Merry Christmas!

Wishing you a Blessed and Joyful Christmas!

Remember the Reason for the Season!

I Love Reindeer

I am a Reindeer fanatic! 
Here are a few more reindeer crafts we have made this year!

Cranks Delivering Cards

O.K., we have this group of pre-school kiddos at my church that get together at least once a month to do crafts, just play or go on field trips. Last month, we got together and made special Christmas cards which we were going to deliver to two of the apartment complexes in town that house elderly folks. 

We had a good time making the cards. Each child traced hands and feet enough to make three cards apiece.

These are Little Mister's cards! CUTE!

Well, December rolls around and we had to reschedule our first date because of rain.... and it kept raining!

Finally, a date was set AND every child cried the entire time we were delivering the cards! What are the odds, EVERY kid? My child is a people lover and he even wanted me to hold him almost the entire time! He would not even hold one of the cards.

Isn't that just like kids?! 

Oh well, the Mommy's laughed and had a good time anyway!

MERRY CHRISTMAS from THE CRANKS!

Christmas Apples

 Yummy!

In my opinion, the ONLY way to eat a 

Granny Smith apple!

 

All you need:

Pre-cut Granny Smith apples (or cut them yourself)

Pack of Cherry or Strawberry Jello

Place them into a sealed plastic bag and shake!

Open and enjoy!

Sprite Bottle Mini Trees

We were at a friends house the other day and I happened to notice a few empty Sprite 2-liter bottles laying around. She apparently loves the stuff! Anyway, we brought a few home and I cut the tops off with a craft blade. For some reason they looked like trees to me!

We decorated our mini trees with beads and pom-pom's.They made cute little decorations on our bar during a Hot Chocolate Get-Together with a few friends. 

Some folks even took one of the up-cycled trees home!

Peppermint Lemon - A New Tradition

My daddy has a little bit of everything growing in his yard. However, Little Mister has always loved his little lemon tree. This year we brought a few home and decided to make a 'new' Christmas tradition around here.

First, we rolled the lemon and squeezed it to get the insides all juicy. My little guy really enjoyed this part!!

When I could talk him into giving me back the lemon, I cut a small X on one side. I carefully inserted a candy cane which, by the way, I had cut both ends off. [Cutting the cane allows the exposed porous ends to easily become a straw.]

The candy cane's  sweetness helps the "tang" of the lemon somewhat!

As you can see by the pictures, He really enjoyed it.

I saw this lemon straw somewhere but can't remember. If you have posted it before, feel free to contact me so I can link back to you!

Hope you are beyond blessed during this Christmas season!

Wreath - Share A Smile

 Paper Plates, Paint, Pom-Poms and Blobs of Glue = Lots of Smiles

We made bunches of these and took them down to the hospital to decorate the rooms of patients that would be staying over the holidays.

Ever wonder why we decorate with holly wreaths for Christmas? I did!

The Legend of the Holly Wreath
A young orphan boy was living with the shepherds when the herald angels appeared announcing the glad tidings of Christ's birth. On the way to Bethlehem, the child wove a crown of holly branches for the newborn king. But when he lay it before Jesus, the crown looked so unworthy that the little shepherd became ashamed of his gift and began to cry. Then the Christ Child reached out, touched the crown, caused its leaves to sparkle shiny and green, and turned the orphan's tears into scarlet berries.

Candy Cane Patterns

A quick, simple and fun learning activity!

I cut a candy cane shape from cardboard. Then, I cut some red and green pipe cleaners into ~1.5 inch pieces.

I would start a pattern on the candy cane and let Little Mister finish it. We tried several different repeating patterns, like:

Red, Green

Red, Red, Green

Green, Red, Green

You get the idea!

He had fun and then......

An elf in a 4-wheeler showed up and ruined everything!

Merry Christmas!

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Puzzle Reindeer Magnet

 What to do with all those odd puzzle pieces?

Easy reindeer magnets for school or church friends, aunts and cousins!

All you need:

3 puzzle pieces

2 google eyes

1 pom-pom

and a magnet

Reindeer Hand Garland

I Love reindeer AND I love making handprint crafts with my Little Mister. Naturally the two were destine to collide!

I traced his hand on some thin cardboard paper. I used the one and traced it 7 more times. Santa had 8 reindeer right? After I cut them out, I hot glued a red ribbon across the back. I then cut some free handed antlers from a used file folder. Little Mister glued on their noses (beads) and eyes.

Lovely. They're gracefully dancing across my mantle as we speak.

A treasure for many years to come!


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That Orange Spikey Thing

 

*** Flash Back ***

I vividly remember making these in the first grade! At the time, we were living in Mt. Airy, NC; the town better known as Mayberry from the Andy Griffith Show. I loved it there, the schools, the snow, my neighbors, our fabulous yard with the greatest climbing trees! 

I recall a perfect slope on one side of the lawn that was great for sledding. There was also a grand basement with the spookiest coal room loved by all smallish visitors! 
We seemed to have company all the time which meant, all the cousins and I got to sleep on pallets in the living room! Popcorn and flashlights for all!

Somehow, the smell of oranges and cloves always takes me back to those grand and lovely days from my childhood!

Today, we live far away from any possibility of snow, however, I want my Little Mister to grow up with wonderful memories of his childhood. And perhaps, one day when he is a Big Mister, the smell of tangy oranges will bring back a flood of sweet memories to him as well!

I can only pray!

A bit of information:
The first pomanders were made from gold or silver. They were shaped like balls and hung
by a cord from the waist. They were filled with sweet smelling herbs and spices, and used
as perfume worn from the Middle Ages onward. They were also thought to keep one from getting sick. Today, pomanders are made from fresh fruits and are hung
in a closet to scent clothes and keep moths away or simply decorations.

Santa in Shapes

  Little Mister has been walking around singing,

 "Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Santa Clause is Coming to Town"!

 I guess squishing 2 Christmas Carols together makes it so much better!

Since we have been singing about Santa for some time now, I thought we should add him to our holiday craft line-up!

You need:

4 Rectangles

3 Circles

2 Triangles

1 Square

some cotton balls and google eyes

 We first sorted our shapes into groups. 

We counted them (each group and then all together). 

Then, we grouped by color.

Finally, I handed him a glue stick!

 He was proud!

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Thinking about Christmas - Printables

My Little Mister is getting so excited about Christmas; the lights, the decorations, the crafts, Santa everywhere we go... Did I mention lights?? He is definitely giving me a much needed shove boost into the Christmas spirit this year!

Here are a few printables I created to keep in tune with this festive season!

As always, I hope you enjoy and give me some feed back.

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