Christmas with Kids

Today, let’s take some time to check our progress. How are you doing with the first 50 days of preparation for Christmas? Do you know where you’re spending Christmas this year, or are you playing host/ess? Menu? Guests?
Have you scheduled a family portrait sitting and selected/ordered Christmas cards?
Are you handmaking gifts this year? Knitting projects? [...]

I love fabric gift bags! Simple ones are very easy to make, even for a beginning crafter. Check out this simple pattern and instructions here.
Anytime is a good time to start collecting fabric remnants and scraps, as well as sale fabric. You also want to stockpile sewing notions, trim, and other decorations (like beads, and [...]

November is a great time to take the family out to a weekend Fall Festival or Arts and Crafts Fair. You can find all sorts of homemade gifts and decorative items. If you’re at a really fancy festival, there might be kids’ activities, music performances, storytellers, fine art shows, and food stands.
Photo courtesy of Ann [...]

Fondant is a wonderful thing. A versatile confection used in everything from cake decorating to homemade candies, you can make fondant at home and experiment with using it for your special occasion sweets. I’ve made fondant mints that used peppermint extract and pressed them into candy molds. They were a big hit!
You can shape fondant [...]

I’ve been trying to find the perfect hat to knit to convince other people to knit for fun, and I think I’ve found it! Who can resist this baby hat? For the experienced knitter, this could be an afternoon project. In fact, most knitted hat projects can be made in a day or two. They [...]

Inexpensive projects to do with kids can also make great gifts! Here are some ideas:

An unfinished wood item (initial, birdhouse, stepstool, etc.) with set of acrylic paints and brushes
Knitting needles or crochet hook with yarn and a free scarf pattern or knitting instructions
Bracelet Beading supplies
Stamping set
Scrapbooking materials or creativity book
Crafting kits of all kinds from [...]

This is a novel but necessary concept for many people in this economic climate. Forced by circumstance (lay-off, bankruptcy, foreclosure, health problems, other catastrophes,) many Americans will be having a “Buy Nothing” Christmas, or at least a “Buy a WHOLE LOT LESS” Christmas this year.
Even if you aren’t under tremendous economic pressure, there are many [...]

These little boxes are incredible for gift cards and other small-sized gifts. If you are a scrapbooker, you’ve probably already got all the supplies you need on hand. You only need 4 double-sided sheets of 12″x12″ cardstock or heavy scrapbooking paper, various adhesives, embellishments, etc.  You will need ribbon for the finishing touch and some [...]

Since the next movie won’t be out this holiday season, how will we get our Harry Potter fix? Well, there are many things out there to tide us over until next summer. You could always play with your HP action figures, have a DVD-watching marathon, play the Scene-It games, but we’ve all done that already. [...]

A little calligraphy goes a long way to adding that special personal touch. During the holidays, I immediately think of using it on place cards for the holiday table, gift tags, and handmade Christmas Cards. For kids, a little calligraphy practice will improve their regular everyday handwriting!
Calligraphy doesn’t have to be perfect or follow any [...]