‘Tis the season to count down the days and gear up for Christmas. Before the holiday hoopla culminates into the New Year, gather your little elves and participate in these simple and fun festive crafts.
COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS CALENDAR
- Green poster board, 22-by-28-inch
- Pencil
- Scissors
- Permanent marker
- 24 REESE’s Peanut Butter Cup Minis (red and gold foil)
- 1 HERSHEY’S KISS (silver foil)
- Glue gun, low setting
- Hole punch
- Green yarn
- Draw a three-tiered Christmas tree that measures approximately 17 by 22 inches on the poster board; cut it out.
- Using the numbers 1 through 24, write one number on each of the smooth, flat sides of the peanut butter cups.
- Glue the cups with the number side up onto the Christmas tree.
- Punch a hole at the top of the tree. String yarn through the hole and tie in a knot.
- Glue a KISS to the treetop.
- Beginning December 1, take off one peanut butter cup each day as you count down to Christmas. Top off the holiday by indulging in a sweet kiss.
DEER OF A DOOR HANGER
- Brown poster board
- Scissors
- Pencil
- Ruler
- Medium wiggly eyes
- Medium red pompom
- Black marker
- Glue gun, low setting
- Place your foot on top of the poster board and trace around it. Cut it out.
- Repeat step 1 with both hands.
- Glue hands to the back, upper sides of the foot to create a reindeer head and antlers.
- In the top, center portion of the head, cut a circle that measures approximately 1 ¼ inches in diameter. Make small slits on opposite sides of the circle so the hanger will fit over a doorknob.
- Just below the circle, glue two wiggly eyes and a pompom nose then draw a mouth.
- Place the hanger over a doorknob.
HOLIDAY BOOTY
- Large plain paper or cardboard
- Red craft foam, 9-x12-inch
- Pencil
- Ruler
- Scissors
- Paper clips
- Hole punch
- White yarn
- Red and white wrapped peppermint candy
- Red and white candy cane
- Glue gun, low setting
- Black marker
- On a large sheet of paper, draw a stocking shape that measures approximately 3 ½ inches wide by 9 inches long. Cut this out to use as a template.
- Place stocking template over the craft foam and trace around it. Cut out the foam stocking.
- Repeat step 2 with remaining craft foam so you have two identical stockings.
- Place small pencil points along the side and bottom edge of one stocking, leaving the top, straight edge unmarked. Marks should be ½ inch from the outer edge and ¾ inch apart.
- Temporarily paper clip the two stockings together.
- Use pencil points as guides to punch holes through the two stockings so they can be laced together.
- Before lacing, glue a candy cane to the top, back section of the bottom stocking. Candy cane curve should face away from the stocking, so it creates a hook for the stocking to hang.
- Clip a long piece of yarn. Thread it through the top, left hole then tie a knot. Sew the stockings together. When the yarn has been laced to the top, right hole, tie it off in a knot and clip the yarn ends. Remove paper clips.
- Write “Holiday Booty” across the front of the stocking, then glue several candies randomly around it.
- Fill the pocket with sweet treats and give to someone you love.
RUDOLPH REVIEW
Even though Rudolph was not a member of Santa’s original team, he is the most beloved of all reindeer. The little, red-nosed fellow was created in 1939 by Robert L. May, a Montgomery Ward department store employee and copywriter who wrote children’s literature. At his employer’s request, May began creating a holiday tale that would be part of a giveaway coloring book for the store’s youngest patrons. Drawing upon the story of “The Ugly Duckling” and his own childhood underdog experiences, May penned a poem about a misfit reindeer, rejected by Santa’s hoofed community because of his glowing red nose.
The story was an instant hit, and in the years to follow the booklet became an annual Montgomery Ward tradition. As the story grew in popularity, so did the demand for licensing. But since May had created the tale while he was a Ward employee, the company retained the copyright. In 1947, however, the author convinced Montgomery Ward president Sewell Avery to relinquish the rights, and “Rudolph” was printed commercially. The following year it appeared as a short cartoon, and in 1949 it was made into a ballad and recorded by Gene Autry. The legendary tale became a holiday classic in 1964 when it was turned into a television special narrated by Burl Ives.
FESTIVE READS
- “Amazing Christmas Extravaganza” by David Shannon
- “The Church Mice at Christmas” by Graham Oakley
- “The Finest Christmas Tree” by John and Ann Hassett
- “Holly, Reindeer, and Colored Lights: The Story of the Christmas Symbols” by Edna Barth
- “Why Christmas Trees Aren’t Perfect” by Richard H. Schneider
