Hellobee

Charlie and Olive are both out of school until January 2nd, so I’ve been compiling ideas for easy holiday-themed activities and arts and crafts. Here is a roundup of 20 activities — I’d love to try as many as possible before the year is over!

Pompom Trees – We already have pom poms but since sytrofoam trees are a little hard to find, you can always make your own with posterboard. This is an easy and beautiful craft, and the kids love any time they can play with glue. You can also do this craft with tissue paper.

Gingerbread House – You can’t go wrong with this classic. Charlie has already made one at school and even went to a gingerbread ship building event, but we need to let Olive in on the fun too!

Christmas Tree Cones – Instead of gingerbread houses, Christmas tree cones are even easier to make with little ones! Simply flip over a cone and decorate it with icing, sprinkles and candy/chocolate of choice!

DIY Snow Globe – We already have glycerin from our DIY bubble solution making adventures, so this would be a pretty easy craft for us. I think the kids will have fun choosing what to put inside their snow globes, and playing with them long after Christmas.

DIY Christmas Book – I love this idea of starting a family Christmas book. Each year the kids illustrate a picture, whether it’s something that happened to them that year, what they’d like for Christmas, etc. How amazing this would be to look back on and see how your child’s drawing evolves each year. Drawing is currently Charlie’s favorite thing to do in the whole wide world right now, so it’s the perfect Christmas to start (he just turned 4).

Salt Dough Ornaments – An oldie but always a goodie. Salt dough is so easy to make, and I want to capture those precious little handprints while they’re still so small!

One Ingredient Silk Snow  and One Ingredient Bath Snow – These are two different recipes for making indoor snow (bar soap and baking soda respectively), and I’d love to try them both. Charlie and Olive love playing in the snow, and hopefully we can bring a little of that indoors.

Pompom Ornament and Pine Cone Christmas Tree – I think Christmas is a little more special for your kids when they contribute to the decor. Both of these ornaments are pretty and easy to make. And here is a fun painted version of the pine cone tree!

Build an indoor snowman – We have some Christmas-themed window gel clings my mom sent the kids that they love. This snowman is made with craft foam and can be used over and over again. And of course you could do this with a Christmas tree as well!

Painting the Snow Outdoors and Indoors – Some food coloring, water, and squeeze or spray bottles is all you need to paint the snow outdoors.  Then you can bring some snow indoors and paint it too!

Silvery Snow Paint – We never tire of painting in our house, and this snow-like glittery paint is sure to be a hit!

Construction Paper Christmas Trees – The best purchase I made recently was a package of construction paper. Now that Charlie is old enough to use scissors, he’s obsessed with creating collages. Olive gets in on the fun too because she loves gluing shapes onto paper. This craft is as easy as it gets. Simply cut strips of paper and let them create their own trees! You can mix it up with stickers, pipe cleaners, buttons if your kids are a little older… anything goes!

Santa Beard – This is another easy paper craft that I know Charlie will love doing. Cut out shapes to let them create their own Santa. But the fun part is the beard – roll each strip around a pencil and unroll to create a curly beard!

Tissue Paper Wreaths – If Charlie’s favorite medium is paper, Olive’s favorite is tissue paper. I think she loves the crinkly sensory experience of it all. She would love making this wreath!

DIY Santa Beard – This beard is made with felt so it’s extra sturdy!

And finally, we’re going to bake some cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve. Perhaps some gingerbread men!

Are you planning on doing any special activities with your little one over the holidays?