Decorating for Christmas family-friendly style.

Create a Christ-centered FUN Christmas and Advent with this book of crafts, songs, games, and meaningful focus. Complete with music CD … Crafts Games Christmas Spiritual Advent Kids Faith Family Wreath Prophecy Shepherds CD Music

Jenna shares the techniques and tips to make a door wreath from some old, weathered books. It’s easy, inexpensive and fun. You probably have everything you need to make this now and at home! From expert crafter Jenna DeAngeles. More info at www.JennaDeAngeles.com.

Christmas memories always include the time I put aside for my children to make Christmas decorations. We love to make wall decorations and have many keepsakes of past Christmases, some 25 years old!  Remembering the activities that we shared making the decorations makes the holidays more special as you lovingly place your decorations on the walls. In the last article, Christmas Keepsake Decorations – Part 1, you saw how to make a “Rudolph Handmade Deer”, using your child’s hand for antlers. A perfect companion keepsake to place beside it is a Picture Christmas Wreath, using your child’s picture as the centerpiece.

 

Materials needed:  white poster board, red felt, scissors (both regular and Z edged), glue, green tempera paint, red wooden beads, tape, a protractor or 2 different sized bowls, some newspaper, and a picture of your child. If you can get your child’s picture in front of a Christmas tree, then it will really be cute! Doing these kinds of Christmas activities can make a family feel closer and helps make wonderful Christmas memories.

 

The first thing that you should do is draw 2 circles on the white poster board. The largest should be about 7 or 8″. The smaller circle should be 3 & ½ to 4 & ½” and centered in the middle of the larger circle. Let your child help you by cutting out the shapes. Use craft zigzag scissors to cut the outside edge on the larger circle like small Zs. Cutting the inner circle might be hard for children and they may need you to start the cut.

 

Next, lay down newspapers and let your child paint the larger circle with green tempera paint. It will be cute to see the ‘evergreen’ look or their brush strokes when it dries. While the paint is drying, take the 3 & ½ ” square cut red felt and draw a bow on it. The bow should use most of the square. The bow looks like a butterfly and the ribbon will be like an upside down V, about1″ wide and 1″ long. You should practice a few times until you get the design you like, then copy to the red felt square, and cut it.

 

Once the paint dries, you’re ready to assemble the wreath.  Turn the painted side down and tape the picture over the hole in the middle. Turn it over and check to see if the picture is centered. If the placement is good, then turn it back over and glue the edges to the wreath. Cut a 5″ circle from the white poster board and glue it over the picture, on the back.

 

You are now ready to finish the Christmas wreath. Attach the red bow with glue to the bottom of the wreath. Glue 5 red wooden beads on the wreath, like holly berries. Your child’s masterpiece is complete and ready to display alone or with the Rudolph Handmade deer. We enjoy making wall decorations that add Christmas spirit, memories and color to our home. If you and your family enjoyed this activity, then you can always use the remaining supplies to make other wreaths, and give them as Christmas presents from the child or family. More keepsake memory decorations will be explained in Keepsake Christmas Decorations

Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year. People are surrounded by happiness, generosity, peace and kind feelings and everyone is thinking about how to make this holiday even more special. No Christmas is ever complete without the beautiful, sparkling decorations and naturally there is a huge rush for picking up the perfect Christmas ornaments.

A lot of people enjoy making handmade Christmas decorations. This is especially fun for kids because the decorations can be easily made from regular paper or any other type of material. By going online, one can find a lot of websites specialized in Christmas craft projects for kids. Also, there a lot of Christmas ornaments cutouts and guides at the local craft stores. The child can paint plain Christmas ornaments shaped in different forms such as a start or a cross. Also he can make his own drawings or paintings and table centerpieces. Regardless of which type of Christmas decorations you choose to make with your kid, the most important thing is to enjoy the whole experience and give into the holiday spirit.

Many holiday shoppers focus on buying the perfect Christmas ornaments. They enjoy purchasing beautiful, symmetrical fir shimmering with blinking lights, gleaming bells, stars, garlands and of course, toys. The fact that there are so many Christmas decorations to choose from (religious, traditional, addorned with gold or silver) only adds up more fun to preparing for the holidays.

Christmas decorations can be traced back to distant times in the 1500s, when a fir tree associated with the Virgin Mary was adorned with roses. Since then, Christmas decorations have undergone a lot of changes. In some corners of the world, Christmas trees were decorated with nuts, cookies, raisins and pretzels. Some of the most famous Christmas ornaments were made by germans and they were the famous glass pickle ornaments. Today, Christmas decorations are made from a wide variety of materials: glass, paper and especially plastic.

Nowadays, kids have a fun time decorating their tree with little snowmen, Santa Claus ornaments, crystal balls, small toys, candy canes and many other chic decorations. Some parents prefer ornaments with educational value so that kids can learn even while having fun.

Traditional holiday decorations center round the Christmas tree and there are a lot of ornament choices. People are especially attracted by the special pine fragrance and they prefer to start decorating for the holidays with the evergreen. Still, there are a lot of other places to decorate in or outside the house. The outside lightning in various shapes and colors are a wonderful idea of Christmas decorations. Some communities even participate in competitions for the best light displays.

One may even make centerpieces for the festive table by anchoring pieces of fir, holly or pine and then add accents to complement the design: berries, cones and even tree Christmas ornaments. A lot people enjoy decorating their doorway with a garland of pine roping and trimming it with complementary colors and shapes: bows or ribbons, dried fruits and whole spices.

Hanging a wreath on the front door can be a welcoming Christmas decoration for carolers. The wide variety of styles and types can suit anyone’s tastes and integrate easily in the seasonal décor. Even if one buys a standard wreath or garland, there are all kind of possibilities for decorating it in an personal style. The wreath can be personalized with natural or painted cones, berries and jazzy ribbons to contrast colors.

Give a festive touch to your home by decorating it with Christmas ornaments and gifts. You’ll find a variety of decoration items in the market, from fancy lights to musical decors and much more. But the best decor is the one that you create, after all the spirit of Christmas is all about being together, caring and sharing. So get together the entire family and discover great ideas for decorating both the interior and exterior of your home for Christmas.