Get Crafty!
The silly season is upon us, so why not make the best of it by getting creative and crafty with the kids? It is an ideal way to save money, while fuelling the festive spirit at the same time!
Children love magic and imagination, so building a Christmas tradition of family togetherness is far more fruitful than allowing them to spend hours in front of the computer or television during the summer holidays.
Making your own cards, gifts and decorations is a fun way to while away long, hot days. And there are no excuses, not even if you are not an “arty type”. Paper, pencils, paint, glue and other cheap bits and pieces are easy to transform into pretty objects.
Counting Down the Days
Start by making an advent calendar which is also a fun way to count down the 25 days in December until Christmas Day. Shops sell glittery calendars at a hefty price, but your kids will enjoy a homemade Father Christmas version just as much.
Draw or download a picture of Father Christmas, but make sure that he has a very generous and fluffy beard. Draw the numbers 1 to 25 randomly on his beard. They should be evenly spaced and about the size of a R5 coin. “Tick off” each day by rolling a small piece of cotton wool into a ball and sticking it onto the relevant number. Once you reach the last day, Father Christmas will have a handsome 3D fluffy beard.
Gifts are nice, but they come at a price. Your children can learn to appreciate the art of giving and receiving by putting effort into making their own presents for family and friends.
For the Bookworms
Making festive bookmarks is an easy project for all age groups. You will need stiff cardboard, colouring pens or paint, a laminating sheet or machine or some “sticky back” plastic, a hole puncher and some ribbon or wool. Draw or paint a colourful picture on one side of the card and then write a message on the back (older kids can create and write their own messages). Laminate the bookmark and then punch a hole at the bottom. Thread your ribbon or wool through the hole, double it up and then tie it securely just underneath the edge of the bookmark. Make several for the bookworms in the family and go wild with decorative ideas. You could even glue photographs of your children and pets onto them.
Festive Frames
Family and friends really love photographs of the special people in their lives, so make a photo frame for keeps. The frame can be made of absolutely anything: stiff cardboard, ice-cream sticks, beads, sequins or glittery stars. Paste the photograph onto stiff cardboard and cut around the edge, leaving a generous space for your frame. Your frame can also contain a montage of events and people throughout the year if you cut out heads and colourful images and stick them together to make a memorable design.
Practical Presents
Door stoppers are a fabulously practical gift and easy enough for a toddler to help with. Gather up some plastic, clear tubs, bottles or jars (small soft drink bottles are great for light doors, while the sturdier tubs work wonders for a heavy front door in the wind). Fill your container with either sand or pebbles, or a mixture of both. Once filled and the lid secured, decorate with stickers, stars, paper, beads or even little shells. Add a pretty label to the handle or bottleneck.
For friends who enjoy an afternoon tipple, coasters are cheap but quality gifts that keep on giving (and saving tables from wet patches). Cut round circles from stiff cardboard or have the kids go wild on a large piece of colourful cardboard first and cut out the circles afterwards. Personalise each coaster with the name of the recipient, or follow through your design by making at least six coasters in a theme, such as animals or the sea. Laminate the coasters or cover them with “sticky back” plastic.
Get Cracking
The prettiest way to wrap a gift is in a Christmas cracker, which is fun for children and adults alike. For small crackers, use toilet paper rolls, or use stiff cardboard rolled into a tube and stapled securely for larger gifts. Show your kids how to wrap a piece of crêpe paper or material (which is easy to work with) around the tube, leaving enough paper or fabric at either end for gathering into the cracker’s ends.
Secure your cracker at one end with ribbon, wool or pipe cleaners and tie into a bow or leave loose. Now you can fill your cracker with any number of gifts, from stickers, crayons, marbles, pens and sweets for kids, to little soaps, chocolates and key rings for adults. Tie the other end of your cracker, place a label on it and pat yourself on the back.
With a little thought and time, you are set to have yourself a very merry, affordable Christmas this year.
Story by Beth Cooper Howell
