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Christmas is about family. Here is
a collection of five crafts that you can make as a family
to teach the true meaning and symbols of Christmas.
Children will learn to identify Christmas using their
five senses: sight, sound, smell, taste and touch. Pick
and choose the activities you think your family will
best enjoy, and spread them throughout the season. Start
new traditions. Most importantly, use the activities
to talk as a family.
Sight Activities:
Make holly wreaths out of green felt or construction
paper:
Materials: paper plate, scissors, three shades
of green felt or construction paper, old newspaper,
glue gun and glue (or craft glue), red beads (optional),
1 inch thick red ribbon tied into a bow (optional.)
Fold a paper plate in half and cut out the center.
Discard the center piece. Make a pattern of spiny holly
leaves using old newspaper, and use a fabric pen to
trace the shape on three different shades of green felt.
(You can also use green construction paper.) Use a glue
gun or craft glue to attach the holly leaves to the
paper plate ring, alternating colors. You can glue red
beads in triangular bunches of three to the leaves if
you want to add berries. Attach the optional bow at
the top or bottom of the wreath.
The holly wreath, hanging on a door or over an archway,
makes a fine visual symbol Christmas. The circle is
a symbol of brotherly love. Demonstrate to your children
how the circle never ends, just like our love for each
other shouldn’t end. In olden days when all other plants
died under the snow, the holly stayed green, giving
hope that life would come again. The red holly berries
represent Jesus’ blood, which gave man hope of life
after death. The bow is symbol of unity, which families
feel at Christmastime. Red is the color of sacrifice.
Talk about these meanings with your children as you
make the wreath. Every time they see it hanging will
be a reminder to them of the true meaning of Christmas!
Sound Activities
Jingle Bells:
Ask your children to close their eyes. Move away from
them. Have them try to walk to you with their eyes closed.
Then repeat the activity, but this time ring a jingle
bell. Bells ring out to lost sheep and guide them back
to safety. Jesus is sometimes called the Good Shepherd,
guiding every child to safety. You may want to tie the
jingle bell to a branch of your Christmas tree, or attach
one to your child’s shoelace to remind them of the Christmas
season.
Smell Activities
Scented Orange Ornaments:
Materials Needed: several small to medium oranges
or tangerines, 1 bottle whole cloves, wire and cutters,
1 inch (or thicker) ribbon, tied into a bow.
Gently make a vertical surface cut at each quarter
of the orange. Carefully poke the wire through bottom
of the orange and push through the top. Secure by twisting
the wire into a circle, thus holding the orange in place.
Dry the wire with a paper towel if it got juicy. Push
in cloves, thorny end first, along the cut grooves of
the orange. Slide the bow down the wire until it tops
the orange, and fold back the wire to secure on a tree
branch.
This ornament will fill your home with fresh citrusy,
gingerbread smells and can also be wrapped to be given
as a gift. Gingerbread has been associated with the
holidays since medieval times, when the crusaders brought
citrus fruits and spices back from the Middle East.
At first it was too expensive for anyone but the lords
and ladies of the castles to eat. Today it can serve
as a reminder that baby Jesus was the prophesied king.
Taste Activities
Decorate Christmas Cookies:
Using your favorite sugar cookie recipe and a variety
of cookie cutters, spend an afternoon baking up a batch.
Frosting, cake decorating supplies and candy can be
used for embellishment. Make a plate to take to a neighbor,
or hang the cookies on the tree. Of course, you must
eat a few! Cookies and apples were used as the first
Christmas tree ornaments in Germany, where they came
to symbolize the fruits of redemption.
Touch Activities
Candle Lights:
Candles have long represented Jesus Christ on Christmas,
and have been used on Advent wreaths, lightstocks (Christmas
Pyramids), Christmas trees, or single candles at the
window. Light a candle and have your children hold their
hands up close enough to feel the warmth. Although winter
is traditionally a cold season, Christmas activities
with your family bring warmth into the heart.
About the Author:
Emma Snow is a creator at for Ornament Shop http://www.ornament-shop.net
and Craft Kits http://www.craft-kits.net
leading portals for crafts and ornaments.
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