Tag Archives: Christmas activity

DIY Cardboard Christmas Tree Craftivity

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Happy December, everyone!

Let’s celebrate this month with some fun cardboard crafts that every one can make with their kids at home. By repurposing cardboard and using supplies at home, you can have Christmas fun without breaking the bank.

But first, it’s been forever since I’ve posted on here. I’ve been busy growing my other socials and I’ve neglected actually writing our activities and adventures. My goal is to get back into writing and sharing on here as I did before. If you’ve been missing out or want to see more of our every day things, make sure to follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube — we’re on all the things now, lol.

Anyways, let’s get back to the DIY Cardboard Christmas Tree.

This was really easy to make and took minimal prep. It made for a cute and easy decoration that Mila loved to make. Here’s what you need for this activity:

To prep for this activity, all i did was cut my cardboard in the pieces I needed. I did three triangular pieces for the actual tree, a star for the topper, and a rectangle for the trunk. Then, I just painted the tree white and the star golden. You could easily not paint it or paint it whatever color. Do what’s best for you!

Once you have all the pieces cut and the paint is dried, just hot glue the pieces together to make it look like a tree.

Then, have your child use Dauber Dawgs, markers, or stickers to decorate the tree.

I absolutely love the rainbow look Mila made. Her room is decorated for Christmas this year in a rainbow themed; so this craftivity fits right in.

For a closer look in how we made this, check out this video.

Even though this activity is simple, Mila loved being able to create this cardboard tree. She loves to decorate so it made it fun watching her figure out what colors to use and the pattern they were in. Not only was it fun, she got to work on so many skills too!

I think we’ll definitely do this craftivity again in the future and see how her style changes as she gets older. I love making these types of memories and preserving them too.

I’m so thankful for Cameron Frank Products. They gifted Mila and me the Dauber Dawgs which are perfect for crafts and educational activities. It would make a perfect Christmas gift for kids who love to craft. Their boxes even come with activity sheets, which was a huge hit with Mila. You can find the one we had through this link OR others too.

What fun crafts and activities are you doing this holiday season? Let me know in the comments.

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Christmas Activity: DIY Wrapping Paper

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Looking for a different way to make your Christmas gifts even more special? Try this DIY Wrapping Paper. I promise your family and friends will love getting their gifts wrapped in paper that’s made with love. And… your kids will be really proud of themselves when they show it off to them too.

Making our own wrapping paper is a big Christmas Bucket List item for us. We did it her first Christmas and now it’s become a fun tradition. I know my parents always look forward to seeing her wrapping paper. This year, she made it for her friends at preschool. I’m sure we’ll be doing this Christmas Activity more than once this year.

Maybe this can become a fun tradition for your family too! Here’s what you’ll need to make your own wrapping paper:

  • Brown craft paper
  • Paint
  • Paint brushes
  • Cookie cutters

This activity is super simple in the best way. You get to let your child be as creative as they want to be. PLUS, they get to be messy too! I think all kids like that aspect of that.

To set up, all I did was lay out brown kraft paper, pour paint on a separate paper plate, and laid out her tools (paint brushes, cookie cutters, bingo daubers). She did everything else all by herself. I would also suggest laying trash bags down if you want to keep your surface clean.

I played Christmas music and had Mila explain to me what she was drawing. The one section was a whole scene with people. It’s fun to hear their thought process.

After they’re done creating, just let your wrapping paper dry.

Then, just wrap your presents like normal. I tried to get Mila to paint more in the middle so you could see the design. We also love to add yarn and ribbon to make presents even more special.

Mila was super proud of her wrapping paper. It’s so unique. We’ve done it every year and each year it looks so different. It’s a great way to capture her growth. It also feels like a present within a present when you give to others. I love gifting her artwork and this is a fun way to do that while being useful too!

Even though we normally do this for Christmas, I’d love to do it for different birthdays or holidays.

Let me know in the comments…

Have you ever made your own wrapping paper? OR what recycled products do you use for wrapping paper?

Preschool Activity: Nativity Popsicle Stick Craft

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The Nativity is a story a lot of people know and learn about around Christmas time. If you’d like your toddler or preschool to know this story, doing this Nativity Popsicle Stick Craft is a way to help them remember it and make it fun too.

As you might know if you’ve been following along with our story is that Mila is in preschool. Her preschool talks a lot about Bible stories.

I don’t necessarily talk about one religion at home. We talk about how people believe in all kinds of different things and none of it is wrong. My personal beliefs stem from different religions and readings, I’ve written about them in previous posts.

No matter what I believe, I want Mila to be able to make her own decisions. Right now, she’s asked a lot of questions about Jesus and Bible stories. So, we’re reading and doing activities with what she’s curious about.

Mila loves baby Jesus. Every time she sees a Nativity set up she says, ‘awww. Look at the baby.’ Then she names everyone.

It definitely made me want to do this activity with her even more. After a trip to the store, we got everything to create our interpretation of her favorite scene.

Here’s what you’ll need to create this book and craft pairing.

To start this activity off, we read the book with each other. She let me know she knew all the characters and that Jesus was born in a manger.

After reading, it was time to start making the scene.

We first wanted to make the manger. All we used was popsicle sticks and glue. We ended up using big popsicle and it took five across for the base. We used a smaller popsicle stick to connect it together.

Then for the floor of the manger, we used one big popsicle stick across it on the bottom. For the roof, we just crisscrossed them on the top.

Next we made Mary, Joseph, and Baby Jesus.

Again, we used popsicle sticks. For Mary and Joseph we decided to use big ones and for Jesus we used a small one. To get the correct length, we just cut them with scissors.

To make them look like they had clothes, hair, and accessories, we used yarn. You could use any color, I think ours turned out really cute.

Then, glue them down on the manger.

After that, make a star out of pipe cleaner and attach with glue.

You could stop here, but we decided to make this an ornament. To do this, we just glued on another piece of yarn so we could hang it.

Mila was SO proud of her hard work on this piece. She loved seeing this family together and talking about what she learned at preschool. I am so happy she can always let me know what she’s learning about.

This craft is so much fun for kids of all ages. I hope if you make it, you have as much fun as we did!

What’s your favorite Christmas book or story to read? Let me know in the comments.

Also, if you make this craft/ornament, tag me on Instagram or Facebook (@greyskies.rainbowhighs).

Preschool Craft: Christmas Process Art

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Don’t get your tinsel in a tangle!

Christmas crafts don’t always have to be ‘perfect’ to be adorable. Toddlers and preschoolers love to learn by using the things around them, especially through art. This Christmas Process Art Mila created was a great reminder of that!

There’s a huge pressure to have the most perfect crafts online. It seems kids have to follow instructions step-by-step to create the best craft. When you give them the power to create on their own, they can create something even more spectacular.

I’m not going to say Mila and I haven’t been doing specific crafts together, but she needed this free project to showcase her creativity.

All we used to create this beautiful piece of art was from other Christmas items we had at home:

  • Canvas
  • Red and Green Washable Paint
  • Gold Acrylic Paint
  • Craft Pinecones
  • Bells
  • Fake Pine

To set up this activity, all I did was pour the paint and tell Mila to use these objects to paint.

She did ask for a paint brush and I did let her use it to push the bells around. Then she used it to paint after trying all the objects. She really went to work when she could use the brush at the end!

As much as it was a process art activity, I did not want to put a limit to her creativity. I think she had fun feeling the different textures and she loved shaking the bells too. It puzzles her why the items don’t paint as well as the brush… but that’s what it’s all about!

When she was finished, we talked about what her artwork symbolized and what we wanted to title it. She said it was just about Christmas and it didn’t need a name. So, it’s left untitled, but I did have her sign it and I dated it. I told her it reminded me of a Christmas tree, just REALLY close up. It honestly just makes me smile, like all of her artwork does.

We love making art as Christmas gifts… and will probably do it again this year! Let me know in the comments… What’s the best Christmas or holiday present you’ve received? Handmade or store bought?

Christmas Sensory Bin

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Happy December!

A new month means there’s new things to explore and discover. This month, we’re doing a Christmas Sensory Play. The most fun part of this sensory bin is everything is bought from the dollar store!

We love Christmas and all the joy it brings to us. I think Mila is mostly excited for snow and Santa to bring presents. To combine that happiness and interest, I thought this Christmas Sensory Play idea was the best of both worlds!

This sensory bin is filled with:

  • Different types of fake snow
  • Jingle bells
  • Chocolate Kisses
  • Santa stickers
  • Refrigerator organizer

As I said before, I got this entire bin at the dollar store! Everything was pretty cheap and easy to put together. All I did was dump the three different types of fake snow in the refrigerator organizer.

If I could give one fake snow suggestion, I’d tell everyone not to get the small foam balls. They get EVERYWHERE and stick to everything. We could have done with just the glitter snow and the medium sized foam balls. It would have worked just as well.

Anyways, then I hid chocolate kisses underneath so Mila could find surprises.

The next things I added were the jingle bells. I had a ton of different sized and colored bells. This is important for one of the activities that I’ll explain.

To make it a little more festive, I added five, felt Santa stickers. They’re so cute!

There’s seriously a ton of activities you can do with this Christmas Sensory Bin.

The first is just letting your child explore the sensory bin. There they can find the chocolate kisses, feel the different types of snow, or use their imaginations. Mila loves when I don’t give her directions and she just does whatever.

One activity that I directed her in was sorting the bells. You could have them sort by color or size. This provide a ton of different skills.

I also had her count the Santas too. There’s a ton of math that kids can do that will help!

In all, this Christmas Sensory Bin is festive and educational. Kids will love it and you’ll love that they’re learning and having fun.

Do you have any suggestions of Christmas play? I have a few, but I’m definitely up for more ideas. Also, what are you most excited for this Christmas season?

Christmas Activity: Letter to Santa

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It’s officially time to start getting festive. Our Christmas tree is up and indoor decorations are done. With all these bucket list items getting crossed off, we had to do another… write a letter to Santa.

I mean.. there’s less than a month until Christmas, we HAD to make sure he knew what Mila wanted this year.

The letter to Santa is very important in the eyes of kids who believe in him. When Mila realized that Santa was going to see her letter, she had that look Ralphie did in A Christmas Story.

It was all very official business.

After brainstorming her thoughts for the letter out loud, she decided it was time to write. Since Mila only knows how to spell her name at the moment, I got to help her out a little in the writing and spelling part of this.

Her letter to Santa states:

“Dear Santa,

How do you do? Thank you for giving me Christmas presents. I would like a big doctor thing.

Thanks, Mila”

She’s a lady that knows what she want! Hopefully she’ll actually become a doctor one day since that’s the only thing she wants at the moment. Besides becoming a mommy like me… her words.

Marking an item off her bucket list.

Anyways, I wanted to share this big moment because there’s a lot of learning going on in this simple letter.

Not only did she practice her writing skills and can prove she can remember and write her name, she drafted and wrote a letter! That’s pretty big for a three year old. Just because she didn’t physically write it, doesn’t mean there wasn’t any thought or work put into it.

It also showed her emotional intelligence with the thank you’s and asking Santa how he was doing.

These are all social skills that are all important to learn… simply by just writing a fun letter to Santa! Learning really is everywhere you look.

Fingers crossed Santa gets her letter in time. She used special stamps to help it travel quickly.

I’ll keep you all updated on if he does.

You can find the ‘Letter to Santa’ template at The Letter Vee. Some of the other stamps come from Three Little Crumbsnatchers, she also has the cutest Christmas activities you can print out for free. I’ll be posting them this December, so keep your eyes peeled.

Does your child or did they write letters to Santa? I’m thinking of recording Mila too. I think it would be cute to look back on. Let me know in the comments if you think that’s a fun idea or not.

Toddler Activity: Grinch Ornament

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It’s finally Christmas break! That means packing Mila and I’s Christmas activities in a few short days.

Here’s a fun one that includes a movie and cuddles afterwards.

Mila absolutely loves the Grinch. We’ve watched the three different movies and I figured I needed to get her the book too. Thank goodness for Amazon Prime!

I came up with this activity after seeing a similar one on Pinterest. Obviously, I’m sure others have done this before, but I wanted to share what we did.

What I used:

  • ‘How the Grinch Stole Christmas’ by Dr. Seuss book
  • Craft Pom Poms (preferably green, but we used rainbow colors and it turned out adorable)
  • Clear plastic bulb
  • Red paint
  • Paint brush
  • Grinch movies – Netflix and YouTube

I started off the activity by talking to Mila about the Grinch. She told me he was mean. We then talked about how Christmas made us feel. Then I asked why Christmas would make the Grinch want to be mean.

Then, I read her the first page about the Grinch’s heart being too small. At this time, I took the bulb and drew a small heart in the middle.

With the empty bulb and small heart on it, I told her the Grinch is mean because his heart is this small and empty. BUT, we could help him out by filling it up with love and Christmas cheer.

After this, I asked her to fill the ‘heart’ with the pom poms every time she thought the Grinch needed some love.

I continued reading her the book and she filled the heart. The moment I flipped to the last page, she put the last pom pom in the bulb.

Then, I reread the part of the Grinch’s heart growing three times it’s size. With that, I painted a bigger heart over the smaller one to visualize this.

Mila and I talked about how Christmas isn’t about presents, but I still think she’s looking forward to that most of all. She hung the ornament up on the tree and we watched two of the Grinch movies to end our night.

It was a fun night and the activity could be modified by the questions and painting for older kids too!

I thought it was a fun and easy one to share, especially with Christmas right around the corner.

If you happen to do this activity, let me know on the comments!