DIY Holiday Calendars

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Published 11.18.2009 | Permanent Link | Comments (3)

by Ellen Luckett Baker

Looking for ways to keep the kids entertained next week? Create a countdown calendar for the holidays. As a child, our family had an advent calendar each December to count down the days until Christmas. You can read more about the history and religious significance of advent calendars here. For this project, I've created two printable calendars that you can customize to reflect your family's own celebration of the holidays. One calendar is a gingerbread house with 24 days to count down until Christmas and the other calendar is a winter village with eight window openings to celebrate the days of Hanukkah.

Just print out the calendar pages on card stock, let the kids make drawings for each day and color the front piece, cut out the windows with a craft knife and put it together to create a calendar with windows to be opened each day, revealing a new drawing.

Create your own family tradition by sharing simple ways that you can celebrate each day with your family in a special way by writing down a kind deed or an activity for that day. The kids colored this calendar, but I think I'll also create an activity version with cookie baking, gift-buying for needy families, parties, and craft activities. We'll have an activity for each day with some that are simple like "give hugs". Whatever the holidays mean to you, share your traditions and start new ones with your children this season.

To get started, click on a calendar image below.

Thanksgiving Crafts for the Kids' Table

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Published 11.12.2009 | Permanent Link | Comments (18)

By Cindy Hopper

Let your children color their way to a festive Thanksgiving table. Grab some crayons and colored pencils, print off the downloads and your kids can decorate their own table.

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Start with a colorful turkey for the centerpiece.

Thanksgiving Turkey Centerpiece Download

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Print two turkeys, color and cut-out. On the backs of the turkeys, place glue stick at top of each wing only. Stick the two turkeys together. Once turkey is dry place it over a small drinking cup.

Thanksgiving Napkin Rings Download

For the napkin ring, print on cardstock and color. Cut out and fasten with glue stick.

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Thanksgiving Crayon Holder Download

This crayon holder is a quick and simple way to keep crayons together.  Print download on cardstock, cut on solid lines, fold on dotted lines. Fold bottom up and the tabs to the back. Glue tabs with glue stick.

Thanksgiving Coloring Page Download

Don't forget the coloring sheet to be used as a place mat. Use butcher paper for the table cloth and the kids have even more room for coloring.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Recycled Napkin Rings for Your Thanksgiving Table

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Published 11.05.2009 | Permanent Link | Comments (7)

Thanksgiving Craft: DIY Recycled Napkin Rings
By Marie LeBaron

Having a beautiful Thanksgiving table can help set the dinner mood. Sometimes the table gets more compliments than the turkey! Here's a fun way to spice up your table with these decoupage napkin rings made from recycled paper tubes.

Supplies:

- paper tubes, toilet paper roll or paper towel roll
- craft paper, preferably fall colors
- decoupage, I used Mod Podge
- sponge brush
- scissors
- napkins
- embellishments, acorns, leaves, berries (make sure the kids know these are NOT edible)

1. First, measure and cut your piece of paper to fit around your paper tube. You'll want the lip to over lap just a little, about 1/4 of an inch. And it's okay if it's a little longer than the tube, you can trim the extra paper off after it's done drying.

2. Apply decoupage to your paper tube, make sure you get every inch. Then apply it to the inside of the paper, the side that wraps around the tube. I like to apply glue to both of these, just to make sure it sticks and stays on.

3. Attach the gluey craft paper to the gluey paper tube and roll it on. Smooth out any bubbles or bumps. Make sure it is sealed on the edges. Then let this dry and set for at least 10-15 minutes.

4. You will now apply another coat of decoupage to the outside of the paper craft tube, to help seal it, and it gives it a nice shine. Then let this dry completely, up to 30 minutes.

5. Once the paper craft tube is dry, you'll need to cut it down into little 2 inch rings. Since the tube is kind of hard at this point, in order to cut through it, you'll need to smash the tube in half, bending it enough to get your scissors around. Then cut 2 inch sections out of the tube. You can also trim any little extra bits of paper that may be hanging over the edge of the tube.

6. Using your fingers, try to mold the tube back into a circle (although, this doesn't matter too much, as it will be around the napkin anyway).

7. Now it's ready to add to a fan folded dinner napkin. Just slip it over and spread out the napkin. I also added some pressed leaves that I wrote the dinner guests names on, and a few berries (not edible). You could also add acorns or feathers, something else to give it some flare.

Have fun dressing up your table, as well as your turkey!

Last-Minute Kids' Owl Costume

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Published 10.29.2009 | Permanent Link | Comments (14)

By Ellen Baker

Still looking for a Halloween costume for your kiddo? Here's an easy way to turn a t-shirt into an owl costume in a couple of hours. If you don't have a sewing machine, you can simply glue the fabric feathers onto the costume with permanent fabric glue found at your local sewing shop or craft supply store. You can cut up old t-shirts or other old clothing for the feathers. So just cut and glue. Easy, right? I think this would also work pretty well for a wild thing costume.

Supplies:

-dark colored tee
-fabric scraps (50-60 feathers)
-thread and sewing machine (or permanent fabric glue)
-card stock
-scissors
-craft knife
-tape
-children's sunglasses

1. Cut out the feathers from fabric scraps using the template below.
2. Begin pinning and sewing in rows from the bottom (or just line them up and glue).
3. Continue until you reach the top and then form a circle around the neckline.
4. Print out the owl mask and cut it out. With a craft knife, cut out the center eye holes.
5. Attach the mask to the sunglasses with tape. Hoot!

Click here to download the template for mask and feathers: Download file

Kids' Halloween Menu

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Published 10.26.2009 | Permanent Link | Comments (0)

We're getting our Kids' Halloween Menu in order and these are the foods we'll be serving! The key for us is easy (few ingredients) and quick assembly.

Mummy Dogs

We found the instructions to make these in several locations, but I love the pictures at the Instructables. All you need are 1) hot dogs, 2) Pillsbury Cresent Roll dough and 3) mustard.

Monster Finger Food

We found this recipe at Family Fun which has some really great recipes. All you need are: 1) string cheese, 2) bell peppers (hello vegetable!), and 3) cream cheese to secure the "nails."

Vampire Cookies

LOVE these vampire cookies. They were surprisingly easy to make and especially delicious right out of the oven. Also, you can reuse this recipe next month when the new Twilight movie hits the theater.

Have a delicious Halloween!

Celebrate Day of the Dead with a festive homemade necklace!

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Published 10.22.2009 | Permanent Link | Comments (8)

By Brenda Ponnay

Halloween isn't the only holiday that gets to have fun with dancing skeletons. There is another holiday called Dia de Los Muertos (or Day of the Dead in English) that is all about honoring the dead. Many of us struggle with the concept of death and spend a lot of time being sad about it, but that's not what this holiday is about. Dia de Los Muertos is a happy holiday. Families gather together to remember their loved ones who have passed, eat all their favorite foods, dance, and generally celebrate life and the afterlife.

It is quite popular to celebrate this holiday with dancing skeletons, marigolds and ofrendas (or altars) filled with pictures and mementos of the dearly-departed. For a kid-friendly take on this holiday we decided to make a pretty necklace out of salt-dough skull beads and bright orange tissue-paper marigolds. Both are quite easy and just a little bit silly.

To make the marigolds I used two different shades of orange tissue paper. I cut them into circles that were rough and irregular in shape. To make one flower you will need six circles. Make half of them small (1-2 inches) and the other half a little bit larger. Then with a piece of black twine and a needle I punctured the circles right in the center. I tied a knot on one side and left the other side with two pieces of twine hanging out. These two pieces I would later tie onto my necklace.

Then I crumpled the center circle up around my knot. That became the center bud of my flower. I crumpled the remaining circles up around that bud but looser so that they would gradually lay down like petals on a real marigold. Then I set them aside to make the salt-dough beads.

Making salt dough is really easy.

You will need the following ingredients to make the beads:

1/2 c. salt
1 c. of flour
1/2 c. of water
a cookie sheet
a toothpick

1. Preheat your oven to 250 F.
2. Mix the salt, flour and water together until the mixture is elastic and smooth. If dough is too sticky add flour; if it is too dry add water.
3. Pinch off small pieces and roll them into balls into the palm of your hand.
4. With beads or a toothpick make two small indentations for eyes.
5. Make some teeth by pushing the toothpick into the lower portions of the skull like so:

I pinched the bottom of the skull just a little to give it more of a human head shape, but this is optional. I let the kids make the skulls look any way they wanted.

Using the same toothpick, puncture a hole all the way through the skull from the side where the ears would be. This will be the hole that you will use later to thread the beads onto a necklace. Make sure you wiggle the toothpick around quite a bit so the holes are big. I found that many of the holes I made closed up during baking because I didn't make them big enough. But you don't want to make them too big so that they compromise the shape and sturdiness of your bead.

Place them on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for two hours. I baked mine about 15 minutes short of two hours and I'm glad I did because I was able to poke some of my side holes through with a strong needle. If they had been baked completely, I wouldn't have been able to do that.

While we were waiting for our beads to bake, we colored our ofrenda coloring sheets and talked about the different people we know who have died. Ofrenda is the Spanish word for "offering" but it has nothing to do with worship. They are simply careful works of art that pay tribute to a deceased loved one. Usually ofrendas are collages or a collection of pictures and things that remind you of the person who has passed on.

You can create your own ofrenda, or you can download a coloring sheet here. The big circle in the center is for a photo or a drawing of the person you are remembering. The two circles at the bottom are for drawing things that they liked, or things that remind you of them.

My daughter is only three, so the only person she knows who has died is the lady who used to work at our laundromat. We miss her. She was a sweet old lady. To remember her we drew a bottle of laundry detergent in one circle and a purse in the other. She loved purses and was always commenting on mine. I also made one for my grandmother and colored it pink, her favorite color.

When the beads are done baking and have cooled, you can go ahead and paint your skulls with a dab of black paint in the eye holes and some quick swishes of black on the teeth. We used a toothpick to paint the teeth but I'm sure a small paintbrush would work well too.

Then we covered them with a decoupage sealer (we used Mod Podge). When everything was dry we strung them onto our twine interspersed with some wooden beads that I bought at a craft store. Then we tied our marigold flowers on wherever we fancied and tied the ends together to make a necklace.

I think they turned out splendidly. Very festive and not somber at all.

And we had plenty of spooky skulls left over for Halloween.

Related Halloween Ideas:

* Halloween Boo and I've Been Boo'd
* Trunk-or-Treat Halloween Tradition
* Halloween Craft: Paper Ghost Garlands
* Halloween Craft: A Ghostly Garden Graveyard
* Halloween Craft: Embellish Your Witch's Hat
* Halloween Craft: Make Your Own Pumpkin Patch
* Halloween Cupcake Ideas
* Halloween Craft: Handmade Halloween Cards
* Great Halloween Crafts
* The Best Halloween Cupcakes
* Best Halloween Cookies & Crafts
* Best Halloween Costumes
* Halloween Costume Ideas for Children
* More DIY Costumes (2007)
* Our Favorite Halloween Costumes for 2007
* Best Halloween Children's Costumes 2006
* Best DIY ideas for Halloween costumes (from 2006)
* What not to wear this Halloween
* Best Halloween Trick or Treating Bags, Masks and Costumes

Halloween Craft: Cereal Box Stencils

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Published 10.16.2009 | Permanent Link | Comments (1)

Halloween Craft: Cereal Box Stencils
By Ellen Baker

More ghosts and jack o' lanterns! I'm afraid of the scary Halloween stuff, so we like to keep it happy around here. We made these fun and simple stencils to use on treat bags, but you could add them to tees, banners, or any other fabric decorations. You can buy a simple canvas tote bag at most craft stores, or you can make one like I did with muslin using this tutorial (just skip the pocket and embroidery). If you make your own bag, it's easiest to add the stencil to your fabric before you sew. The kids can do the painting so they'll have a bag they love to carry. Be sure to allow a day for drying time.

Supplies:
-fabric tote
-fabric paint
-stencil brush or sponge
-cereal box
-craft knife and cutting mat
-masking tape

1. Cut one of the largest rectangles from your cereal box.

2. Click on one of the images below and print out the template. Secure the template to your cardboard with masking tape. Cut out the shapes with a craft knife on a cutting mat. Obviously an adult will need to do this part.

3. Next, tape your template to the fabric and have your kids dab on the paint using a stencil brush or sponge (we used the end of a spongy paint roller). The trick to getting it on neatly is to hold the brush or sponge end perpendicular to the surface.

All done! Now let those kids get a belly ache!

Related Halloween Ideas:

* Halloween Boo and I've Been Boo'd
* Trunk-or-Treat Halloween Tradition
* Halloween Craft: Paper Ghost Garlands
* Halloween Craft: A Ghostly Garden Graveyard
* Halloween Craft: Embellish Your Witch's Hat
* Halloween Craft: Make Your Own Pumpkin Patch
* Halloween Cupcake Ideas
* Halloween Craft: Handmade Halloween Cards
* Great Halloween Crafts
* The Best Halloween Cupcakes
* Best Halloween Cookies & Crafts
* Best Halloween Costumes
* Halloween Costume Ideas for Children
* More DIY Costumes (2007)
* Our Favorite Halloween Costumes for 2007
* Best Halloween Children's Costumes 2006
* Best DIY ideas for Halloween costumes (from 2006)
* What not to wear this Halloween
* Best Halloween Trick or Treating Bags, Masks and Costumes

Halloween Craft: Paper Bag Candy Bowls

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Published 10.15.2009 | Permanent Link | Comments (2)

By Ellen Luckett Baker

Serve up your candy this year in these fun papier mâché Halloween candy bowls. Made from paper bags and recycled tissue paper, they are a fun and messy project for the kids. This project uses some recycled materials and others that can probably be found around your house.

For the base, we used a metal bowl for the ghost and a real pumpkin for the pumpkin bowl. If you decide to use a pumpkin, you'll need to cut the top off at the widest point. You'll also want to find a space that can get messy, or cover your work surface before you begin. Lots of drippy glue in this project. The drying time for the bowls will be about 48 hours, so make some time.

Supplies (for one bowl):
-paper bags
-plastic bag or plastic wrap
-bowl or pumpkin for the base
-tissue paper
-white school glue (one medium-sized bottle)
-old paint brush for applying glue
-acrylic paints
-paint brushes

Instructions:

1. First, cover your base with plastic wrap or a grocery store plastic bag.
2. Then mix one part of glue to one part water in a mixing bowl.
3. Rip the paper bags into long strips and dip them one at a time in the glue mixture, running your hand along the strip to remove excess glue. It might take your kids a few tries to get the hang of this.
4. Place the strips overlapping all over the bowl. Allow the bowl to dry for at least 24 hours and put your remaining glue mixture in an airtight container to save for the next step.

After the paper bag layer has dried for 24 hours, you'll move on to the tissue paper step. With an old paint brush, apply the glue mixture directly onto the bowl and lay the tissue paper in strips. Again, allow to dry for 24 hours. You can trim the top edges or leave them ragged. Once dry, remove the bowl from the base and paint it. Have a spooky, sugary Halloween!

Related Halloween Ideas:

* Halloween Boo and I've Been Boo'd
* Trunk-or-Treat Halloween Tradition
* Halloween Craft: Paper Ghost Garlands
* Halloween Craft: A Ghostly Garden Graveyard
* Halloween Craft: Embellish Your Witch's Hat
* Halloween Craft: Make Your Own Pumpkin Patch
* Halloween Cupcake Ideas
* Halloween Craft: Handmade Halloween Cards
* Great Halloween Crafts
* The Best Halloween Cupcakes
* Best Halloween Cookies & Crafts
* Best Halloween Costumes
* Halloween Costume Ideas for Children
* More DIY Costumes (2007)
* Our Favorite Halloween Costumes for 2007
* Best Halloween Children's Costumes 2006
* Best DIY ideas for Halloween costumes (from 2006)
* What not to wear this Halloween
* Best Halloween Trick or Treating Bags, Masks and Costumes

'Where The Wild Things Are' Halloween!

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Published 10.12.2009 | Permanent Link | Comments (0)

We predict a serious run on and scramble for Where The Wild Things Are costumes once the movie hits theaters October 16. Have you SEEN the trailer? Oy, it's amazing.

Anyhow, we've searched the web and much to our delight we found some Max costumes!

There are a number of independent designers that have designed Where The Wild Things Are costumes and accouterments. Enjoy!

This is perhaps my favorite and is available at Irongate. Psst, it's available in adult sizes too.

This lovely is by Etsy designer Katesy. She can make a Moishe too and has lots of other lovely costumes to choose from.

These are by Etsy designer Munsters and Cupcakes. Love the Moishe costume especially.

The most affordable costume find is by the movie studio itself, Warner Bros. Our friend Kyran shared a photo of her cutie pie in that costume version:

Also, just a reminder that if you're looking for monster-related fun, you can find it Alpha Mom columnist Marie LeBaron's eBook, Monster Mania.

Related Halloween Ideas:

* Best Halloween Costumes
* Halloween Costume Ideas for Children
* More DIY Costumes (2007)
* Our Favorite Halloween Costumes for 2007
* Best Halloween Children's Costumes 2006
* Best DIY ideas for Halloween costumes (from 2006)
* What not to wear this Halloween
* Best Halloween Trick or Treating Bags, Masks and Costumes
* Halloween Boo and I've Been Boo'd
* Trunk-or-Treat Halloween Tradition
* Halloween Craft: Paper Ghost Garlands
* Halloween Craft: A Ghostly Garden Graveyard
* Halloween Craft: Embellish Your Witch's Hat
* Halloween Craft: Make Your Own Pumpkin Patch
* Halloween Cupcake Ideas
* Halloween Craft: Handmade Halloween Cards
* Great Halloween Crafts
* The Best Halloween Cupcakes
* Best Halloween Cookies & Crafts

Halloween Craft: Paper Ghost Garlands

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Published 10.08.2009 | Permanent Link | Comments (2)

Paper Ghost Garlands
By Cindy Hopper

Looking for a simple and inexpensive way to decorate your home for Halloween? Let your little ones make these cute paper ghost garlands.

All you need is some butcher paper or  freezer paper ---any paper you can have a long length.  Decide how long you want your garland, then accordion fold. Draw your ghost on the top. We have a template if you like.

Paper Ghost Garland Template

Cut your ghost out making sure to not cut around the hands.

Draw faces on each ghost.

It wasn't too long before someone decided the faces should be pink!

If you can find some long orange paper, pumpkins would be festive!  I think it would be funny to see all of the different faces kids could come up with!

See? Easy-peasy-lemon-squeasy!