Giggletoes
11-28-2009, 03:41 AM
Since the holiday season is upon us, I thought it would be nice to have a thread where we can share some of our own holiday ideas with one another. We celebrate Christmas in our house. My kids’ father is Jewish, so they have also lit menorahs and participated in other aspects of that religious time all their lives. Feel free to share crafts, recipes, traditions, and stories. Whichever holiday you celebrate this season, we’d love to hear from you!
I’ll start with some Christmas crafts that I think are really neat.
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Popcorn Ball Christmas Ornaments (see thumbnail below)
What you need:
clear glass craft ornaments (I like the ones from Michael's best)
unpopped plain popcorn kernels
paper lunch sacks (don't attempt this without using these!!!!)
microwave
Remove the metal ornament hanger--metal + microwave = NOT a good thing. Insert about 20 popcorn kernels into the glass ball. Put the glass ball into a paper lunch sack and roll the top down a couple times. Put into the microwave and cook on high until the popcorn has slowed down. You must monitor this carefully! Remove from the microwave and let cool for a minute. Put the metal hanger back on the glass ball, and--voila!--a popcorn ball ornament!
The lunch sack is necessary just in case the glass ball breaks, you will be able to just take it out and toss the whole thing in the trash without worrying about cutting yourself or cleaning up a mess.
I made two dozen of these about 10 years ago, and they are still beautiful. I just put them on my tree for the 11th Christmas. We made them in my daughters' Girl Scout troop one year, and we decorated them with holly and their names using red and green paint pens and tied Christmas ribbon on the hanger. I also think it might be cute to use paint pens to draw snowman faces on them.
I put them on a tree that originally was in our playroom....all of the ornaments are homemade by me and my kids except for some wooden "cranberry" garland. We made cinnamon/applesauce gingerbread men and tri-bead candy canes for this tree, too. This tree now resides in my dining room every Christmas, but these ornaments would be cool on a kitchen tree as well.
:xxmasanta: :bell: :xxmasanta: :bell: :xxmasanta: :bell: :xxmasanta:
Tri-bead Candy Cane Ornaments
What you need:
chenille stems, white or red, cut in half
red and white tri-beads
Bend the very end of your chenille stems a little to keep the beads from sliding off the other end. Lace the beads on the chenille stem in groups of three. You should be able to get 45 beads on there. Bend the end of the chenille stem over the last bead to secure, then bend the beaded stem into a candy cane shape.
You can also use green beads or other colors dependent upon your tree colors. One of my daughters had a tree with blue ornaments so we used blue and white tri-beads, and we used purple and white for the other daughter’s tree. Just use your imagination. This craft is extremely easy. I did it with my 3 and 4 year old preschool classes for many years. Yet, the ornaments are very pretty, too.
:hert: :santa2: :hert: :santa2: :hert: :santa2:
Cinnamon Christmas Ornaments
What you need:
1/2 cup ground cinnamon
1/3 cup applesauce
1 Tbs. Tacky glue
cookie cutters (gingerbread people, Christmas trees, etc.)
drinking straw
baking sheet and/or wire cooling rack
acrylic paints and small paintbrush (optional)
thin ribbon in Christmas colors
Mix in bowl and stir until well blended. Work mixture in hands for three minutes to form a ball. If it is too dry, add applesauce, if too wet, add more cinnamon. Knead ball on cinnamon-sprinkled surface until it holds together well. Roll this out and use cookie cutters for the shapes. Use a drinking straw to cut a hanging hole. (If you skip this step, it will be very hard to make one when they are dry without breaking your ornaments.) These can be air dried for 24 to 48 hours. Turn several times. They can also be baked in a 200 degree oven for 2 – 3 hours.
Once they are dry, you can paint on them to create details. Then add a ribbon hanger.
Again, the cinnamon ornaments I made 11 years ago are still in great shape. I store all of my Christmas decorations in plastic tubs. I further store these in a plastic shoe box. These and the popcorn ball ornaments have survived the harsh Texas heat for 11 years now while in storage, and they still smell great, too!
I’ll start with some Christmas crafts that I think are really neat.
************************************************** ***********************************
Popcorn Ball Christmas Ornaments (see thumbnail below)
What you need:
clear glass craft ornaments (I like the ones from Michael's best)
unpopped plain popcorn kernels
paper lunch sacks (don't attempt this without using these!!!!)
microwave
Remove the metal ornament hanger--metal + microwave = NOT a good thing. Insert about 20 popcorn kernels into the glass ball. Put the glass ball into a paper lunch sack and roll the top down a couple times. Put into the microwave and cook on high until the popcorn has slowed down. You must monitor this carefully! Remove from the microwave and let cool for a minute. Put the metal hanger back on the glass ball, and--voila!--a popcorn ball ornament!
The lunch sack is necessary just in case the glass ball breaks, you will be able to just take it out and toss the whole thing in the trash without worrying about cutting yourself or cleaning up a mess.
I made two dozen of these about 10 years ago, and they are still beautiful. I just put them on my tree for the 11th Christmas. We made them in my daughters' Girl Scout troop one year, and we decorated them with holly and their names using red and green paint pens and tied Christmas ribbon on the hanger. I also think it might be cute to use paint pens to draw snowman faces on them.
I put them on a tree that originally was in our playroom....all of the ornaments are homemade by me and my kids except for some wooden "cranberry" garland. We made cinnamon/applesauce gingerbread men and tri-bead candy canes for this tree, too. This tree now resides in my dining room every Christmas, but these ornaments would be cool on a kitchen tree as well.
:xxmasanta: :bell: :xxmasanta: :bell: :xxmasanta: :bell: :xxmasanta:
Tri-bead Candy Cane Ornaments
What you need:
chenille stems, white or red, cut in half
red and white tri-beads
Bend the very end of your chenille stems a little to keep the beads from sliding off the other end. Lace the beads on the chenille stem in groups of three. You should be able to get 45 beads on there. Bend the end of the chenille stem over the last bead to secure, then bend the beaded stem into a candy cane shape.
You can also use green beads or other colors dependent upon your tree colors. One of my daughters had a tree with blue ornaments so we used blue and white tri-beads, and we used purple and white for the other daughter’s tree. Just use your imagination. This craft is extremely easy. I did it with my 3 and 4 year old preschool classes for many years. Yet, the ornaments are very pretty, too.
:hert: :santa2: :hert: :santa2: :hert: :santa2:
Cinnamon Christmas Ornaments
What you need:
1/2 cup ground cinnamon
1/3 cup applesauce
1 Tbs. Tacky glue
cookie cutters (gingerbread people, Christmas trees, etc.)
drinking straw
baking sheet and/or wire cooling rack
acrylic paints and small paintbrush (optional)
thin ribbon in Christmas colors
Mix in bowl and stir until well blended. Work mixture in hands for three minutes to form a ball. If it is too dry, add applesauce, if too wet, add more cinnamon. Knead ball on cinnamon-sprinkled surface until it holds together well. Roll this out and use cookie cutters for the shapes. Use a drinking straw to cut a hanging hole. (If you skip this step, it will be very hard to make one when they are dry without breaking your ornaments.) These can be air dried for 24 to 48 hours. Turn several times. They can also be baked in a 200 degree oven for 2 – 3 hours.
Once they are dry, you can paint on them to create details. Then add a ribbon hanger.
Again, the cinnamon ornaments I made 11 years ago are still in great shape. I store all of my Christmas decorations in plastic tubs. I further store these in a plastic shoe box. These and the popcorn ball ornaments have survived the harsh Texas heat for 11 years now while in storage, and they still smell great, too!