What can i make with my class for Christmas?

[coodawoodashooda]

The children are aged 8. Im no crafter but the excellent crafting standard across the school is making me stessed. Any suggestions? Im looking for something that is long lasting and the children have genuinely made themselves. It needs to be as cheap as possible because likely ill have to fork out for the resources myself.

I bet you all the other teachers are cribbing their ideas from RedTedArt, not spontaneously coming up with brilliant ideas of their own:

www.redtedart.com/easy-christmas-crafts-for-kids/

What about lanterns? Each child has a glass jar and covers the outside with ripped-up tissue paper stuck on using PVA and a paintbrush. They can either do random patterns or a more intentional design. You can put twisted pipe cleaners round the top lip of the jar and then add another long one to be a handle. You can then put either real or battery-operated tea lights inside.

I think 8 year olds would be able to mostly manage this themselves. You could ask them to bring in an empty glass jar from home so then you’d only need to provide tissue paper, glue and pipe cleaners.

It also fits in with other festivals as well as Christmas (e.g. Diwali) or with a general “light in winter darkness” theme.

I made tea light holders/lanterns with my year3/4 class one year. We used empty glass jars and the children used PVA glue to add glitter/sequins around the top and bottom of them. They then used snowflake window transfers (pretty certain I bought them in Poundland) to add detail to middle of the jar. We then plaited together gold string and normal string (to save money lol) to make a handle which they attached through two holes in the lid of the jar. A lot of the kids decorated the lid with glitter as well. I bought each child a battery powered tea light to go in each jar as well (again from Poundland)

We also made Christmas cards by weaving together coloured foil paper and sticking it behind a cut out of a Christmas tree. The kids then (with my help) used a glue gun filled with glitter glue to apply decorations to the tree

Thank you everyone.

Woven lollypop snowflakes?
Might need someone to pre-glue the lolly sticks into a star shape (PVA glue tends to struggle - needs a bit of UHU welly) and then the kids basically wind anything white and sparkly around the sticks.

Oh I just remembered - and I did this one with a Y4 class and they turned out amazing... Iris Folding.
You basically get some form of a hole in card to whatever template you need, and then masking tape a pattern onto it - and they glue paper strips across the hole in the order on the pattern - so it's sticking by numbers really. Needs no more resources than card and strips of any odd paper or Christmas wrapping paper or whatever the dregs of the art cupboard is running at. Then you could just whack calendar tabs on the bottom and a loop on the top and you've got the calendar done ready to go home.

Tree ornaments are an excellent way to go, my mum has at least one each of us made -3 siblings- from primary school and we're all almost 40yo now!

Toilet roll inners, yellow/gold and flesh coloured pipe cleaners, white tissue paper or cotton balls, a few strands of wool, some card and a bit of glue make great angels.
Stuff one end of the toilet roll inner with a big ball of paper to make a base for the head decorations. Stick the tissue paper/cotton balls to toilet roll inner for flowy robes, make pipe cleaner praying hands and halo and card wings and a round bit to draw a face on. Make hair with the wool. Glue everything on. Can be placed at the top of the tree.

Or similar, Christmas trees using toilet roll inner, green tissue paper, metallic card and glue. Stuff the end again but help them squeeze/sellotape it into a rough cone shape. Stick the tissue paper on in balls, making them bigger as you get to the bottom. Cut out bits of metallic card for baubles and make star shapes to stick on top. You've got a freestanding table decoration to be proud of

If you have any childhood Blue Peter Annuals, they usually have ideas.

@Nat6999

If you have any childhood Blue Peter Annuals, they usually have ideas.

Oh ill have to look. Thanks

We had these come home from school one year and I really like them.