Homemade Christmas Decorations

Dollar Store Christmas Crafts

 

 On the weekend we took our granddaughters to the Neustadt Christmas Craft Sale. 

The girls walked around in awe of the beautiful crafts that were on display and about half way through the oldest Emily turned to me and said “I could make this” and she was right.

On the drive home we talked about what she and her sister would need to make homemade painted Christmas tree balls.

• One box of plain glass Christmas balls from the dollar store (15 balls $4.00)

• Acrylic paints – to help them learn cooperation and spending within limits they each could pick out two paint colours. (1 bottle of paint $1.50 x 4 = $6.00)

• Paint brushes – 6 brushes $1.50

• Total cost = $11.50 divided by 15 individual items = .77 cents per ball

1. Placed a thick layer of newspaper on the craft tabletop 
2. Use an egg cup to hold the ball while the child paints

3. Set up a system where the balls can be hung while they dry

Use a glass plate and dispense a quarter size dollop of each colour – to prevent fighting use a plate for each child.  This also allows children to mix their own colours without angering their sibling.

A cup of water

A paint smock or one of grandpa’s old shirts.

I allowed each girl to paint two balls and then we moved to another activity while the first balls dried.

Before they started to paint again I had the girls looked at each finished decoration and talked about what they liked and what they would like to change or do more of.

In this way we spent a very enjoyable Saturday.

Grandma Snyder