Christmas With The Squirrels

       ''When Christmas day comes all the little squirrels,'' said daddy, ''meet near the largest tree, which they pick out for the occasion. Then there is a wild scramble up the tree for the branches, where the squirrels perch themselves, and finally the feast begins.''

       "After they have finished their scrumptious Christmas dinner they play 'tag,' or 'hide-and-seek' and many other games, which make the branches wave around as they jump from one tree to the other. Prizes are offered by the older squirrels for the sports and games which are played. The prizes are usually extraordinarily big nuts or very red apples. Sometimes, too, kind children just before Christmas put nuts in the trees where the squirrels can find them. That makes the squirrels very happy, and they call these nuts their Christmas gifts.''

• The letter "S" is for Squirrel
• Two Squirrels for Coloring
• Did You Know?
• Christmas in Squirrel Village

The Pride of Toys

       "Oh, I'm so proud," whispered little brown Teddy Bear.

       "You're no more proud than I am," said a little white lamb. "Please pinch me - so - and then I will say: 'Baa-Baa-Baa.' ''Ah, that will make someone happy.''

       The toys were in Santa Claus' toy-shop and they were getting very much excited. There were still some to be finished - in fact, there were many to be finished, but none of them were worried, for they knew perfectly well that Santa Claus never left any toys unfinished.

       That was the wonderful part of Santa Claus. He could be rushed and hurried and he could be so busy that you wondered how it was possible for him to do so much and you might think, if you didn't know, that some of those many, many things wouldn't be done. But the toys knew, for the tools which Santa used to make them with whispered to them many secrets.

       ''He may be busy,'' the tools always told the new toys, ''but he'll finish you and you'll go to the children on Christmas day.''

       "How proud I will be,'' whispered the Teddy Bear once more, ''if I am put on a tree. They say that Santa hangs toys on Christmas trees. But then I would be just as proud if I were put in a stocking. How I would love to peep my head out from the top of a stocking and see the children as they come downstairs early Christmas morning! In fact, I would be proud no matter where Santa put me, or how he gave me. It's a great big and wonderful pride to be a toy made by Santa Claus which is given to a child on Christmas day.''

       ''That is what we all feel,'' said the other toys.

• Visit The Teddy Bear Index
• Teddy Bear Play-Doh Mats for Early Learners

A Peppermint Christmas Tree Tutorial

A decorative, peppermint Christmas tree made from a cone for a mantle, shelf or table display.

       This peppermint candy tree is not made of real candy, but of clay that looks like candy. It is something that students who are in fifth or sixth grade or even older, may like to craft. It will take several days to complete it and lots of patience. 
       The supplies that you will need to accomplish this Christmas project include: a Styrofoam cone, a recycled yogurt cup, Sculpey oven bake clay, red spray paint, white acrylic paints, fancy gift wrap paper, a miniature wooden ornament for the tree topper, a toothpick, Mod Podge, and tacky white glue.

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Roll out the oven bake clay into many small balls. If you make many of these the project will take longer to craft. If you make fewer of them, a younger student will be able to complete a simpler version of the tree.
2. Place all of the clay balls on a cookie sheet and then gently press each one flat with you finger tips. Bake at 275 degree oven for 8 or 9 minutes. Check the instructions printed on the box of the Sculpy to make sure if these are the same as mine. Choose those instructions over mine if you should have a different type of clay.
3. After these two steps, even older children may need adult supervision with the baking and spray painting.
   
4. Wear oven mitts. Remove the flattened clay with a cake knife or thin spatula before all of the rounds cool completely. 
5. Place the miniature, faux peppermints into a cardboard box and spray paint them red. Do this step of the craft outdoors because spray paint is toxic. Wait for the paint to dry completely and then repeat the same step for the unpainted sides of the clay pieces.
6. Now apply small drops of tacky white glue to the pretend candies and stick these to the surface of the tall cone on it's sides only. You will need to do a side at a time allowing the glue to dry before turning the cone to glue more pieces on. Keep the cone on it's side for this process. Once you have all of the clay candies on the cone and the glue is dry, you may then turn the cone upright. 
7. Using a very tiny brush, paint the white swirls onto each red faux candy. Let all of the paint dry.
8. Meanwhile, clean the surface of a used yogurt container.
9. Spread Mod Podge on it's outside surface and apply the decorative paper. Let dry.
10. Glue the yogurt cup 'stand' to the bottom of the decorated cone.
11. Glue a wooden ornament to a toothpick. Let dry.
12. Poke the toothpick down into the top of the Styrofoam cone with some glue and let dry. Paint the wooden ornament in the colors of the tree, red and white.
13. Seal the entire surface with Mod Podge
    

Left, the balls of clay, Center, the balls flattened. Right the clay is spray painted red.

Left, the topper is a wooden reindeer. Center the tree stand is decoupaged. Right, the cone should be glued to the top of the recycled yogurt cut to add height and finish to the decorative tree.

More Peppermint Candy Crafts:

• Christmas Penny Peppermint Ornaments
• Paint Santa's Peppermint Express!
• How to make mini cotton batting candy canes...
• Craft wool peppermint lollipops for the tree

The Christmas Dog

        ''A little girl named Peggy,'' said daddy, ''wrote a letter to Santa Claus, and this is what she said:      

''Dear Santa Claus: 

       I would like a rag doll and a doll which says Mamma and Papa, and can shut her eyes. I also want a book and a set of paints, and please, dear Santa, bring my mother and daddy a doggie to guard the house. I want a doggie too, but mother and daddy also want one, so we could all share one doggie.

"'Your affectionate little friend, Peggy.''

P. S. Please give my love to your Reindeer and a great deal of love for you, dear Santa Claus.

       ''She put her letter down by the fireplace and the next morning it was gone, for she had addressed it quite correctly to 'Mr. Santa Claus, By the Fireplace.' As he was on the lookout for letters such as these around Christmas time, of course, he got it safely.

       Now Santa Claus loves to get letters. His mail around Christmas time is tremendous. But the more he gets, the more he chuckles and laughs to himself. 'Oh this is splendid,' he says, as he opens letter after letter. Days went by and Peggy kept wondering what Santa Claus would bring her for Christmas. She thought of writing him again about the doggie, for her mother and daddy would say so often.

      ''It would be a great protection if we only had a dog. This house is rather far away from the rest, and then we would be safe. Besides, a dog is such a companionable animal and the children would love him.''

       ''Somehow, she didn't like to write again to Santa Claus, but just before bedtime each night, she would whisper up the chimney - 'Please, dear Santa Claus, don't forget the doggie - and the doll, and the paint box - and - and,' but by this time her mother had led her off, for she would have gone on talking and talking to Santa Claus. And if she had kept on talking and missing her sleep, she would have been too tired to enjoy Christmas Day when it came.

       At last it was Christmas Eve. Again Peggy called up the chimney, and she put her stocking first on one side and then the other. And by her stocking hung four smaller ones, for Peggy's little sisters and brothers.

       ''Good night, Santa Claus, Merry Christmas. My love to the Reindeer,'' called Peggy for the last time. And the younger children called out too, 'Good night, Santa Claus, give our love to the Reindeer.'

       And off they all trotted to the land of dreams which they had to pass through before Christmas morning would come.

       The next morning, bright and early, Peggy and her sisters and brothers were up looking at their stockings. Such goodies as they found! Peggy got her rag doll, and a doll who could shut her eyes, and say 'Mamma, Papa.' And she got a set of paints and a fine book.

       Her sisters and brothers got the presents they had asked for, and they had such fun over the oranges in their stockings. Several of them were covered with black soot which Santa had dropped coming down

the chimney! They loved to think of how Santa Claus had picked out these very oranges himself.

       But when the first excitement was over, Peggy thought to herself, 'There is no doggie.' But then she thought Santa Claus was not supposed to get her everything she asked for. So after brushing away a tear which had fallen she began to laugh and play and say, 'Merry Christmas,' over and over and over again, to her mother and daddy, her sisters and brothers. But in a moment or two they all thought they heard a whimper outside the front door. 'I shall see what can be outside,' said Peggy, with beating heart. She opened the door! And there stood a little white dog, shivering miserably in the cold. 'I have no home,' the little dog's eyes seemed to say, and as Peggy held him closely to her she said, 'I know Santa Claus sent you here, and I wish you a Merry Christmas! And this is to be your home, Doggie dear!'

• Here's A Puppy to Color for Christmas!
• Let's paint a polka-dot puppy for the Christmas tree...

Paper Chain Wreath Craft

The finished paper chain wreath.

       This paper wreath craft will preoccupy busy little hands for two days I think. First, art students should make a very long, green paper chain. To fit on this paper plate wreath, they will need to make sure that the links of that chain are smaller than those they might make for their own Christmas tree. For this part of the craft they will need green construction paper, scissors and white school glue. 

       First, make a small loop by rolling a narrow piece of paper in on it's self, end to end, and glue these ends together. Next, loop the second link through the first and glue it's ends together. Continue on until you've made approximately seven to eight feet of green linked chains.

       Then take a paper plate and cut a large hole from it's center; this will become the wreath structure in which students will build a wreath on top of. Glue green construction paper on top of this paper-cut wreath to cover it properly. Then glue the green, construction paper chain around and around the surface of the paper wreath to cover it completely. Let the wreath dry.

       Now students can decorate their chain link Christmas wreaths how they like... I chose to decorate this example with cotton ball snowmen. I cut scarfs and hats from decorative Christmas themed papers, rectangles for the neck scarves and triangles to curl and top off the heads of each snowman with a hat! I glued these snowmen to the wreath using hot glue. Teachers and parents must be present to help children with glue guns. I would suggest that adults attach these snow folk for the students.

       Then young crafters may attach red pom-pom noses using white school glue. Make 'black coal' eyes and smiles with the tip of a permanent black ink marker.

Left, the wreath with attached paper chain. Center, the snowmen are smiling!
Right, a red bow tops everything off!

• Paper Chain Template for Child Crafts
• The Pioneer Doll's Christmas Tree
• Gingerbread paper chain displayed on a Welsh cupboard

A Story of the Fireplace

        Jack and Evelyn and daddy were watching the dance which was taking place in the Fireplace. They saw the beautiful costumes the Fire Fairies wore and they saw them blaze and flame and then become quiet. ''They're eating their supper now,'' said daddy. ''The Fire Fairy cooks have finished everything and now they are all enjoying the goodies.''

       But soon the flames began to die down and only a few little flashes of light and fire were seen from time to time.

       ''Those flashes and flames,'' said daddy, ''are some of the Fire Fairies who are still wide awake enough to ask the Fire Witches questions. For the Fire Witches tell bedtime tales. Soon the Fairies will be sound, sound asleep. They love to be put to sleep by the Fire Witches.''

       The flames died down entirely and only a little smoldering went on in the Fireplace.

       ''The witches are saying good-night,'' said daddy. ''Then they too will go to bed. But the ashes that will be left - nice warm ashes - they will be the pleasant dreams that are left behind for the Fire Fairies.''

       The fire had gone out! Only some ashes could be seen, but in one corner a few red coals had appeared.

       ''What are they?'' asked the children.

       ''They're the King and Queen of the Fireplace and they've come to see that their people are all fast asleep. Then they will go to sleep, but they will first whisper a 'Thank you' to the Witches who tell the marvelous stories.'' And just as daddy said that, the children heard a faint, crackling noise, and then they knew that every creature of the Fireplace had gone to sleep in their warm ashes of pleasant dreams.

The Toy Shop

        "Why, here we are again," said the first toy to the second toy as they looked at each other on a counter in the shop, for they had met before in Santa's workshop.

       "Oh!" continued the first toy.  ' 'A child is coming to look at us! Oh, there are ever so many children coming into the shop, and there are grown-ups too, and their voices - oh, aren't their voices nice! They

sound so merry and so happy and as if they loved each other and the whole world.

        ''I'm being bought, I do believe,'' the first toy added.

       ''Oh, so am I,'' said the second toy. ''I'm going to be wrapped up.''

       ''We must be going to be presents from the mothers and daddies of the children as Santa will come to get most of these toys just before Christmas.''

       ''Good-by,'' said the second toy; ''merry Christmas''

       ''Merry Christmas,'' said the first toy. ''Oh see! How the children are standing outside that window looking at the tree with all our friends upon it!

       ''Wouldn't you think the window would break? See their faces right against the window pane.''

       And as Santa Claus heard the reports of the pleasure of the children over this year's toys, he smiled to himself and said:

       ''That is all I want as a reward for my work!''

• Visit Santa's Workshop to find patterns for toys...

Make a Frosty Ice Skate Paper Wreath

I colored my ice skates blue, green and red. But you may color them however you wish!

       To make this ice skate paper wreath you will need to gather the following supplies: a paper plate, ribbon for a hanger, silver, blue and white scrap wrapping papers, a print of the ice skates below, colored pencils, white school glue and a stapler.

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Remove the center of the paper plate using the tip of their scissors and cutting along the scored center circle. Discard the circle into a paper craft bin for other use.
2. Punch a hole into the top of the wreath.
3. String a blue or grey ribbon through and knot it for the hanger.
4. Use white school glue to attach multiple icy branches to the paper plate wreath. To make many branches quickly, stack four or five layers of wrapping paper on top of each other and cut simple branch shapes all at once. (see the photo below)
5. Download the ice skate clip art provided at the bottom of the blog post; print it out on your home computer and color the ice skates however you like.
6. Cut these out and paste them to the front of your wintery wreath. 
7. Hang your skate wreath in your classroom or home!
   

Left, the wreath with icy covered branches attached with glue. Right, the branches up close.

I used a metallic bronze pencil to color in the blades at the bottom of my skates.
Print and assemble Victorian looking ice skate ornaments at my Belsnickle Blog.

Ice Skates for personal or classroom use only.

Make a Christmas Card Window to Hang

        Young children can either hang this holiday card window on a Christmas tree or in their room or as a decoration anywhere in their home to remember their loved ones. 

A charming and traditional way to recycle past memories and Christmas cards. The greeting card,
Christmas window craft has been around for 100 years!

       The supplies you will need for this craft include: recycled cardboard, Christmas greeting cards depicting outdoor scenes, glitter, white school glue, cotton balls, a craft knife or scissors, wire for hanging and acrylic paint for the window panes.

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Collect and save old Christmas cards that illustrated charming scenes of outdoor views, people sledding, ice skating, or of a tiny neighborhood, like the example shown above. 
2. Measure your Christmas card so that you can make a window pane the same size.
3. Cut the window pane from scrap cardboard leaving square or diamond cut panes intact.
4. Cut a shallow set of side pieces approximately 1/2" wide to glue around the exterior of the window pane before attaching the card if you are looking at an outdoor scene with snow. In this shallow space will create a shallow space you may wish to glue cotton batting 'snow' and glitter to make the winter view more convincing.
5. Paint the window pane. Let dry.
6. Glue the recycled Christmas view to the backside of the window pane.
7. Shape wire and attach at the back or top of your window so that it may be hung.

More About Christmas Cards:

• The History of Christmas Cards
• Craft Miniature Snow Scene Baubles - using recycled Christmas cards too!
• Decoupage Retro Paper Mache Baubles - use left over Christmas paper and cards

DIY a Christmas Toy Soldier Candy Container

        To make this candy container you will need the following supplies: a recycled coffee creamer bottle, masking tape, permanent black marker, pom poms, two buttons, small amount of yellow or gold foam sheet, red braid, acrylic paints, Mod Podge, hot glue and hot glue gun.

This candy holder shaped and styled after a toy Christmas soldier should be filled to the brim with
a child's favorite candy on Christmas Day or on St. Nickolas Day. These coffee creamers have 
such dramatic lids that remind me of toy soldiers! These bottles are made from very thick plastic, 
perfect for recycling into a kid craft after they're contents are gone and the bottle is washed
 thoroughly, of course...

  

       Children love to anticipate what Santa will fill this container with! Alternatively, an older sibling may wish to make this craft, fill it with candy, wrap it up and gift it to a younger member of their family as a gift.

Step-by-Step Instructions: 

1. Wash out the interior of the bottle and cap thoroughly before using it to craft with.
2. Apply masking tap to the entire surface of the bottle, excluding the cap only.
3. Draw a toy soldier design on the bottle, use my own if you wish. Draw with a permanent marker once you have the end design determined.
4. Paint with bright, cheerful colored acrylic paints.
5. Hot glue one details like buttons, foam sheet ruffles, pom-poms and a matching red braid to hold on the toy soldiers tall, dramatic hat...
6. Mod Podge the painted surfaces.
7. Unscrew cap to insert your choice of candy, I prefer M&Ms. Replace cap which may be opened at the top to pour out small candies as desired.

More Toy Soldier Crafts:

• Marching orders for Christmas toy soldiers...

A "Hands On" Christmas Wreath Craft

Finished "hands-on" classic Christmas wreath craft.

      This is a three part craft project that is completed at the end of a week. The wreath is something students in first through third grade may accomplish and take home for Christmas break to hang in their own rooms.

       Teachers may cut the centers from paper plates, punch holes for ribbon loops and tie a hanger on prior to giving each younger student to craft. 

       As usual, little ones should get into the habit of signing their names to the backside of crafted items prior to making them, so that teachers won't forget the project belonging to each student.

Supply List:

• one paper plate per student
• green construction paper 
• painted green paper
• paste paints or finger paints (shades of green)
• white butcher paper for paste painting 
• plastic combs (Hair combs in pack from Dollar General will do.)
• red pom-poms
• yarn for hanging the wreath
• stapler for attaching the hanger
• white school glue
• scissors
• green glitter (optional)

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Day One: Students paint green paste papers using plastic combs and finger paint. Use generous amounts of pale and dark green paints to comb across white butcher paper and sprinkle in some green glitter too! Let the paper dry over night or for two days if needed.
2. Day Two: Students will trace around their hands on top of the paste paper and green construction paper using a pencil, green marker, or white crayon. Then they will cut out their hand tracings to use to cover the paper wreath. (above) 
3. Day Three: Students assemble their wreaths on the paper plates. Older students may cut out their own paper wreaths from the paper plates. Remove the center of the paper plate using the tip of their scissors and cutting along the scored center circle. Discard the circle into a paper craft bin for other use.
4. Punch a hole into the top of the wreath.
5. String a red ribbon through and knot it for the hanger.
6. Use white school glue to attach hand traced 'evergreens' to the paper wreath.
7. Glue on red pom-poms for berries.

More Fun Christmas Crafts for Students:

• Craft a Snowman from A Paint Stirring Stick
• Quick and Easy Christmas Bauble Craft!
• Little ones can print snowmen with their hands for Christmas

Patterns for Penguins

The versatile, playful penguin pattern!

       This cheerful construction paper penguin pattern comes in handy for educators who need to decorate a winter or Christmas themed bulletin board. Each penguin may be labeled with student names and stapled to a scenic view on a bulletin board.

       Penguins can also include numbers or letters and hung on a "wash line'' across the top of a boarder on the wall. 

       Or perhaps teachers would like to include simple math problems or fractions on the belly of each penguin, then laminate the critters for a thematic set to introduce young students to a game.

        Or, simply glue together the parts of the penguins in a step-by-step assignment to help teach little ones 'how' to follow instructions as these are read aloud. There are so many uses for paper patterns like this one within the context of a classroom.

       Penguins are a playful winter theme that may be used beyond December to decorate with. Keep them up through January and February to introduce new units of study in the natural sciences!

       If you want them to look more festive for the holidays, students could cut triangle shaped stocking hats and rectangle shaped scarves from printed papers and tape these on top of their paper pets!

More Winter Weather Fun:

• Coloring collection at Crayon Palace Blog here
• Assemble a mini book, read a story, make a paper chain all about penguins...

Template/Patterns for construction paper penguins by kathy grimm.