The arrival of the holiday season is the perfect time to start making festive decorations. Doing holiday crafts is a great way to spend quality time together as a family, while fostering the development of your child’s fine motor skills. Alloprof has put together six fun and simple DIY projects that won’t break the bank and are perfectly suited to little hands.
The Christmas wreath is one of the most traditional Christmas decorations. It’s also known as an Advent wreath and is traditionally used to count down the days left until Christmas. It is said to have been created in Germany in the 19th century by the pastor of an orphanage. Every year, the children would eagerly ask when Christmas would arrive. According to the story, the pastor took a wreath and place four candles inside, one for each week of Advent. Every week, he would light a new candle, until all the candles were lit on Christmas day.
The steps for making a wreath are very simple to follow, and you can add any decorations if you want. For instructions, click here!
Today, even though fireplaces are a rarity, the charm of Christmas stockings lives on! Sewing Christmas stockings is a great way to help your child develop their fine motor skills, as it takes dexterity to thread a needle. Worried this activity is too complicated? Don’t panic! In this tutorial, the stocking halves are glued together with hot glue (have an adult or older child do this step), while the thread is used only to create a decorative seam.
Download the pattern with step-by-step images here!
Origami is not only an activity that helps develop your child’s fine motor skills, but also a great way to make connections between art and geometry. We recommend making these origami ornaments with scrap paper, old wrapping paper, construction paper, or old duo-tangs, for example, to make this activity more eco-friendly. Of course, they’re just as pretty when made with white printer paper! For a more personal touch, you can have your child decorate the paper before folding.
You can download the printable template for this activity here.
Making your own wrapping paper as a family is a great idea! It’s an original way to personalize gifts, choose more eco-friendly materials and let your little elf show off their artistic talents. It’s time to turn your craft room into Santa’s workshop!
Find a quick and easy guide here.
Nature is full of treasures you can admire on walks (in a park or forest) or while doing a treasure hunt. These family outings will allow you to collect all sorts of natural materials that have fallen to the ground, such as pinecones and evergreen branches. With your harvest and a few slices of dried orange, you can make a beautiful natural Christmas garland.
To inspire your creative spirit, here’s our suggestion.
Snow globes have a mesmerizing quality. They make great gifts, and making one from scratch is an opportunity for your child to practise following instructions. With recycled materials and a few evergreen branches, give free rein to your imagination to create a cozy winter scene.
Click here to see the full activity!