pieces of wood, small sticks, and the like into block-sized chunks. Place these in a box for indoor use, so that your child can use natural objects in his imaginary building and dress up play.
5. Dress up one of your child’s pictures in a fancy frame or a shadow box. We have a hallway with my daughter’s artwork in it, and she enjoys the fact that it’s featured there.
Have you made gifts for your preschooler? What did you make?