Christmas Fun

Here's an activity for your little ones that my little ones enjoyed. We created beaded garland for our little tree that was really cute! And it was a great fine motor activity! It would also be good for necklaces and bracelets! I got the idea from an Usborn book of Christmas crafts.

1. Cut scraps of Christmas wrapping paper (the ones I always save and are never enough for another present!) into strips as long as a drinking straw and approximately an inch and a half wide. Spread glue on the back of the paper and cover the straw with it, making sure the edges glue down well. (I did this part the night before and let them dry.) Do as many as you need to get the length you want. And, of course, the more colors the better. I liked the shiny paper a lot.

2. Now the kids can get in on the act. Get out their scissors and let them cut beads from the straws between 1/2 inch and 1 inch. This is fun because the beads fly all over the room and must be collected from all the corners when done!

3. Tape one end of a string (as a needle) and tie a pony bead to the other end to stop the beads from slipping off as you thread them on. If the straw slips out at this point, it's okay--the paper will still hold it's shape. We added a few shiny pony beads to the mix to break things up a bit. We tied another pony bead on the other end, but you could tie it into a necklace or bracelet.

Merry Christmas crafting season!