Friday

Thrifty Thursday: Holiday Mama Part 2

A couple of weeks ago I shared our combination of fun and school for Christmas. We are using different Christmas children’s books and making crafts based on each book using the Book and Craft Advent ideas from Bella Dia. Today I’m sharing three more books and crafts.

Book #3

The Baker’s Dozen  by Aaron Shephard
Activity: Make cookie ornaments

This book tells a wonderful story about a baker who has a booming business until he gets a magical visitor and learns that generosity is the best way to succeed in life. The original activity for this book was to make Christmas cookies. Well, we do that every year so I wanted to try something different…cookie ornaments.

The recipe I used for our dough is:

2 cups flour
½ cup salt
¾ cup water

You will also need Christmas cookie cutters, acrylic craft paint, and something to use as a clear protective coating such as thin shellac or clear nail polish.

Combine the flour and salt. Add the water gradually until the mixture has the texture of putty. Knead the dough for about five minutes. Roll the dough out on a floured surface to ¼ inch thickness. Cut with cookie cutters. Skewer a hole in the top of each ornament so you can hang it. Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 30 minutes at 325 degrees.


After the ornaments have cooled off, use a nail file or fine sandpaper to smooth any rough edges. Paint the ornaments, front, back and sides (this takes a couple of days so the coats can dry and you can add details). 


When the paint is dry, coat with a clear protective coating.


Book #4

Petunia’s Christmas by Roger Duvoisin
Activity: Pipe Cleaner Wreaths

Your kids will love this book and activity! I promise. Petunia saves her true love from becoming the Christmas goose by making wreaths and other ornaments to sell in town.
The instructions for this craft can be found at Bella Dia here, but it’s pretty simple. Cut out a wreath template from cardboard (a cereal box works fine), wrap the pipe cleaners around the wreath until it is covered. Add embellishments like ribbon, bows, tiny flowers, etc.


Of course my girls wanted the sparkly pipe cleaners!

Book #5

The Christmas Hat by A.J. Wood
Activity: Peppermint Stick Chocolate Covered Marshmallows

When a snowy owl is adopted by a family, they soon discover that he is easily lost in the winter. Mom comes up with a brilliant idea to make him a bright red hat for Christmas so they can keep track of him. After a close run in with a fox, the family realizes that maybe a red hat isn’t such a good idea.

Okay, the craft for this book is not the original craft because it’s not a craft at all. It’s food! We are looking at Christmas lights tonight and these little treats are for putting in our hot cocoa. They are super easy to make and wonderfully delicious on their own!


You will need:

Candy canes
Marshmallows
Semi-sweet chocolate chips for melting
Christmas sprinkles or crushed up peppermint

Melt the chocolate in your microwave. I added a drizzle of oil to mine so that it would be smooth. Break the crook end off of the candy cane so you just have a stick. Poke the candy cane stick into a marshmallow. Dip marshmallow into chocolate. Let excess drip off, and then roll in sprinkles or some crushed up peppermint. 


Serve alone or put in a cup of hot cocoa and let the marshmallow chocolate goodness melt into your cup!

Extra Craft:

As a bonus, I’m sharing this ornament that I made with Chipette and some friends a few years ago. Rudolph is made out of popsicle sticks, googly eyes, and a red pom-pom ball.


Paint the craft sticks brown, glue them in the shape of a triangle with some overhang for the antlers, glue on googly eyes and the red pom-pom. Loop some fun Christmas ribbon around the top craft stick and hang on your tree. Even better if you read a book about Rudolph before you make it!


Ornaments are cheaper and the memories are priceless when you make them together as a family in the treehouse,

Chelli

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