Crafty Christmas
Festive crafting has become a bit of a tradition in our house. It gives us a perfect excuse to repurpose items that we have been saving up throughout the year. Or make our own with some traditional salt dough!
Over the years we have kept all the ornaments that our kids made in preschool and school. We always find a space for them somewhere on the tree or around the house. And it’s so nostalgic to open up the decorations box and remember the times that each one was made.
As we know, shop-bought decorations are not always environmentally friendly. they often contain lots of plastic, are not built to last a long time and may have been made in poor working conditions.
So, we’ve popped a couple of super fun, easy, and eco-friendly Christmas makes below. Both are perfect for preschoolers and can be made with things you probably already have around the house.
Twiggy, scrappy trees!
Take a small twig.
Tie different lengths of scrap fabric around the stick.
Start with longer pieces at the bottom and finish with short pieces at the top to make a tree shape.
Fabric that’s not too soft works best. Experiment with different textures and colours.
Tie a few loops in some paper string or ribbon and add to the top of the tree.
Fix a hanging loop and you’re done :)
Salt Dough ‘cookie cut’ ornaments
Mix together 1 cup all-purpose flour, 2 cups of table salt and about ¾ cup of water until combined and forming a not-too-sticky dough.
The dough shouldn’t be too sticky or too firm so add a little more water or flour to get a soft dough.
Knead the dough on a floured surface for a couple of minutes till smooth.
Roll out to about 5mm thick.
Use cookie cutters to make your favourite festive shapes.
Bake at around 150 degrees Celsius for 2 hours, or until dry but not browned
The baked dough will keep in an airtight container for a few days.
Keep plain, or decorate as you wish!