Christmas is in the air

The decorations are out. The kids are crazy. The tree will be up this weekend and baking will begin on Monday....Yes, it's Christmas!

My kids need a countdown. We always try to do the Christmas chain but there are way too many arguments over who gets to take down a ring. So this year we decided to do a book a day.

I got this fabulous idea from pintrest! Oh my gosh...I am addicted! We wrapped (or shall I say "I") 24 books. Most of the books were from our personal collection while my friend, Sarah, picked up a few new ones for me. Seriously, the kids will have no idea we had these...we have A LOT. Anyways, each night they can open a new book for us to read . How fun! Wish I would have thought of this one on my own.

Next on the list....Christmas email/picture!

Felt...oh how I love thee TUTORIAL

The other day I was thinking about the church I grew up in. I was remembering the felt board my teacher used to teach us the stories of Jesus. Who didn't want to be the one who was called to place baby Jesus in the manger or put the crown on Jesus' head?

Anyways...felt was fun! And it still can be fun!

I thought about making my own portable felt boards. You know, so the kids can bring them to the doctors office or to a restaurant. We also do a lot of traveling over the holiday's and we are always looking for car ride entertainment. And don't forget Christmas gifts! I have a number of small people in my life who would love to play with some felt!

So here it is...my little portable felt board tutorial!

Supplies:
Felt in all sorts of colors (I bought it by the yard because it was %50 off and MUCH cheaper)
scissors (regular and crafty ones)
cookie cut outs
ribbon

Step one: Cut out your background. Mine is about 12X12. Then make scenes to go with it. I made water and hills for the boys and hills and rocks for the girls.
Step two: Find your fancy cookie cutters. I got this whole bin on a giveaway table at church and pick out some fun shapes. Trace on felt and cut out.

Step three: You can either make a small little pouch for your felt pieces or just get a baggy for them. Roll up your background and tie with a ribbon...

Step three: Find a small person to play with it.

Christmas fun with your kiddos

Every other day, my kids and I do some "learning" together. We sit in a circle and sing songs, talk about what day it is, the weather, and then do some activities together. When Kylie is home, she joins us but most days it is just Cooper, Addy and I.

Anyways, I am always looking for new and creative ways to teach my kids. It's always fun during the holidays to come up with new crafts and activities for the kids. BUT...sometimes, I forget about all of the crafts we did as kids. It is also difficult to find activities for all of my kids. Kylie will come home from school and ask to do a "project" so I like to have some handy for her (preferably one I did with the others earlier in the day).

I figured I would share a few crafts with you all that you can use for ALL your children.

• The hand wreath...

Yes, some of us did this as kids but it is just fun....

• The Teeny Tiny Book of Christmas Alphabet for your preschooler
• Christmas Reindeer Craft

  Directions: Make a reindeer by shaping the pipe cleaner into a V shape and gluing it to the top, back of the stick; glue on wiggle eyes and nose, and draw a mouth. You can make this a gift tag by writing To: and From: on it; you can use the ribbon and make it an ornament; or you can make it a magnet.

• Egg Carton Tree
  
  Directions: Cup the egg cartons so you have one row of 6 cups, one row of 5 cups, and so on to 1 cup. Paint the outside of the egg cup green. When the paint is dry, glue them on a large sheet of paper as follows: Glue the 6 cup row on the bottom of the paper, just above that glue the 5 cup row, and so on until you have used all the cups. It should look like a triangle when you are done. Decorate with misc. craft items
• Christmas Necklace

  Directions: Cut 2-3 feet of cling wrap and lay flat on table. Starting on one end, place candy in the center of the cling wrap. Do this the whole length of the cling wrap, leaving 2-3 inches between each candy. Fold the cling wrap over a few times - the long way- to seal the candy. Tie a piece of curling ribbon around the cling wrap in between each piece if candy. Tie the ends together to make a necklace.

• Santa Hat
  

  Directions: Cut out a large triangle out of red construction paper. Glue on the cotton balls to make a white ball on one of the triangle tips, and glue cotton balls along the
  bottom edge to form the brim. You can also cut out two triangles and tape or staple them together to make a hat to fit the child's head.

Enjoy.....

Super cute santa hat

Have I mentioned that I love Christmas?

I do!!!

Yes, my house is semi decorated already and there are plans of getting all my Christmas houses out this week.

In the mean time, I found this awesome pattern for a Santa hat. It was very quick and easy...and just plain old cute.

Cooper decided he didn't want one (too girly he said) so I made one for Kylie and am modifying the pattern to fit Addy right now. When I figure it out, I will post the modified directions for the toddler size.

Happy crocheting girls...