Christmas things made in school

[Over40]

Every year my class spend some of the last week before Christmas making cards and decorations etc. I teach a year 3/4 class and have the most brilliant TA who keeps a very organised file of everything we have ever made (with finished examples!!) - wish she could sort out the rest of my life! - HOWEVER...... we are looking for new inspiration this year... Has your child come home from school this or in previous years with something made you thought was brilliant?? If so could you share for those poor teachers that can't face the same things again? Thanks!!

My yr2 said she made shortbread today.

But we mummies think its all brilliant

I particularly like xmas trees made by folding a semicircle of green card in 4 - overlap 2 segments so you get a triangular base. Decorate with gay abandon!

Trays covered with drawings pictures etc:

Buy plain Trays enough for the 1 each we got small ones enough for 2 cups for 12pounds for the class get the children to cover them with drawings pictures etc then wash with PVA glue allow to dry....

Crackers

Baubles made by cutting strips of metallic card (roughly 1/2cm wide and 5cm long)and fastening six or eight of them together at the top with a split pin. Spread them all out so they are an even distance apart and then catch the bottom ends together and fasten with another split pin. Surprisingly effective.

Rudolf sock puppets, black sock, funky foam and googly eyes.

Well I'm a sucker for a nice loo roll santa myself! But what about fridge magnets?

Take a jam jar lid and either cut out a christmas pic or draw one...using the lid as template for the picture....then cut it out and PVA it into the lid.

Then paint a good thick layer of PVA on top...and stick a strip of magnet on the back. Thats easy to find in big craft shops.

I make these with my older niece...we use beer bottle lids...but jam jar lids might be better for little ones.

Useful and cute! Glitter looks good too.

My mum still puts the salt dough bells we made for her when we were little on the tree, every year. She says they are her favourites.

I think she may be biased though

i like the DCs smaller decorations, i can use them each year and them not take over the tree or look like a glitter bomb exploded in my lounge!

I loved and still have a photo frame made by my Ds. I gave him a photocopy of a photograph of the two of us when he was about 6 months and the frame around it is gorgeous.

Peg angels are nice, wooden dolly pegs from Wilcos, tissue paper circles for skirts, pipecleaner for arms and to hold on skirt, wool for hair, doily bits for wings.

We have a placemat that DD made in nursery. It is just a sheet of sugar paper with a photo of her in the middle and some small pictures she drew and some sequins and glitter etc. The whole lot was laminated and has so far survived seven moves and three countries.

Bird decorations

Cut out a simple bird body shape from card and decorate.

Then decorate a rectangular piece of card.

Fold the rectangular card into a fan.

Cut a slit into birds body and push through fan to make wings.

Hang with thread.

3D Chritmas tree cards

Cut out 2 identical Christmas tree shapes and decorate.

Fold both in half.

Stick half of each tree to front of card and fan out to make a 3D tree.

You can also make 3D decorations by sticking 4 trees together and hanging by thread.

I'll try and post pictures later to explain better!

Take a head and shoulders photo of each child and let them 'decorate' themselves on Colour Magic or similar on the IWB. They can either be Santa or Rudolf. E.g. Red hat and white beard or red nose and brown antlers. Print off and stick on front of card. Great fun!

I like those Swedish paper heart baskets you hang on the tree and put sweets in. Two D shapes woven together to make a heart. Once they've learnt the basic model they can try different designs - uneven strips, tiny strips, diagonals, wiggly lines etc

www.craftideas.info/html/swedish_heart_form.html

WOW!! Some great suggestion, thanks everyone. My own daughter came back last year with a Christmas poem (awful but lovely if you know what I mean!)in a homemade and decorate frame... It stayed on the windowsill all year!