Shrunken Heads and other Halloween Decor

Posted on October 22, 2013 by Carmen

My oldest son Matthew is really into Halloween this year. Creating and buying decorations, making our yard into a spooky spectacle. He has always enjoyed Halloween and gotten quite excited about it, but for some reason this year he is really into the decorations.

He has asked me a few times if he could get on the internet to google homemade Halloween decorations, and has created some of his own. He’s done things such as buy a small plastic skeleton from the dollar store and build it’s own paper coffin for it. He’s taken an exercise band and made it into scary caution tape by writing and drawing on it with black marker. Yes he also went to the Halloween store on the weekend with his Dad and bought a cemetery set, some yellow caution tape and a few other things but the thing I love is that he is willing and happy to do both, buy some and create his own.

I have always loved decorating for Halloween and often thought that we should add to our collection of decorations. We have had pumpkin and skeleton lights for years, as well as the ghosts that you hang in the tree and spider webs. But Matthew really likes to go to town, in fact every time I turn around at the moment he is making something new to add to the decor.

The thing that I have found the most unique though is the apple shrunken heads. I am not sure where he got the idea from but it is pretty cool and very easy to do. They take about 2 weeks to complete, simply because you need to let them dry, but they are very easy to do.

Even Luke and Chloe are quite excited about Halloween this year and they are counting down the days like their older brother. I think that it’s going to be a pretty fun Halloween this year and I have to say that I do like that the amount of work that I have actually had to do so far has been quite small.

Shrunken Heads

Apples

Lemon juice

Peel apples, using as many as you like (we did 5). With a butter knife carve out eyes and mouth into apple. Dip apple in lemon juice so that it is completely covered. Set apple on platter or plate and let dry. Best to put apples in a place that is cool and out of direct sunlight. After 1 week dip in lemon juice again. Takes about 2 weeks for apples to shrink and wrinkle. Display shrunken heads in amongst your Halloween decor.

Matthew and his shrunken heads

An Afternoon at the Pumpkin Festival

Posted on October 18, 2013 by Carmen

One of the things I really enjoy about the Thanksgiving weekend is all the Fall Festivals that there are to check out. Fall in general seems to be a celebration of the harvest and represents the abundance in our world. Set against the fall colors and the golden sunlight I just find it a wonderful experience.

Now many of these festivals do run on other weekends as well, but I always like to pick one and make that the ‘trip of the weekend’, so that the kids associate Thanksgiving not only with turkey dinner, but with something fun as well.

This Thanksgiving we went to the Pumpkin Festival at the Calgary Corn Maze. And it was an absolute blast. Full of additional ‘pumpkin’ activities, such as pumpkin bowling, pumpkin decorating and pumpkin bingo, it is easy to while away your afternoon there. And that’s on top of all the regular activities that they have such as mini golf, navigating the corn maze, jumping pillows, hill slide, petting zoo and more!

Matthew on the hill slide

The favorites were definitely the jumping pillow and the hill slide. Both which at first Chloe was a little hesitant to go on. On the hill slide once she went up and down a few times with me she got brave and started venturing out on her own. You could hear her squeals of delight when she got to the bottom and yelled that she did it all by herself, grinning radiantly from ear to ear. The jumping pillow was similar once D’Wayne was on there jumping with her for a bit, she became more confident and did it to on her own. (Now it’s debatable whether D’Wayne went on there to ‘help’ Chloe or because he really wanted to get on there himself. I remember when I first told him that they had jumping pillows, he got quite excited)

Even the maze was fun to go through with the kids, though it being at the end of the season is quite tromped down, the original paths hard to find. (Next year I am going at the beginning of the season when it’s fresh and green). The kids just wandered through the maze with us, Matthew taking the lead on finding the way out. Nobody got upset or worried that we were going to be stuck or lost in there, though I think the twins would have no concept of that at this point. Overall it was just a lovely, leisurely, fun afternoon. Checking out different activities as we pleased, no one rushing anywhere or hurrying people along.

Though there were a few activities that we did not get to, we did close the place down. The kids wanted one more time on the jumping pillow, so we went over for the last 10 minutes until they announced that they were closed for the day. We then gently got them all off, but no one complained or fussed, everyone seemed completely satisfied.

It’s afternoons like those that I really enjoy being a mother and having a family. There’s just something about going out and playing together that bonds us, relaxes us and satisfies the soul; for all of us, kids and adults alike. I think we need more of that in our lives, but sometimes that’s the challenge isn’t it?

The tractor ride

Gorilla Bones

Posted on April 3, 2013 by Carmen

On the Easter weekend we went to the zoo. It was crazy busy as it was their Easter Eggtravaganza. I had never seen it so busy, there was a line of cars to get into the parking lot and then another line to get into the zoo. We had been to this event before but I have never seen so many people as there was that day.

It is a great event with lots of value added activities for the kids, like a blow up maze, Easter pictures and pot your own plant; as well as the usual interactive exhibits and touch tables.

Outside the gorilla enclosure there was one of the zoo staff with this skeleton of an adult gorilla. It was really neat, the kids got to touch it and check it out, do some exploring. The zoo staff explained different parts of the skeleton to them as they were at each part.

The kids really enjoyed it. I think it is of such value for children to be able to touch and feel things in their learning, which is one of the reasons I love the zoo!

Checking out the gorilla skeleton

Dying Easter Eggs with Children

Posted on April 1, 2013 by Carmen

As a kid I always enjoyed dying Easter Eggs at Easter. I loved watching the eggs as they transformed from white to red or whatever color we had chosen. Experimenting with different colors and patterns, adding stickers or other decorations on our eggs. Dying Easter eggs with children can be lots of fun and this was a tradition I wanted to continue with mine. This year the kids and I dyed eggs for the first time. Yes this was the first time even for Matthew, although he is already 9 years old. I baulked when I realized this and felt that I had let him down as a mother. I feel it is my duty to do these kinds of things with my kids and to realize that Matthew was already 9 and had never done it, I was appalled! This was going to be quickly remedied. I made sure that I picked a time when we had a large block of time, where we didn’t have to run anywhere or stop and get a meal prepared. Though dying Easter eggs with children is fairly simple I knew that I needed to be available to help, especially the twins. Plus I wanted to get in there and participate. What is the fun of doing these things with the kids if I can’t get in there and play myself? I had bought a dozen eggs for our project. When I got up in the morning I put them in a pot to boil right away, that way I knew they could boil and cool so when we were ready to dye them they would be cool enough to do so. I kept out 4 eggs as I planned to blow these ones out. The only thing I find with dying hard boiled eggs is that the eggs tend to get wasted. I know that some people dye them and then eat them the next day but I always found that we never did. I knew that the twins would need their eggs to be hard boiled so that they could handle them without breaking, but I figured that Matthew could handle a blown egg (which is simply an egg shell without the actual egg white and yolk inside it). The thing I like about blowing the egg out of the shell is that you can then use the eggs insides in something else and you can keep your decorated eggs longer. Matthew even helped me blow out the eggs. He watched me do the first one and decided he wanted to try. Turned out he did the other 3 all by himself. When I announced that it was time to dye the Easter Eggs Luke and Chloe ran into the kitchen and sat down waiting. They knew what was going on as I had already told them earlier in the week. Matthew and I had already mixed the dye ahead of time, as well as gotten the eggs ready. The challenge was we only had one holder/ stick to dip the eggs into the dye and 3 kids. At first they all wanted to do it but when I explained that we only had one stick and that we needed to take turns, we managed to work it out. In fact, by the end we were dropping our eggs into the cup without the stick and only using it when they were ready to fish them out of the dye. I will be saving the stick for next year so that when we buy another kit we will have 2. They each got to dye four eggs the color of their choice and then we left them to dry. We intended to come back to them when they were dry to add stickers or sequins, etc. but we never did. But it really doesn’t matter, they had a great time and were very proud of their eggs as they showed everyone who came in the door that day their eggs.

Tips for dying Easter Eggs with Children (best for children ages 3 & up)

Have the eggs ready beforehand -whether you are going to hard boil them (best for young children so they can handle them without breaking) or blow them out
Mix up the dye beforehand as well – I found small plastic disposable cups work well
Put kids in old clothes – make sure that they are in clothes that it doesn’t matter if they get dye on. If the dye gets on clothing it will stain and is hard to get out. You can also put an apron on them or just get them to take off their shirt altogether (depends on their age and who they are dying eggs with)
Have an adult available who can assist the kids
Do one egg at a time, one color at a time – I had all the dye on the island in the kitchen and brought the color that Luke and Chloe chose to the table when they wanted it. With older children this may not be necessary.
Let eggs dry completely – you may need to flip egg over so that the bottom dries
Decorate with stickers, sequins, markers, etc. or leave as plain colorful Easter Egg
Be patient and have fun!

Matthew really got into dying the eggs, getting creative using more than one color, partially coloring half and then doing another color. On one egg he even did 3 colors. We did a dozen eggs but had quite a bit of dye leftover so Matthew started dying and drying paper, creating a lattice design. It kept him busy for over an hour and he only stopped because he had his Ju Jitsu grading to attend. I had bought one of those kits that are cheap and abundant at Easter but there are lots of natural dyes that you can use, and may be preferable especially if you are going to eat them. Things like leftover coffee to make brown, tea, turmeric (yellow), blueberry, chili powder and red cabbage (blue). I think we may try the natural dyes next year. Dying Easter eggs with children is easy and fun. You can keep it super simple or make it more fancy if you want. Either way the kids will love it and you will have fun getting in there too!

How to blow out an egg

Gently poke a small hole on each end of the egg using a pin. Trick is to make hole big enough that you can get air through without breaking the egg.
Hold egg over a bowl.
Place mouth over hole on one end and blow. Egg will slid out the hole in the other end into the bowl.
Keep blowing until entire egg is out.
Gently wipe off egg.

Yummy Dairy & Sugar Free Easter Brunch Recipes

Posted on March 30, 2013 by Carmen

Breakfast is definitely one of my favorite meals as there are so many yummy options! Pancakes, eggs, omelettes, waffles, crepes, fruit… I like brunch even better and often enjoy those big brunch spreads that you can find where there is everything from crepes and omelettes made to order to carved roast beef and a chocolate fountain (my mouth is salivating at the thought). The selection is fabulous and there is something for everyone.

When I was growing up we did a big Easter dinner with the ham and scallop potatoes, but when I started my own family we moved to doing an Easter Brunch. This allowed the kids to get up and hunt for baskets and then to enjoy a nice meal later in the morning, leaving dinner to be a simple affair with no one stuck in the kitchen for the day or doing the big clean up in the evening!

I have found this to be a great shift, especially because brunch incorporates many of my favorite foods! Depending on how many people we have for brunch depends on how many different dishes I make, but traditional standard fare seems to be a quiche (which I love), waffles (which I also love but the kids do as well, they are not fans of quiche) and some fruit, usually consisting of cantalope, fresh strawberries and whatever else is in season.

The best quiche recipe I have found is a recipe I got from my Mum. Many people tend to avoid making quiche because of the crust, but this recipe for Impossible Quiche, is one where the crust ‘makes itself’. It’s true, by putting all the ingredients into the blender, the Bisquik sinks to the bottom while it bakes and creates a nice light crust. Simple, easy and takes no time at all. Of course I do enjoy quiche with a nice traditional crust as well but this recipe is quite satisfying and like I said easy to make!

Impossible Quiche

1 c. grated vegan cheese (mozza or swiss)

1/3 c. finely chopped onion

sliced mushrooms

spinach

1/2 c. Bisquik

1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

4 eggs

2 c. almond milk or dairy free milk of choice

Lightly grease 10″ pie plate or quiche dish. Sprinkle cheese, onion, mushrooms and spinach (or other desired toppings) evenly over the bottom of the plate. Place remaining ingredients in the blender and blend at high speed for 1 minute. Pour into dish.

Bake at 350 F for 50-55 minutes, or until golden brown and knife inserted in center comes out clean. Let stand.

As I said, waffles are often part of our brunch spread and I have found some great recipes for plain, chocolate and orange waffles. The chocolate ones are to die for! While the plain ones are fantastic with maple syrup or adding some fruit and a little ice cream (Rice Dream is a yummy dairy and sugar free alternative to dairy ice cream if you’re looking for dairy free).

I am already looking forward to our Easter Brunch! and all the possible choices. Whatever you choose this year whether it be Easter brunch or Easter dinner, I hope you have a wonderful feast that you can share with family and friends! Happy Easter!

Easter Crafts for Kids

Posted on March 27, 2013 by Carmen

I tend to get very excited about Springtime, especially Easter. The sense of rebirth in the air, the warmth of the sun on my face, the flowers beginning to peek through. The kids get excited and start asking to play outside more, enjoying the warmer weather and all that comes with it – the mud, the grass and the rubber boots. It truly is a time of year when things re-emerge and come out of the darkness, the long ‘hibernation’ of winter.

With Easter of course there is the excitement of the Easter Bunny and all the other cute springtime animals, such as chicks and lambs. The hunt for eggs and Easter Baskets and the goodies that they find.

I often get the kids ‘into’ the holiday by doing some crafts around that holiday. I find it fun because I like to search out and try new crafts with them, and they love it, well because they just love crafts! Yesterday we made paperplate bunnies, which were easy and simple for them.

It’s neat to watch Luke and Chloe do their crafts as you can really notice the differences in how they do things. Chloe is definitely more of a follow the rules and the pattern when it comes to crafts and Luke is more of take the concept and get creative with it kind. He takes things more out of the box and expands upon the idea – which I just let him do, as I believe that is all part of learning and growing, and enhances his creativity.

Paperplate Bunny

What you will need:

small paperplate
white paper
googley eyes
small pom poms
ribbon
black and pink markers
glue
scissors

Trace bunny ears on piece of white paper. Cut them out and set aside. Take one small paperplate and glue on googley eyes and pom pom for nose. Using black marker draw in the mouth. Using pink marker color inside of bunny ears a little. Glue ears to paperplate at the top. Tie ribbon into a bow and glue on bottom of paper plate. Let glue dry completely.

Fluffy Pinecone Chick

This adorable little chick is completed in steps, but is well worth the waiting time in between. We made this a couple of years ago with Matthew and he loved it, in fact he kept it in his room for a long time before it made it’s way out of the house. Children 3 years and up can easily complete this craft with parent help.

What you will need:

large fat pinecone
pencil
yellow paint and paintbrush
fiberfill (cotton batting)
felt scraps in white, blue, orange, yellow
green construction paper
Easter grass
glue
scissors

Paint the pinecone yellow and let it dry. Once dry, wrap the pinecone in thin layer of fiberfill. Use pencil to poke the fluff between the scales of the pinecone. From the felt scraps cut out wings, a beak and eyes and glue them onto the body. Cut a 10cm circle out of the green construction paper and glue the Easter grass on top. Then glue the pinecone chick onto the middle of the grass.

Stained Glass Egg

What list of Easter Crafts is complete without an Easter Egg! This super easy craft is great for little ones as the tearing of the tissue paper will utilize their little hand muscles and strengthen their hand eye coordination.

What you will need:

colored tissue paper
construction paper
scissors
hole punch
ribbon

Trace a large egg on a piece of white construction paper. Cut out egg. Tear different colors of tissue paper into small pieces. Glue the tissue paper onto the construction paper egg. Let glue dry. When dry punch a hole in top of egg, lace ribbon through and tie at top to make a loop for hanging.

No matter which craft you choose the kids will have a great time and some great decorations for Easter. Splashes of color for spring and lots of fun while doing it.

Now my kids are asking to color Easter Eggs – yes the whole dye the eggs – which my 9 year old has never done -oh dear I have neglected my duty as a mother. That should be an interesting experience…

Leprechaun’s, Shamrocks and More – St. Patrick’s Day Crafts for Kids

Posted on March 14, 2013 by Carmen

Chloe and Luke making their Shamrock Man

St. Patrick’s Day is one of those fun unique holidays that you can really get into if you choose to. I’ve always loved the concept of green beer, (as an adult of course), shamrocks and leprechaun’s and pots of gold. And it is the one day that you can never get too sick of the color green!

I always find holidays like this so much more fun when you can celebrate with kids, whether it be your own, nieces, nephews or children you work with. As usual there is a plethora of St. Patrick’s Day crafts that are fun and colorful to make surrounding this holiday.

I had planned to make a couple of these crafts with the kids only to find when I went to our craft supplies that we were missing a few things. No matter, tomorrow a trip to the dollar store will remedy that. We were able to make Shamrock Men, which is one of my favorite crafts due to the accordion arms and legs (I have done a similar heart man for Valentine’s Day).

Luke and Chloe enjoy making crafts and as soon as I announced that we were making one they ran into the kitchen and sat down at the table. I had precut the shamrocks and strips of paper but I let them do all the folding and glueing and Chloe even drew a face on her shamrock’s by herself. Chloe was very into it, while Luke though interested got easily distracted with trains and playdoh, but he did finish it.

Both Luke and Chloe squealed with delight when they were done and started making their shamrocks dance and sing. It was pretty cute to watch. Tomorrow I would like to make the pot of gold which will probably end in a lot of glitter everywhere, but that’s ok we can all sparkle for a while.

I love the make your own Blarney Stone idea as well (below,) but we needed to gather a few supplies to do that one and could easily get away with making it after St. Patrick’s Day. I myself, have been to Blarney to kiss the Blarney Stone, set high up in the castle of Blarney; and it is quite a unique experience. I am not going to spoil it by telling you what happens as I think half the fun is experiencing it for yourself, but let’s just say it was not what I expected! Needless to say if you have the chance go and do it, it’s worth it. In the meantime you and your little ones can enjoy your own little Blarney Stone at home.

I imagine the kids will love creating their own and will be kissing them in no time (reminds me of kissing frogs for some reason – ha ha).

St. Patrick’s Day Crafts

Pot of Gold

black and green construction paper

white glue

gold glitter

scissors

paper plate

something small and round to use as stamper to make gold coins

Draw and cut out pot on black construction paper. Glue the pot onto a piece of green construction paper, centering it and leaving enough room at the top to make the ‘gold coins’.

Pour glue on paper plate, dip stamper into glue and press it onto paper above pot. Pour gold glitter on paper until glue is completely covered. Gently tap the back of paper to remove any excess gold glitter. Tip – tap it onto another paper plate or piece of paper so you can use excess glitter for future crafts.

St. Patrick’s Day Shamrock Man

green construction paper

white paper

googley eyes

glue

scissors

black marker

Draw a large shamrock on green construction paper and cut it out. Draw 4 small shamrocks on green construction paper and cut them out (these will be for hands and feet).

Cut 4 strips of white paper about 1 inch wide. Fold the strips back and forth like an accordion. Glue 2 strips either side of large shamrock for arms, glue the other 2 at the bottom for legs.

Glue small shamrocks on the ends of each strip for hands and feet. Glue googley eyes on large shamrock and draw in mouth with black marker.

Blarney Stone

Blarney Castle, Ireland

smooth clean river rock

brush

green paint

glue

markers

glitter, sequins, jewels, bits of yarn

Make sure rock is clean and dry. Paint it green. Let dry.

Once paint is dry decorate with glitter, sequins, etc. When glue is dry from decorating draw on face using markers.

Luke folding his accordion arms

Voila! Your own kissable Blarney Stone.

Valentine’s Day Ideas for Kids

Posted on February 13, 2013 by Carmen

I love Valentine’s Day! I have no idea why really, I have yet to have the real romantic Valentine’s that I have dreamed of, but it is one of my favorite holidays.

I find the energy in the air is charged with hope and positive vibes and whether you have a sweetie or not, it is a great day.

I love doing things with the kids as they get so excited about it. I usually make a treat of some kind, whether it be chocolates, brownies or chocolate dream pie (yes there is a chocolate theme here) and I give them a little something, usually a homemade valentine, which might be as simple as a construction paper heart with a note on it.

I usually set up a little scavenger hunt for them as well, something simple but gives them chance to roam the house and explore, looking for things. They love it!

I also love the crafts as there are so many fun and easy things to make around this holiday. One of my favorites is the Toilet Paper Roll Cupid. He is very cute and fun to make. He is a little involved with a few steps that may not be suitable for younger children but they could certainly do it with some adult help.

Cardboard Cupid

I have always loved to the Stained Glass Hearts, where you use tissue and construction paper and put them up on your window. Easy, fun and full of love.

Years ago I was writing for a site call Suite 101 and created an article there which includes cupid as well as some other great crafts such as a Valentine Wreath, photo frame and another of my favorites – the Valentine Person! (I think I love that one because of his ‘accordian’ legs and arms). Go here for details on all these great crafts.

The thing I like about Valentine’s Day crafts is that you can pretty much do anything with hearts – from pictures to people to wreaths and even crystal hearts, which Matthew was making in his class at school, there is no end to the creative ideas and fun that the kids can have this Valentine’s Day!

Groundhog Day

Posted on February 2, 2013 by Carmen

Groundhog Day is one of those holidays that although is only a one day event can be a wonderful celebration. Groundhog Day is when the groundhog emerges from his hollow after winter hibernation and predicts the arrival of spring. If the groundhog sees his shadow when he emerges he pops back into his hole and there will be six more weeks of winter. If he does not see his shadow then he remains out of his hole and means it will be an early spring.

There is a long tradition of celebration on this day from early morning festivals to see the groundhog emerge, with family and kids activities, parades, crafts and concerts. Some zoos have events as well that usually feature a presentation about the groundhog.

Bill Murray in Groundhog Day

The most famous groundhog is Punxsutawney Phil of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. (This is also where the 1993 film starring Bill Murray, Groundhog Day takes place. This is a wonderful and delightful film that is family friendly, if you haven’t already seen it, I would recommend it). But each town/ area has their own groundhog.

There are lots of things you can do with the kids on and around groundhog day too. There are crafts and activities, coloring pages and tongue twisters, community events and of course the zoo!

Groundhog Day is a unique holiday that is recognized around the world. Why not take advantage of the day and check out what activities there are to go out and celebrate. (It’s a great opportunity for learning for the kids too – as well as a lot of fun).

What are you going to do for Groundhog Day this year?

Christmas Crafts for Kids

Posted on December 18, 2012 by Carmen

Over the past month the little ‘elves’ have been busy at our house making their Christmas crafts. Experimenting with googley eyes, glitter and cotton balls, they have created some wonderful wintery and Christmas crafts to add to the decor of our home.

Matthew’s Christmas Reindeer

Since Christmas is a holiday that most of us begin celebrating early in December (and for some even sooner in November -or the die hards right after Halloween :); it allows us lots of time to get ready and enjoy the season. Whether it be through games, activities, Christmas shopping and events or crafts, there is lots to do.

Luke and Chloe have really been enjoying making crafts this year and our nanny has created some wonderful crafts for them to make that use their developing skills and aid in their development of motor skills and creativity.

Chloe is very diligent and careful when she makes her crafts and though Luke is careful too, he tends to be a little ‘freer’ with his creations. One of the first crafts they made was a Santa Claus handprint, with googley eyes and sparkles that can be strung to hang on the tree as a Christmas ornament.

Another one was a snowman on a glittery snowy background complete with hat and scarf. They enjoyed them both and were very easy for them to do.

Santa Handprint Ornament

red foam sheet

white foam sheet

googley eyes

gold and red glitter glue

scissors

string

Trace child’s hand on red foam sheet and again on white foam sheet. Cut both pieces out (depending on the age of the child adult may need to cut out the handprints). Cut the white handprint in half and place on bottom half of red handprint to create beard. Cut out a white strip long enough to go across the top of the red hand between the thumb and the rest of the hand to make fur on hat. Cut out small circle for pom pom on hat and place at the end of the red thumb. Glue on googley eyes. Cut out small mouth out of red foam, Decorate with red and gold glitter glue. Put a string through the top of the red foam hand to hang on tree.

Wintery Snowman

black, orange, green and white construction paper

silver glitter glue

pom poms

ribbon

glue

scissors

Cut one sheet of black construction paper in half. Cut 3 circles, the same size out of the white construction paper. Cut a small square out of the green construction paper (for hat). Glue the white circles sitting one on top of the other to build snowman on one of the halves of black construction paper. Glue on googley eyes on top circle to make face, add orange triangle from construction paper for nose. Use glitter glue to draw mouth. Use pieces of ribbon to make scarf for snowman and for brim on hat. Glue on. Use silver glitter glue on background of snowman (on black construction paper) to create ‘snow’. Add child’s name, if desired on right hand side of snowman.

Chloe gluing her bear puppet

When we went to Heritage Park for their Once Upon a Christmas event they had some great crafts there too. Matthew made a clothespin reindeer and the twins each made a puppet out of an old Christmas card. This was a really simple idea where they traced a pattern onto an old Christmas card (they chose a bear), then we cut it out and glued it onto a popsicle stick. Not only is this a great use for old Christmas cards but Luke and Chloe loved it! They picked the card they wanted to use and after I helped with the cutting, they glued on the stick. Chloe got a little over zealous and decided to eat the glue, not sure why kids do that, I never did – but she finished her craft in the end.

There are a plethora of creative ideas out there for Christmas crafts for all ages such as paperplate snowmen, handprint wreaths and reindeer puppets. The ideas are endless and it is easy to create your own crafts as well. Here are some of my favorite links for more Christmas crafts and ideas.