All right, as I look at this post today on Christmas crafts, I’m completely scrapping what I’m doing. Originally I was going to link to specific crafts we’ve done and break it down, but in all honesty, that’s not how we approach our Christmas crafts.
We look at Christmas crafts as a way to try new projects.
Some stick around, like the Christmas wrapping paper. It’s actually an expansion of my Christmas crafting tradition. My Mom spent months collecting brown paper bags, and our presents would be wrapped in those, and we’d decorate them with old Christmas cards, ribbons, and random things. I loved to do that. I changed the tradition slightly with the addition of butcher paper to create vast rolls of Christmas wrapping paper. Though my kids’ present wrapping can leave something to be desired.
We’ve tried making Christmas cards, that one comes and goes. Last year we made chalk pastel Christmas cards,and the kids loved the experience. But, shhhh…… They didn’t get mailed. I’m horrid at mailing cards. Horrid. I have a stack of about 10 letters to mail. So, we may pull out our Chalk Pastels again next week to make another round of cards for me not to mail and look at guiltily for weeks on end.
My kids love to paint and decorate peg dolls, so we tend to add a few new figures and buildings to our peg doll nativity every year. Since the creations are rather lasting (2 years and going strong) it’s getting to be a rather large town.
This year, we’re trying out a whole slew of new crafts. We joined the Winter crafting class (affiliate link, yes, me AND the kids, it’s been interesting). So far we’ve made a snowman, and today we’re going to make art journals. I’m really enjoying the class, and highly recommend it, we’re learning all sorts of new techniques. All of my kids are really enjoying it (UPDATE A YEAR LATER, I have now tried all 4 seasons and the Valentine mini-class, and they are ALL well worth it).
Our snowmen are turning out very interesting, and we are planning on giving these as Christmas presents to friends and family. Fingers crossed super tight they turn out well. Right now I’ll be honest I’m regretting my usual approach of letting them do it completely themselves because some of my sons’ projects aren’t anywhere near as cute as the samples. But they are proud of them, and that’s what I need to repeat to myself each time I cringe at the square hat. SQUARE!
Moving on.
So, I guess our Christmas crafts tradition is trying new stuff and seeing what sticks, but if you’d like actual planned projects…… Then check out these spots:
I’d highly recommend following my Advent pinterest board, there’s over 300 ideas there, and I’ve gone in and done some of them from time to time (these are all my Christian Christmas crafts)
Follow Ticia Adventures in Mommydom’s board Advent season on Pinterest. 
If you’re looking for secular Christmas ideas then follow my Christmas crafts for kids board (it’s not just crafts, it’s also school ideas). There’s a few hundred ideas there for you to try. Follow Ticia Adventures in Mommydom’s board Christmas Crafts for kids on Pinterest.
This year I’m participating in a couple of different Christmas craft projects, and I want to draw attention to them: Storybook Advent over at Rainy Day Mum, Kid-Made Christmas ornaments by Mama Miss, and Christmas in Different Lands with Multicultural Kids Blogs.
Apparently this is the year that I’m all about the Christmas crafting.
This is part of Creating Christmas Traditions series come back tomorrow as I talk about Christmas giving traditions. For more Christmas posts check out iHomeschool Network’s 5 Days of Christmas series.
I think the process is so important. I always want a nice pretty project but really it’s the process that the child enjoys! Thanks for the reminder!
I really am struggling this time with that on the snowmen we’re making right now. I so wanted them to be “perfect” for presents, but they’re not turning out that way.
When they get older, you’ll be glad you let them learn and experiment on their own now – they’ll be much more capable, and creative problem solvers, than if you had just done it all for/with them.
I’ve often wondered, if I “forgot” to mail last years Christmas cards, would anyone notice if I sent them out this year? 🙂
I wonder that all the time.
I’m sure I will later, but it sure can be tiring right now.
How exciting that you joined this class. Your kids might not have the prettiest crafts, but they are learning techniques and doing things their way, not Pinterest way. I think this will give them more confidence and joy. Your wrapping paper tradition is lovely!
It makes me smile every year we do it. And it certainly makes the kids smile.
That’s what I keep telling myself about our crafts.
I LOVE your peg doll nativity – thanks for reminding me of it! I will see if I can make one with my kids this year.
Your kids would so love making one.
Oh, I so love your peg dolls, they are gorgeous!
Thank you!
I just love the wrapping paper! I want to do something like that every year (reduce, reuse, get creative) but my husband seems obsessed with wrapping paper and comes home with rolls of them – we could set up our own charity gift wrapping station with the stuff, there’s so much accumulating in our garage! Oh my, this comment turned into a bit of a rant..:) Anyhow, I would love receiving hand crafted gifts, wrapped in hand painted butcher paper – sounds wonderful. (And I burst out laughing at the fact that those cards didn’t get mailed out!)
Sigh, Christmas cards. I love them, I really do. I love opening them. I love making them, but it’s the mailing where I fall down on it.
My husband inadvertently collects spices. He keeps thinking we don’t have ______ and buys it whenever he’s going to cook or bake for us. I have 3 mostly full bottles of vanilla, big ones. I have at least 2 mostly full, minus 1 teaspoon, of fennel seed. I don’t like fennel seed.