Christmas is the perfect time of the year to get the kids started on fun and festive kids’ crafts. The weather is getting colder outside, the fire roars in the living room and the house needs to be decorated with festive decorations to get everyone into the Christmas spirit.

And what better way to do this than through homemade decorations that you can keep year after year to hang on the tree, prop up on the fireplace and hang over the doors. Getting your little one’s involved will allow them to get excited about the Christmas season and allow you to enjoy spending some quality time with your children before they all grow up.

To give you a few ideas this Christmas we have put together some creative arts and craft ideas that you can get involved in with your family.

Christmas Ornaments

During the Christmas period, children will be practicing their role for the school Nativity plays, so will especially enjoy recreating their characters they are making.

They will need:

1.       Paper Plates

2.       Polystyrene Balls (about the size of a ping-pong ball)

3.       Paper Doily

4.       Scraps of fabric

5.       PVA Glue

6.       Pipe Cleaners

7.       Wool or Cotton Wool

8.       Paints.

The basic design of each figure starts with half a paper plate. Bring the ends together so a cone shape is formed and secure with sticky tape.

Attach the head to the figure by pushing a pipe cleaner through the polystyrene ball and twisting a small knot at the top of the head. Push the other end through the hole into the top of the cone. Twist the end inside the cone to make the head sit firmly on the body. You could anchor it with sticky tape for extra strength.

For an angel, colour the cone gold or silver and attach two wedge shaped wings cut from a paper doily. Decorate the angel’s gown with sparkly foil and plastic jewels. Finish by edging the bottom with a piece of sparkling tinsel.

Draw the angel’s face on the ball and glue a mop of hair using the wool onto her scalp. Finally add a tiny coronet of tinsel for her halo.

When making Mary, colour the cone blue and add a scrap of white fabric to her head. The same principle applies to Joseph and the shepherds. You can really go to town on the three kings, making elaborate gowns for them and tiny gold crowns.

Christmas Cookies

Fill your home with the smell of baking by making some delicious and easy Christmas cookies. Whether they scoff their faces straight after making them, share them with family or friends or hang them up on the tree, baking Christmas cookies is just another fabulous way to get your kids involved in crafts in the festive season.

You will need:

250g/8oz of butter

125g/4oz of caster sugar

350g/12oz plain flour

Salt

1.       Mix the butter together with sugar until reasonably smooth.

2.       Sift the flour and add a pinch of salt into the mixture.

3.       Bring all the ingredients together into a ball and lightly knead to finish. Roll out the cookie dough and used Christmas cutters for shapes and make holes at the top with a skewer if you are wishing to hang the cookies after they have been baked.

4.       Bake the cookies on a greased baking tray in a pre-heated oven at 180C for about 10-15 mins.

MAKE SURE THAT YOU TEACH YOUR CHILDREN ABOUT SAFETY IN THE KITCHEN BY USING AN OVEN GLOVE OR GAUNTLETT TO TAKE THE COOKIES IN AND OUT OF THE OVEN.

5.       Once the cookies are cool, decorate with simple glace icing, edible silver baubles and attach a ribbon for hanging if you wish.

Christmas Cards

Creative homemade cards are a fabulous idea for you and your family to get involved in. Not only will you save money, you will find that the recipients will appreciate the little homemade touch from your little ones during the festive season.

Start out with a pile of blank cards or coloured card, lots of different materials, PVA glue, glitter, stickers and paints.

Try out these ideas on a Christmas card:

1.       A stuck on Christmas tree shape, decorated with silver foil baubles and dots of tinsel for a 3-D effect.

2.       A snowman shape against a black card. Paste his body with glue and balls of fluffy cotton wool and add bright card for his hat and a little bit of fabric for the scarf.

3.       Make a simple Christmas collage created from a wide range of Christmas cards that you have left over from last year.

4.       You could even print off some pictures of you and the family, and stick them to the card adding your own fancy decorations as you go along.

There are a wide range of ideas when it comes to kids and crafts but it can often all get a little messy, so why not buy your little an apron from one of the wide range of childrens aprons at Ulster Weavers. That way you can keep them super clean while at the same time keeping them out of trouble for hours! These two delightful children’s aprons below are all featured on the Ulster Weavers website and will be the perfect gift for little ones this Christmas.

Robot Rows Child's PVC Apron by Ulster Weavers

Geisha Child's Chef Hat by Ulster Weavers