Christmas Crafts

Do you have any particular craft idea for your Thanksgiving table, or maybe your Christmas tree or room decoration that you'd like to share?

I like making wreaths although I'm not too creative with what I do. I have made an M&M wreath (where they are in little bags with ribbons then penned to a styroform piece. And I've used Peppermint pieces before, and gumdrops. Now the gumdrop one was so heavy!

I've also crossstitched stockings as gifts, and years and years and years ago, I knitted two rather LONG stockings for the boys. One was a football shoe and the other a basketball shoe. They're really cute.

Anybody else?

I am going to make a wreath to put on my dining room table. I'll put a candle in the middle in a glass hurricane holder. I was in the craft store and saw these pretty ornaments that clip on. It looked so simple, I got into a crafty mood. The next thing I knew, I was buying all this "stuff." I bought some flat pieces of the wreath material, whatever it's called, to make a matching piece for the top of my china closet or coffee table. I might do that today or next weekend. This is for Christmas. I also bought lights to string around my dollhouse so it will be decorated for the holidays.

Louisa

Oh Louisa! I would love to see the dollhouse when you're done. Could you take a picture of it and share?

sure. It's nothing fancy, just a string of lights, but I thought if I am leaving it in the dining room, it should be decorated. This year, I'm turning it so the open part is against the wall. Too many little fingers in this house now Maybe I will put a small tree outside on the porch instead of inside. I like that idea. I'm going to do my little village too. Wait till Dick sees I've bought more Christmas stuff. I don't know where I'm going to put it.

Louisa

I'm not a very good crafter. My crafting attempts usually don't look like the pictures in the magazines, so I gave up years ago. My oldest daughter is very crafty and does all kinds of holiday treats.

Jane, doesn't she also hold Christmas Parties in her home for crafters?

Every year we have a "craft night" at my office. We order out for dinner and half of the gals bring crafts for all of us to do. The other half bring the dessert or snacky things. I am known as the most "craft impaired" of the group! Wish I could shock them all with an easy but beautiful craft. We do about 4 or 5 before the evening is over. Any ideas to help me look good would be welcome!!

Pam.
This is where I can be VERY helpful!
I can give you a couple of recipes for sugar & salt scrubs as they are easy and nice to make as gifts.
They don't take much time and you can get creative with the containers or not!
I also have some bath salts recipes.
It is fun to make and like I said, very easy and not much time unless you want it to.

The sugar scrubs are awsome!

Nancy

I make dolls to give away as Christmas presents. Then, there is also the Nativity creche which I annually set up in my living room. It's a Neopolitan presepio which is very much a little community on its own. I layout, build and paint the village, inns, stables, cave and fields. My son does the lighting for me. After I have positioned the village folks and animals, I plot the move of Mary and Joseph, the 3 Kings, Star, shepherds. They make their trek from all over the house towards the creche and are moved daily until they meet up on Christmas Eve. I leave the manger empty until I have come back from Christmas Eve Mass which is when the Baby Jesus is laid.

My grandchildren and I have made tree ornaments of gold-sprayed pasta (with their photo at the centre of each) in the past for the small tree. This year, we will make only one more for their newborn baby brother. These pasta decoration joins those that my children made when they were little. I also teach and help them make reindeers out of candy cane which hangs on the tree or can be set up as a bouquet. And if they behave, I might make baubles with them this time.

Lola what a lovely nativity scene. The idea of you moving the figures closer to the crib, and all through the house, is so awesome. That's wonderful that you are able to do arts and crafts with your grandchildren. What are baubles?

I would love to make more things, but we have several cartons filled with Christmas decorations, so I hope to create decorations with my daughter in law, since this is their first Christmas.

What are sugarscrubs?
Louisa

Bathbuddys/Nancy,
Would you share those recipes with us all? I would LOVE to have them!

Hi, Hannelore: Baubles are Christmas balls for the tree. They're easy to make with the little ones. I have bought styrofoam balls which we can pin or glue sequins and beads on them. Then glue pipe cleaners for arms and legs, felt for faces, hats and shoes. Yarn for hair. Quite fun to do with the grandchildren.