Preschool Christmas craft ideas

[Genise Bald]

I'm hoping some of you crafty, creative gals can help me out. I'm looking for some fun Christmas crafts that are for toddler and preschool aged children. I've done daycare for 9 years and my ideas are drying up, so I'd like some fun, new ideas. It seems like so many of the magazines just give ideas for the older children to do. Please share if you have any to offer!!!!!

Thanks bunches!

[camsmom]

Today on Carol Duvall they had the cutest snowmen that a teacher did with her preschool class. I thought they were adorable-here is the link:

http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/cr_occasion...393182,00

[justheather]

My 4 year old loves to make cards. For Christmas and Valentine's day we made them for all of the kids in her class.

I cut the cardstock down to 1/8th sheet (cut in half, then each of those in half, then in half one last time). My daughter folds, stamps, colors and signs her name.

[love6kids]

Hi Genise,
This year, I am having my little folks do 3 things for their parents:
1. Make-a mug, Michaels, $1. Fill with candy and put in a cello bag, for their dads
2. Post it note holders on acrylic 4x6 frames from Target, $1.32. They will decorate cardstock, then I will slip it into the frame and we will attach post it notes and a mini calendar that I ordered from skybluepink.com
3. Pocket calendars from dollar tree. Again, they will decorate cardstock that we will slip into the clear plastic cover.

Last year, they painted little clay flower pots, and planted a bulb, wrapped the whole thing in cello. VERY CUTE!
I also bought birch vine wreaths, the 6 or 7 inch ones, and we dried apples in the food dryer, with lots of help, they hot glued the apples to the wreath, and we tied red and green raffia with cinnamon sticks to the wreath. Again, very cute!
Oh...last year we also dressed them up as the nativity, took a picture, and made it into Christmas cards for their families. That was priceless!!

Good luck!
Alicia

[luvmyboys]

You can use popcycle sticks and glue them together like a star, then put glue all over the sticks and then let the children take glitter and sprinkle on them. Take a piece of ribbon loop it and glue it to the back of one of the sticks. You have a star ornament to hang on your tree. Find some pinecones (or buy, much cheaper if you can find them) put glue on the tips and have the chidlren sprinkle glitter on them attach ribbon and they have another Christmas ornament for the tree. Did this with preschoolers when I taught, they loved it.

[Genise Bald]

Thanks! These are all great ideas. Keep 'em coming ladies. I'm making a list of items that I need to buy this weekend so I'm open to any other great ideas that you have to offer.

[tc82742]

last year, my daughter then 3 painted bags for the grandparents. i bought canvas bags, taped off a big square on the front, and let her paint that square.. i put thick newspaper around the 'unpainted' parts, and cardboard inside for leakage.. then i bought those stencils from hobby lobby with the alphabet, and i stenciled the 'name' of the grandparent (mema, naunni, and grandma) into the artwork, cause her artwork was just a really pretty painted mess.. they all loved it.

[buttons2]

I know when I was in first grade we made a hand print for our parents. The teacher whipped up a batch of plaster of paris (still make that???), poured into a paper plate and when it was still soft but not runny, we placed our hand in it to make a good impression. We stuck a paper clip in the back before the stuff got too hard so there would be a way to hang it. Then when it was completely hardened, we tore off the paper plate and painted around the hand print. Fifty plus years later I still have mine.

Wanda

[1luckyfool]

We took the foam shaped snowmen and then cut out pictures of our kids faces ,then we glued the face of our kids to where the snowmans face would be. punched a hole in the top strung ribbon through the top and we had a christmas ornament for the parents. they turned out so cute. we did this with the 3 year olds.

Deb

[crabbymommyof2]

Last year my son's preschool teacher had them make an ornament. We used plain round bulbs and glued them onto the top of a flat bottomed ice cream cone. Then they squeezed glitter glue over the top. We put a ribbon through the top of the ornament to hang. They were very cute and looked just like ice cream cones with a sparkley topping!