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All Things Christmas

Make the decision that presents will not be or will no longer be the main focus of the holidays.

Slow down the frantic pace of the holidays and reduce post-holiday let down by spreading out family and friend gatherings throughout December into January.

 Most of all, we can stop trying to "do it all." The people who really love us will still love us no matter what gifts we do or do not give them and whether or not we send greeting cards. We can tell family and friends that we are changing how we "do" the holidays and that we have decided to spend more time connecting with our children. When we slow down the pace and stop doing and buying too much, our children are happier, we are happier, and our holidays are happier.

Handmade Gifts for Everyone

Fill a little basket with small wrapped treats. Decorate with ribbons and sprigs from the garden.

It's easy to make a small heart shaped wreath. Wrap kitchen herbs and flowers along two equal lengths of wire or vine. Bind together at one end, then form a heart shape. Decorate with ribbons.

Make a Herb Pillow with fabric scraps and ribbons etc. Air dried herbs work best. You may cheat a little with some pure essential oils if stocks are low in the garden.Try Rosemary, Basil, Scented Geraniums etc.

Make lavender bags from scraps of material and fill with organic lavender and tie with ribbon.

Collect rocks and paint them brightly for doorstops, paperweights and even bookends if they are suitable shape.

Bake biscuits. Roll fruit and nut balls.

For those who like to sew, make teatowels, hankies, placemats and napkins and pillowcases. Paint or embroider a motif on them.

Glue shells onto tins, or wind colored wool around tins or bottles and glue into place to make plant pots or pencil or utensil holders.

Press flowers between sheets of newspaper under a heavy book, changing the paper often until the flowers are dry.Using the pressings you can make cards or gift boxes by folding cardpaper accordingly and glueing the flowers on. Bookmarks can be made by sticking the flowers in between two sheets of clear contact.

Make teapot stands by glueing small colored tiles onto a square piece of wood.

Milk and juice jug covers can be made out of old mosquito nets by hemming squares of netting and crocheting heavy beads on. If you cannot crochet just sew them on with colored thread so the beads hang down.

Collect shells, gumnuts, beads and driftwood and make them into mobiles that all grandmas will love.

Pompoms are easy to make. Cut a doughnut shaped piece of stiff cardboard and wind wool through the middle and around the outside until the hole is full. Cut the wool in half along the outer edge of the cardboard, slip a bit of wool around the middle, close to the card, and tie it really tight. Tear the cardboard off and presto - - one pompom.

They can decorate hats, tea cosies or you can plait legs and make it into a spider or octapus.(makes a great gift, it if you have a baby brother or sister). Make one for yourself and add bits of felt for the eyes if you fancy.

Jams, pickles, herb vinegar, a basket of homemade muesli, cakes, fruit balls, pies, sprouts, fresh herb pots,etc. Anything you make, bake or grow with LOVE will be greatly appreciated by the lucky recipients. Handmade labels and a little decoration with ribbons and fabric turn these gifts into something really meaningful.

Get your thinking caps on and come up with some more gift ideas from the heart. Mom tells me she was blessed to grow up with an inventive grandma, and an endless supply of bits of wood from her wood carving Grandpa. I am also gaining valuable memories, creating gifts from found items from nature and recycling objects from around the home. So, go collect, create and have fun! Thierry xxx

Smell game

Blindfold older children or close eyes for younger children and pass jars under their noses & see if they can identify the smells; evergreen, ginger, cinnamon, Christmas cake, organic dried fruits, candles, fresh flowers, herbs etc. Then you eat what is edible and make Christmas wreaths etc with the rest.

Teddy Bear Christmas Party

Each child is invited to bring a stuffed teddy, dressed if possible, for a Christmas party, or supply a small table with  fabric scraps, ribbons, wool etc and they can decorate the teddies.For the very young children you can just invite teddy and someone special like Grandma.

Little books can be given as gifts under the tree for each child's bear to open. Teddy's join in for all the activities, songs, story and helping set the special table with cloth covers, napkins, china cups, spoons, fresh flowers for special  Christmas snacks.Op shops and garage sales are great places to find table cloths, cups, silver spoons etc and they don't have to match!

Serve fruited herbal teas (no caffeine) or chamomile tea, or home-made organic lemonade with a spritz of cranberry juice in little china cups, cut out tiny sandwiches (crusts removed from the bread) with cookie cutters, stawberries, mini muffins.

For an activity and great as a take-home treat - make teddy bear cookies, the children with the help of their teddies will love to roll and cut the dough with the bear cookie cutters. 

It is a lot of fun and emphasizes the sharing aspect with others (even teddies) at Christmas.

Keys for Santa

This would makes a cute sign for the front door on Christmas Eve....Glue either real keys or have the children make..(colour,cut out etc.) their own "magic key". The Santa Key's are for people who don't have fireplaces/chimneys---the key let's Santa in. Get an old fashioned skeleton key,  paint it gold, tie a ribbon around it, then put in on a wreath (or whatever you have on your front door) a wide ribbon going horizontal and vertical with a big bow in the middle to look like a present, so that Santa can come in the house and bring gifts.

Dear Santa,

We don't have a chimney
for you to come in through
And if you miss our house
I don't know what I'll do.

Mum and Dad say you work magic
and can use just any old key
If we just hang it outside
in a place you're sure to see

So I'm placing this key
right beside our door
say my prayers and jump in bed
and I won't worry anymore

A trail of flour from the front door to the Christmas tree (footprints appear from Santa overnight) Some Christmas cookies and a drink left out for Santa, that disappear and in the driveway a trail of wheat for Santa's reindeers and candles / tea lights placed in containers in the driveway or at your entrance to guide Santa's sleigh.

Christmas Concentration

Cut rectangular "cards" out of red construction paper or any old board or painted paper, then cut slightly smaller rectangles from old wrapping paper and cards (two from each kind) and glue to construction paper. You may like to laminate, and play Memory /Concentration. This same idea also is fun for the children when you use double prints of pictures of them for a year-round Memory game! Include a picture of yourself, pets etc.

Matching pairs of snowflakes, bells, angels etc then mount them on cardboard - you can do a concentration game with them or just have the child find the matches.

Santa Claus Scramble

Write the letters S-A-N-T-A C-L-A-U-S on individual index cards. Do this four times, making four sets, or forty cards. Place the cards in a brown paper bag. To play - have the players divide into two teams on opposite sides of the room. Pass the bag that contains the letters. The teams alternate in picking a letter. The first team to combine their letters to spell SANTA CLAUS wins!

Santa Snowball Toss

Cover the bottom and sides of a rectangular cardboard box with old construction thickness paper. On a piece of paper, draw a Santa face with a large mouth. Paint or colour the face. Glue  to the box and cut out the large mouth.  To play - Place Santa against a wall. Give each player six tries at throwing ping pong balls into Santa's mouth. See who feeds Santa the most.

Santa Flag Football Game

Tear up any old fabric into wide strips and tie around waist Instead of tackling the player with the ball, just grab one of his “flags.”

Depending on where you are celebrating Christmas, in the Southern Hemisphere there certainly isn't any  snow, and Christmas falls during summer, which means no snowmen or sleigh rides (only in Christmas picture books) -wherever you are celebrating, have a book party and make snow decorations with organic cotton balls etc, swap a pre-loved book.

In the Southern Hemisphere you can play backyard cricket or have a pool party.

Santa Sacks and Egg and Spoon, Cardboard Box Fun! 

Hop into old potato hessian sacks and jump, you might like to decorate the sacks first follow up with boiled egg and spoon races, where everyone is a winner, again you can decorate or paint the eggs.Have a collection of cardboard boxes for great fun, build a tower etc.

Gift Wrapped

Place a healthy treat or fair-trade finger puppet or make a puppet out of old socks or a glove with Christmas buttons put on each finger, for each child inside a small cardboard box and gift wrap with any old paper or newspaper. Put the wrapped box inside a larger box, wrap it, and then select another larger box until the package is as large as you can handle. To play - have everyone sit in a circle. Have a music person play shakers and pass the package around. When the shakers stop the player holding the package starts to unwrap. When the shakers start, the package is passed again. When the treats or puppets are found, share them with everyone. Make a puppet theatre out of cardboard boxes and get the children to put on a puppet show or if using gloves sing Christmas songs.

Bells:
You will need yarn, a pencil, craft bells, styrofoam cups and decorating materials. Have the children decorate their cup. Cut a piece of yarn, no longer than the height of the cup. Tie the yarn to the bell. Then poke a small hole on the bottom of the cup. Thread the yarn through the hole so the bell is inside the cup. Tie the yarn in a knot (or a couple of knots) so it will not come loose. Now you have a bell.

Bell Rings / Bangles
You will need to make these for the children. Older children can do the threading. Simply thread craft bells onto a small piece of elastic, long enough to fit around your children's ankle or wrist. Then sew the two ends together. These can be used for group time dancing, songs and games.

Small wooden bangles, tie craft bells with pieces of wool.

Jingle Bells

JIngle bells, jingle bells (Pretend to shake bells as ryhme indicates)

Jingle all the way

Oh what fun it is to play

My jingle bells today!

Shake them fast, shake them slow

Shake them loud and clear

Oh what fun it is to shake my bells for all to hear!

Wherever you are celebrating Christmas or the holidays, improvise by making the best of what you have got and thankful for what you have.

It is the time of year when we all draw closer together - and that is the spirit of the season.

For more activities, visit our eco kids birthday activities for holiday ideas. Click here