- Dec 5, 2023

a Christmas craft day! a family tradition!

Tuesday, December 5, 2023

It’s D•E•C•E•M•B•E•R!

This time of year is filled with so many memory making moments

with its flurry of activities and gatherings!

We’re just doing our best to take it in, breathe and savor it all!

Yes, the Christmas season is the time of year

to gather with family and friends and it’s the perfect time to build new family traditions!

Today Laurie shares a long standing family tradition that has brought

two families closer together during the last 27 years….

It’s hard to believe that we’ve been carrying on this family tradition for so many years!

Then we look back at all the photos taken during these yearly gatherings

and we are reminded of how our tradition and our families have grown!

I’m excited to share this special tradition with you all!

When our children were little (ages 2 and 4)

we were invited by some good friends who had children the same ages

to go Christmas tree hunting and then

to make some simple ornaments for the trees.

We made these plans for the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

We went to breakfast at McDonald’s first then went to find our Christmas trees

before spending the afternoon painting those old wooden ornaments

while munching on snacks.

Our Littles were so excited to hang their ornaments on the family trees that year

so we decided that our families would repeat the activity the following year.

And, thus, our annual tradition began…

Christmas Craft Day!

That was 27 years ago!

Our two families just enjoyed our 26th year of crafting last week!

(We did not gather in 2020 due to Covid. 😞)

Since that first Christmas Craft Day,

we have gained 4 new spouses

(in our kids' wedding vows, they had to promise to honor Christmas Craft Day)

and our two oldest girls now have 1 and 2 of their own Littles

that have joined In the fun!

When Laura and Laurie were younger

and taught Sunday School and planned the yearly Advent celebration at church,

Laura would often hear Laurie talk about this fun tradition…

It sounded AMAZING and definitely one worth duplicating!!!

Read on as Laurie shares her suggestions for setting up your own

Christmas Craft Day!

Tip #1 - We chose a set day each year to be sure we always kept it free. The Saturday after Thanksgiving worked well. Kids were home from college and even as some of them moved out of state, they were generally home for Thanksgiving weekend!

Tip #2 - Set a routine! We always started our day going to McDonald’s for breakfast. Then we'd head to the Christmas tree farm to shop around and take photos.

By afternoon we were sitting around the table crafting and munching on our “snacky lunch”.

Later in the day, we’d order pizza for dinner and eat it while watching a family holiday movie on the VCR then on DVD and, in recent years, a streaming channel! Oh how times have changed!

While there would always be a mess to clean up from our day of fun, we just let it be and enjoyed our time together! The mess could easily be cleaned up the following day!

Tip #3 - We were flexible! We eventually stopped going to McDonald’s and we’d have a potluck brunch instead. And, as the kids grew and our friends switched to an artificial tree, we'd take in the year's newly released Christmas movie before heading home to get going on our crafts for the day!

Tip #4 - Our crafts grew with our kids! They started very simply and have increased with difficulty. It’s okay to use craft kits as well! Some of our best crafts came from Michael’s!

Tip #5 - As soon as the kids were old enough, the moms stopped planning the crafts and our kids took over! The texts will start flying in October as they start searching Pinterest for the year’s crafts to come!

Tip #6 - The whole family gathers - dads included! Sometimes they might do their own Christmas decorating or sneak off to watch some football but we all love having them there and no one would have it any other way!

Tip #7 - Every year we write the year and the names of the crafts completed on our annual crafting tablecloth… with samples of each included, of course!

Tip #8 - We take lots of pictures each year! We all love looking back at them and often relive past years!. The conversations and laughter usually start with “remember…..” And as a final tip... don’t forget to date your crafts every year!

To get you going, you’ll find two simple suggestions for Christmas Craft Day fun for three different age groups below! Plan as many activities as you think will hold your Littles’ attention and abilities. The other mom and I generally planned about 2 projects, for a total of four crafts each year. Now we have four Middles who each plan one. You can also judge the number of crafts based on the difficulty of each, too!.

Christmas Crafts for Young Littles!

(4 years old and under)

🎄Christmas Trees!

Dip pom poms in glue or use stickers to decorate a paper or fun foam tree!

🎄Wrapping Paper!

Use rubber stamps to stamp all over big sections of paper (or even use rolls of kraft paper). Use your decorated paper to wrap your gifts this year!

Christmas Crafts for Middle Littles!

(elementary age)

🎄Craft Kits!

This is a good age to check out craft kits. Littles this age enjoy figuring out step-by- step directions and, as an added bonus, most of the supplies needed are included in each kit!

🎄Sequin Ornaments!

Take a styrofoam ball and stick sequins all over it, holding them on with stick pins.

Christmas Crafts for Older Littles!

(Middle School +)

🎄Paper Folding!

Just search YouTube for “Christmas Origami”. There are lots of videos for all different ages, like the Christmas Star one we’re sharing below.. Many have step by step instructions, too! The only supply you’ll really need is colorful copy paper cut into squares

(NOTE: Construction paper is typically too heavy for successful paper folding.) Here’s a link if you’d like to purchase origami paper, cut to order!

🎄Yarn Trees!

Take a styrofoam cone and cover it with glue. Wrap the yarn around it… you may want to glue and wrap in sectionsthis - it will take patience! Then decorate with sequins, pom poms, gems, etc… and, of course, top it off with a star!

We hope these suggestions give you some ideas for getting started… and don’t forget that you can always check out Pinterest or simply google “Christmas craft ideas for (age level)” and you’ll have plenty of ideas to choose from!