Mumsnet Talk

We are at home a lot at the moment as I've SPD!

We are making cards( stickers, paint, glitter) , will do some cakes nearer the time but I need more inspiration!

We did salt dough Christmas decorations
1 cup salt, 3 cups flour, little water to turn into dough
Stamp out shapes with Christmas cutters
Put hole through with knitting needle
Leave to dry in tray on top of radiator turning occasionally
Allow 2 yo to splodge with paint and sprinkle with sequins and 'jewels' from craft box
Varnish, add ribbon, voila, handmade Christmas decorations. I am keeping some and the rest are his gifts to family members...

Get an Usborne Christmas activities book - loads of really easy stuff to do with them from age 2 upwards. I think there's an Apple Tree Farm Christmas one as well. We also used one by Jane Bull. It's all really simple but fun and effective and you don't need to be crafty at all!

We still do stuff from it 10 years later

We used to have some of those books when dd1/2 were little, think they went out

Salt dough brill idea, she loves play dough !

I've just found them - they are Christmas Make and Do books...

It might be a bit late in the year, and sorry no good if you have spd and have trouble walking.....but we have been collecting pine cones. We are going to paint them with glue then sprinkle glitter and sequins on, then hang them on the tree.

We bought this one last year for DDs aged 2 and 5. Loads of lovely ideas.

Paper chains are fun for little ones to make, or how about cutting out snowflakes adding glitter etc then make them into a mobile?
I noticed The Book People had some Christmas craft books for children, and their prices are reasonable, so the website might be worth a look.
A lovely way to fill cold miserable winter days, have fun!

handsful could send dd1 out for pine cones. Though she may need instructions to what they are at her general knowledge skills!

If you get your 2yo to do lots of green handprints, you can cut them out and stick them together as a wreath - google handprint weath.

Or get them to do 2 green handprints back to back like holly leaves, iyswim, and finger dab some red berries on.

Or another hand painting thing you can do is to make a Xmas angel, using handprints as its wings.

Homemade pompom baubles

Pinecones (get partner to take 2 year old out to collect them) painted and covered in glitter

Conker caterpillar (not v christmassy you could do raindeers) with matchstick legs etc

And baking of course - santa sprinkle fairy cakes, gingerbread men, etc

straw didn't think of wreaths, have done trees before but thought that might be too big to do with just dd3, wreaths more manageable

Me and my nearly 2 year old are doing this if weather is crap.

Hand and foot reindeer are always cute.

You can make snowmen by gluing cotton balls to paper...

We're going to go one step further with the snowman by making them out of a jamjar which we'll then fill with sweets and give to the grandparents. Haven't actually started them yet but vague plan it to wrap a piece of paper around a jamjar, stick cotton wool on, fashion a head out of something (not sure what yet...) & decorate

Have just made the stars (not the Santa) with my 2 year old here fairly idiot proof.

Have a look at sites like Activity Village
These ones are especially suitable for little ones card baubles
toilet roll candles
paper plate angel
paper plate robin
sock stocking
santa collage

Potato print christmas trees on a roll of brown paper to make wrapping paper.

If you don't mind the mess you could make Cloud dough.

Add a little glitter and get some raisins for eyes, ribbon for scarves, something for hats and some twig arms from the garden and you could spend the afternoon making mini snowmen, then knocking them down and building new ones again

One of my favourite things to do is to make a Santa advent calendar.
There are templates online, cant remember where though.
But basically draw out santas face, let your child colour in hat and face. Where beard is draw out and label 24 circles.
Each day leading up to christmas let your child stick a ball of cotton wool on to the appropriate number, by christmas day santa will have a full beard and be on his way!
Hope that makes sense! X

Ds and i made gift tags one year - he painted lines and squiggles in xmassy colours on white paper and then we added glitter. When dry i cut them into small pieces which i stuck on ordinary parcel tags.
One recipient still uses hers as a bookmark many years later!

Think I need to stock up now!

Hi, Ood.

Hope this helps: pinterest.com/AMaverickMother/christmas-craftsartsactivitiesandgames/.

You do love Xmas don't you