Archive for the ‘Fun Winter Activities’ Category

Snow-Themed Hands-on Activities

Friday, December 11th, 2020

snow-themed-hands-on-activities

I recently gave a workshop on snow-themed hands-on activities, explaining how to cook snowflake funnel cakes, how to make snowflakes that cling to glass, how to build a successful snow cave, and how to create snow scenes for a centerpiece for your dining room table.

Snow-Themed Hands-on Activities

Here is the workshop with snow-related fun this winter season:

The workshop began with a demonstration of how to make paper snowflakes. This is important in making snowflake funnel cakes because in the same way that you cut out snowflakes on paper, you can cut out snowflakes using flour tortillas.

Cut a piece of paper into a circle, and fold the circle at least twice. With scissors, cut out designs as illustrated in the video. Then unfold the paper to see your unique snowflake. You can glue glitter to your snowflakes or hang them from the ceiling.

Snowflake Funnel Cake

In the same way, grab a fajita tortilla and fold it twice. Using the kitchen shears, cut designs into the tortilla’s folds. Then open the tortilla.

snowflake-funnel-cake

Heat about an inch of oil in a pan, and deep fry the snowflake tortilla on both sides until golden brown. Remove the tortilla with tongs and place it on a plate with a paper towel on it. The paper towel will absorb some of the oil. Sprinkle powdered sugar over the tortilla snowflake. Enjoy eating your snowflake funnel cake!

How to Make Snowflakes that Cling to Glass

To make snowflakes that cling to glass, you will need dimensional fabric paint (or regular white school glue), wax paper, and a paper and pencil.

tracing-snowflake-glue

First, draw a snowflake on a piece of paper. If you prefer, you can find a design online, and print it out. Place wax paper on top of it, and tape it down. Have your child trace the design with the dimensional fabric paint (or white school glue). Make sure that there are no thin lines. All lines should be thick so that when you peel the cling snowflake off the wax paper the next day, it will stay together.

snowflakes-that-cling-to-glass

It works much better with the dimensional fabric paint, since it is thicker and more solid, but it can also work with the white school glue. Make sure to dry the snowflake overnight before trying to peel it off the wax paper. You can stick it to a window or a mirror.

How to Build a Snow Cave

snow-cave

To make a strong snow cave that will not collapse, start by building a mountain of snow. Have the kids climb on top of the hill of snow to compact it down. Then start digging an entrance to the cave. You can make several rooms depending on how big your mountain of snow is. It’s particularly fun to play in the snow cave at night with a flashlight. For more information on building a cave out of snow (and a video of the finished snow cave my kids built), go to: How to Build a Snow Cave.

Snow Scene Centerpiece

In the video I describe how to make a snow scene centerpiece. You get a glass container and dump rock salt in it. Grab some greenery and some winter decorations (or a nativity scene), and arrange it on the “snow” in your scene. Take a look at one of my creations: Snow Scene Centerpiece.

Bonus: How to Make a Snowflake Card with Yarn

I’ve added a bonus snowflake hands-on activity for you: snowflake cards. I did not discuss this craft in my workshop above, but I give a step-by-step tutorial here: Snowflake Card.

snowflake-card

You will need black card stock paper, white string or yarn, and a thumb tack. Draw a snowflake with pencil on the black paper, and use the thumb tack to punch holes along the lines. Then sew the snowflake onto the card. You can use a thick needle, or just push the string through by hand. It looks gorgeous as a Christmas card!

Unique Box of Holiday Treats

Thursday, December 6th, 2018

box-of-holiday-treats

My daughter sent a unique box of holiday treats to her aunt last Christmas because she wanted her aunt to feel special. We bought an inexpensive box that looked like a book, and we painted it. (It looks brown like a cardboard box before it is painted.) You can get a box like this at any craft supply store.

You can use tempera paint or acrylic paint, whatever you have on hand. First my daughter drew the design with pencil on the box. Then she painted it. She had to paint the back of the box on a different day so that the paint on the front would be dry.

Since it was Christmastime, she decided to draw a cute snowman standing in the snow. She used white for the snow and light blue for the sky, highlighting the words and accessories with red paint.

box-treat-craft

After the box was finished, we made some marble fudge (with white and dark chocolate swirled together) and decorated a gingerbread man. Lastly, we added a bag of candy, including chocolate gold coins, Hershey kisses, and mini chocolate bars.

Christmas-treats

When the package arrived at her aunt’s house, she was pleasantly surprised, and she most definitely felt loved!

Deluxe Gingerbread Houses

Monday, December 15th, 2014

deluxe-gingerbread-housesLook at these deluxe gingerbread houses! It’s incredible what people can build out of gingerbread, frosting, pretzels, and candy. Every year there is a gingerbread house competition at the Davenport Hotel in downtown Spokane, WA, and every year I’m impressed.

If you look at the first picture, there is a treehouse structure with a pretzel rope ladder. There must be some form of candy that looks like rocks, because it was used to build a lot of this scene. The sign says “Jellystone Park,” and Yogi Bear is included in the scene. A pretzel cabin and a camping area with tents rounds out the scene.

deluxe-gingerbread-houses-2This one is obviously about famous landmarks. They used mainly plain gingerbread, with frosting and candy embellishments. The sand at the bottom of the pyramids is undoubtedly crushed graham crackers.

gingerbread-houseThis is a nice gingerbread house. The roof is covered with mini-marshmallows, as well as the snowy ground. Chocolate garage doors, pretzel embellishments, and a shoelace licorice candy fence surrounds the scene.

gingerbread-waterfallThis waterfall scene is so extravagant that its ingredients are out of my league. I think fondant was used, and I hear it is difficult to work with. Nevertheless, it is a gorgeous scene!

gingerbread-snow-sceneOkay, this one is more manageable by real humans. The snowy scene incudes two dog sleds with dogs, a regular gingerbread house with pretzels for logs, and white frosting covering the ground and Oreo cookies for a hill in the background.

gingerbread-pickup-truckThis scene is fun. It has a pick-up truck driving up a ramp to the cabin. Even though there is snow on the ground, there is greenery around the house, probably shaped out of fondant. It looks like the basic structure of the pick-up truck is made out of graham crackers, covered by fondant.

gingerbread-carHere is another scene that is ridiculously complicated and impossible for mere humans like us to attempt. I’m sure the creator of this one is an expert with fondant because the car that is in the air is a masterpiece of perfection!

If you want some humorous tips on building gingerbread houses:

If you want to see how I failed at building a simple gingerbread house:

 

25 Christmas Gifts for Children to Make

Friday, November 28th, 2014

25-christmas-gifts-for-children-to-make

Here are 25 fun Christmas gifts for children to make. Twig frames, clocks, bottle cap magnets, and more! They look beautiful and can be custom-made for friends and family:

  1. Twig Frame: Hot glue twigs to a frame. Gorgeous and simple. Make sure to choose a picture to put into the frame.
  2. Clock: Make your own clock by getting the parts at a craft store. Stain or paint the wood, drill a hole for the clock parts to be mounted, and decorate.
  3. Bottle Cap Magnets: Cut circles of paper and decorate them with markers. Glue into bottle caps, and put magnet backing on them.
  4. Pottery: Get some self-hardening clay and a toy pottery wheel, and make some pottery.
  5. Basket: Purchase a basket-making kit and weave a basket.
  6. Decorated Candle: Glue tissue paper onto a jar with a candle inside.
  7. Box of Homemade Cards: Have children decorate homemade cards with card stock paper, cloth fragments, glue, and markers.
  8. Soap Shapes: Use a cookie cutter to make soap shapes.
  9. Shape Books: Create shape books for younger brothers and sisters with paper, a stapler, and construction paper.
  10. Dolls and Pillows: Cut out shapes of felt, stuff them, and sew them together. Add embellishments. (Here is another example)
  11. Pop Bottle Bird Feeder: Make this simple bird feeder with a pop bottle for the bird lovers in your family.
  12. Crazy Hat: Decorate a crazy hat for a younger sibling.
  13. Costume: Make a simple Bible costume, Egyptian costume, Greek costume, or Roman costume to give away as a gift to someone who enjoys theater.
  14. Embossed ornaments: Make some embossed ornaments with an embossing kit. Here are some tips for success in embossing.
  15. Roman Coins: Make Roman coins for someone who likes that time period.
  16. Clay Sculpture: Sculpt a shape out of clay that will delight the recipient. Sculpt a fish for a fisherman, an apple for a teacher, or a pie for a baker.
  17. Coat of Arms: This would be for older children to sew, or you can have younger children glue felt shapes onto a shield shape.
  18. Toy Trebuchet: Get a toy trebuchet kit and have your child put it together for a younger sibling.
  19. Framed Poem and Illustration: Write an original poem and illustrate it. Frame both the poem and the illustration. (These can be heartfelt and poignant or downright silly.)
  20. DVD of a Puppet Show: Have your child write and perform a puppet show, using the video camera on the computer. Burn the show onto a DVD and give it to a younger sibling or to Grandma.
  21. Cross Mosaic: Get an unfinished wooden cross from a craft store and glue tiles onto it. Great as a wall hanging.
  22. Canvas Bag: Decorate a plain canvas bag by sewing embellishments on it or making a design with fabric markers.
  23. Decorated Ornaments: Make faces on regular Christmas balls with any crafts supplies lying around your house. These look goofy!
  24. Box of Snowflake Cards: Make a box of snowflake cards by poking holes and sewing white yarn into black card stock paper.
  25. Framed Textured Art: Create textured art by gluing pieces of fabric together to form a pattern. Frame your masterpiece!