Peppermint Christmas Cookies

DAYS EIGHT AND NINE:

We spread cookie-making over 2 days because it was a pretty long affair. And faaaaaairly messy. We rolled the dough and cut the shapes the first night, and iced and sprinkled the cookies the night after. Of course, this project is pretty much self-explanatory, but we had to chronicle our experience anyhow.

WHAT YOU NEED:
     - 1 roll of cookie dough
     - Christmas cookie cutters
     - 1/2 cup frosting
     - 1 Tbspn water
     - 2 Tbspn Peppermint candies, powdered
     - Variety of sprinkles
   
I suggest making the frosting ahead of time. It is my own concoction, so feel free to change it up as you see fit-  I just happen to love peppermint! Mix the frosting, water, and powdered peppermint candies (smash with hammer until powdered). Set aside. Preheat oven as package indicates.

Time for the fun! Sprinkle the table with flour and plop the dough on there. Show your toddler how to roll the dough and then let them experiment for a while. If the dough is too sticky, add more flour and try again.

When you are ready to cut out the cookies, show your little one how to do it a few times. If yours is anything like mine, this part won't go very well :) She had fun playing in the dough, sneaking bites, and poking at it with her fingers, though!

Time to bake and, if you are ambitious enough to do this all in one night, probably time for a hot chocolate break!

For us this was night 2, decorating. This night went a whole lot better than the cookie cutting fiasco! Give your child a spoon or smooth edged spatula (probably best to leave the knives away for this one) and a bowl of frosting. Let him paint the frosting on, making a huge mess in the process. The control freak in me had the night off, and I let Roo go to town and do this part all on her own. She was actually darn good at it, too.

It seems like as this goes on, each part gets messier and, therefore, funner... or, more fun. I think funner should be a real word. Sprinkles!! Learn from my mistakes and check the holes in the sprinkle lid before handing it over to your toddler. If the holes are small enough, let them shake themselves silly. If they are too big, there will be an avalanche of colored sugar. Trust me, I know these things. In that case, pour the sprinkles in the lid and let them pinch them up and then sprinkle.

This is how Roo's cookies turned out! She did them completely on her own and she had so much fun!

Grocery Bag Wreath

DAY SEVEN:

This is a free craft, made from left over bits of other crafts we've done this week. There is always a way to reuse things from other projects, so never throw scraps away! I also have, like, 50 paper grocery bags stashed away, just waiting for a purpose. I adapted this craft to use paper bags instead of paper, and I love how it turned out.

WHAT YOU NEED:
     - 1 paper grocery bag
     - green construction paper cut into 1 inch squares (from Christmas Paper Chain)
     - red felt squares cut into 1/4 squares (from Felt Stocking)
     - 1 pipe cleaner (from Pipe Cleaner and Bead Candy Cane Ornaments)
     - tacky glue
     - paint brush

Before you begin, you need to make the bow for the wreath from the pipe cleaner. You also need to cut out the outline of the wreath from the grocery bag. To do this, trace a large dinner plate for the outer ring and a bowl inside for the middle ring. Cut out the area where the bowl was and the area outside where the plate was, so that you end up with an "O" shape. Also, keep one of the handles from the bag to use as the wreath hanger.

Now, set your child up with a bowl of green squares, a bowl of red squares, and a paint brush. I loosely taped the wreath outline to another grocery bag to prevent glue from ending up on the table. Apply the glue to the wreath and let your toddler spread it around with the paint brush. This was Roo's favorite part.

Then have her place the green squares around the wreath however she desires.

When the wreath is covered with green squares, dab a few dots of glue on top. Have your child place the red squares on the dots of glue.

To finish it off, glue on the bow and the handle (on the back side) and your craft is complete!

Felt Stocking

DAY SIX:

I originally wanted to do a Christmas Tree for Roo to decorate, but my store only had red felt sheets, so I had to work with it.

WHAT YOU NEED:
     - 1 Sheet red felt
     - 4-5 Cotton balls (left over from Cotton Ball Snowman)
     - mini pom balls, assorted colors
     - tacky glue

Before you start, cut out a stocking from the felt sheet. Pour some tacky glue on a plate. Instruct your toddler to "dip" the cotton balls and place on the stocking, lining the top. Then let her continue dipping and placing the mini poms on their  stocking as they desire.

Daddy even helped, too!

The final product!

VERDICT: I give this project an A+! It cost less than $1 for the supplies and there are countless ways to change it up- different shapes and different decorations. This makes it easy to adapt this to any holiday/season and you can use anything you have on hand to decorate!

Pipe Cleaner & Bead Candy Cane Ornaments

DAY FIVE:

Today we are making Candy Cane ornaments using pipe cleaners and colored beads. Again, threading is great for developing fine motor skills. This is a great craft for all ages, just make sure to watch little ones so they don't decide to munch on the beads! This kept Roo busy for a good half an hour and it even branched off into a few different things as time went on ;) (See pictures)

WHAT YOU NEED:
     - Pipe cleaners
     - red and white beads

First, cut the pipe cleaners in half. This makes it easier for little hands to work. I separated the beads in a muffin tin, but bowls work too. Fold one end of the pipe cleaner over to prevent the beads from sliding off. Let your little one slide the beads on, hopefully alternating red and white. I decided to just let her do her own thing and not worry about getting the beads in the right order. Fold the other end of the pipe cleaner to keep the beads in place and then bend in the shape of a candy cane. There you have it! The perfect gift for Grandma or Grandpa :)

After the candy cane, Roo decided she wanted to make a bracelet, so Daddy helped! Another fun way to use the same supplies.

Anddddd, after she was done with the bracelet, she wanted to sort all the beads according to color. Such a little organizer :)

VERDICT: Totally fun project. It was right up Roo's alley (she really loves all things small and detailed. This kept her busy for a long time and she found several ways to have fun with it! Here is the final product- I think Nana and Grammy will love it!

Cheerios Garland

DAY FOUR:

Threading activities are so great for developing fine motor skills! This actually worked out perfectly for us, we have 4 boxes of Cheerios right now... Also, I think I should warn you to feed your child before making this garland. We did this when Roo was hungry and, as you can imagine, most of it got eaten.

WHAT YOU NEED:
     - about 1/2 cup of Cheerios
     - fishing line, shoe lace, or other string

Set your toddler up with a bowl of the Cheerios and the string. Roo is very familiar with threading things (we have a wooden bead set that she uses often) so she knew exactly what to do. If your little one hasn't done this yet, show him how to thread the string through the Cheerio a few times and he should catch on. When your child the string is full of Cheerios, tie the ends off and have them wrap it around the Christmas tree!

VERDICT: Well apparently Roo was starving because she ate the "garland" like a candy necklace. Perhaps I should rename the activity Cheerio Necklace?
At any rate, she had fun, and it was free! Win-win for us :)

Cotton Ball Snowman

DAY THREE:

Today we are making a Snowman! Roo's aunt's name is Shannon and she often uses "Shannon" and "Snowman" interchangeably. It's cute. But that's beside the point. Back to the craft!

WHAT YOU NEED:
     - 15-20 cotton balls
     - 1 white paper plate
     - tacky glue
     - black and orange construction paper

Before beginning, cut 2 circles for eyes and a big top hat from the black construction paper and a triangle "carrot" nose from the orange. Drizzle the glue on the paper plate as if you were icing a cinnamon roll. Ok, I'm hungry, sorry.

Let your toddler place the cotton balls covering the entire plate. If you want to be cute, you can add a little "Boop!" with each ball. When your child the plate is covered, add glue to the top to indicate where the eyes, nose, and hat should go. Allow your toddler to place the paper where it should go. Voila! Snowman.

VERDICT: Totally easy, cute activity. Even younger toddlers will be able to place the cotton balls with ease. Roo took great pride when she saw the finished product and talks to him frequently. We hung him on the tree so she can visit him whenever she wants!

Christmas Paper Chain

DAY TWO:

Making a paper chain is an easy, cheap activity that is really good for your little one to practice hand-eye coordination. If yours is anything like mine, it will turn into a necklace at finish! Hey, nothing wrong with a little bling, am I right?

WHAT YOU NEED:
     - 2 pieces red construction paper
     - 2 pieces green construction paper
     - glue stick

Before starting, cut the papers into strips. Let your toddler "color" one end of a paper strip with the glue stick. Then, fold into a circle. Repeat until finished.

Since Roo is pretty young, we did this in assembly line fashion. She glued and I chained. If your toddler is older and more capable, let them do it by themselves after you show them how.

VERDICT: It went over well, but would probably be suited for at least 2 or 3 year olds. She loved gluing the paper, but couldn't link them together quite yet. Regardless, it turned out well and she has fun shaking it around and scaring the dog :/

Painting with Cookie Cutters

I love Christmas. Love.

I am embarking on a 25 day challenge. 25 crafts for my almost 2-year old, one each night, to get her excited about Christmas.

DAY ONE: "PAINTING" WITH COOKIE CUTTERS

This one is really easy and can last as long as you want. It can be a quick "while mommy makes dinner" activity, or an evening event for the whole family to participate in.

WHAT YOU NEED:

     - Cookie cutters of any size, we used little Christmas shapes
     - Stamp pad or finger paint poured on a plate
     - Paper

VERDICT: Roo loved this. I just showed her one or two times and she took it from there. She experimented with different "styles" and even stamped her handprint a few times :)