Category: Crafts

Light Up Snowman Indoor

An Indoor Snowman or Snowwoman

It may seem odd to have an indoor snowman (or snowwoman) but if you can’t go out in the cold or you don’t have much snow in your area, an indoor snowman is a fun way to enjoy making your own snowman without any snow and without getting your hands cold!

Light up the Snowman

Lighting up a snowman indoors can be a fun and festive way to decorate your home during the winter season or for special occasions. Here’s a simple guide on how to create a light-up snowman indoors:

Materials you’ll need:

  • White styrofoam balls in various sizes (or any other material for creating the snowman’s body)
  • Black felt or construction paper (for the snowman’s eyes, mouth, and buttons)
  • Orange felt or construction paper (for the snowman’s nose)
  • Small twigs or pipe cleaners (for the snowman’s arms)
  • Scarf, hat, and any other accessories you’d like to add
  • Clear string lights or LED fairy lights

Step-by-step instructions:

  • Build the snowman’s body: Stack the white styrofoam balls on top of each other from largest to smallest, creating a snowman shape. You can use glue or toothpicks to secure the balls together.
  • Add facial features: Cut out eyes, a mouth, and buttons from the black felt or construction paper, and stick them onto the snowman’s head.
  • Create the nose: Cut a small triangle from the orange felt or construction paper and attach it to the snowman’s face to make the nose.
  • Add arms: Use small twigs or pipe cleaners and insert them into the middle ball of the snowman’s body to create arms.
  • Dress up the snowman: Put a scarf around the snowman’s neck and place a hat on its head. You can also add other accessories like mittens or a small broom for extra detail.
  • Prepare the lights: Wrap clear string lights or LED fairy lights around the snowman’s body, being careful not to cover the facial features or accessories. Make sure the lights are evenly distributed and secure them in place with tape or by tucking them into the snowman’s body.
  • Plug in and enjoy: Once you’re satisfied with the snowman’s appearance and the lights are securely in place, plug in the lights and watch your indoor snowman come to life with a warm and enchanting glow!

Safety Tips:

  • When using string lights or fairy lights, ensure they are in good working condition and do not have any exposed wires.
  • Avoid using candles or any open flames near the snowman or other flammable materials.
  • Keep the snowman away from curtains, fabrics, and other potentially hazardous areas.
  • Remember to have fun and get creative with your light-up snowman indoor decoration. It will surely add a charming touch to your home during the winter season or any festive occasion!

Other Light-up Christmas Decorations

There are numerous creative and delightful light-up Christmas decorations you can make to add a festive ambiance to your home during the holiday season. Here are some ideas:

Light-Up Christmas Wreath

Create a traditional Christmas wreath using artificial greenery, pine cones, and ornaments. Add battery-powered LED lights or string lights intertwined throughout the wreath for a warm and welcoming glow.

Mason Jar Luminaries

Decorate mason jars with holiday-themed stickers, snowflakes, or paint. Insert fairy lights or battery-operated tea lights inside the jars to create charming luminaries for your windowsills or tabletops.

Light-Up Christmas Tree Centerpiece

Craft a small tabletop Christmas tree using cardboard or craft foam. Add colorful ornaments, beads, and garlands, and wrap string lights around the tree to create a sparkling centerpiece.

Glowing Snowflake Window Clings

Cut snowflake shapes out of translucent vellum paper or plastic sheets. Stick them to your windows and add LED lights behind the snowflakes for a magical, snowy effect.

DIY Christmas Lanterns

Decorate glass or metal lanterns with holiday-themed stencils, ribbons, or paint. Place battery-operated pillar candles or LED string lights inside the lanterns for a cozy and safe illumination.

Light-Up Christmas Canvas Art

Create festive holiday scenes on canvases using acrylic paints. Embed LED lights or fairy lights within the artwork to make the elements of the painting come to life with a warm glow.

Twinkling Christmas Garland

Enhance a standard Christmas garland with battery-powered twinkle lights. Drape the garland along the staircase, fireplace mantel, or across a bookshelf for a magical touch.

Illuminated Christmas Village

Build a miniature Christmas village using cardboard, craft foam, or even recycled materials. Place battery-operated tea lights inside the buildings to bring the village to life with a cozy radiance.

Light-Up Christmas Stockings

Embellish your Christmas stockings with battery-powered LED lights or fairy lights. Hang them on the mantle, and they’ll add an extra twinkle to your holiday decor.

Light-Up Mason Jar Snow Globes

Create your own snow globes using mason jars, water, faux snow, and small holiday figurines. Add LED lights inside the jar to illuminate the scene and give it a magical feel.

Remember to prioritize safety when making light-up Christmas decorations. Always use battery-operated lights or LED lights to avoid any fire hazards, especially when using materials like paper or fabric. Enjoy the creative process, and have a merry and luminous Christmas!

 

50 Activities You Can Do For An Activity Advent Calendar

Activity Advent Calendar 2019

If you want to do activities with your children this Christmas in place of having a bought advent calendar, here are some ideas (actually, there are 55):

    1. Make your own Christmas calendar. Find 24 small containers, decorate them and put them together in a formation that pleases you, using glue or sticky tape. The simplest shape for an advent calendar would be a rectangle, of 6 boxes long by 4 boxes high or 8 boxes by 3. Add small knobs or buttons for handles.https://www.merrychristmascountdown.com/
    2. If you don’t want a regular shape, create several small “presents”, number them and use them to create Santa’s sleigh.
    3. Another kind of wooden advent calendar would be to use those little trucks you get in toy train sets and number those from 1 to 24 with labels.https://www.merrychristmascountdown.com/
    4. If your containers are all the same size and rectangular shape, you could paint them green and build them into the shape of a Christmas tree, for instance. A Christmas tree shape can be made by placing 3 rectangular containers side by side as the base, then adding a layer of 6 boxes on top of that, then a layer of 5 boxes on top of that, then 4, then 3 then 2, making a triangular shape, then topping the tree with the final box, making 24 boxes in all.
    5. You could be adventurous and try creating a 3D wooden advent calendar, with 24 separate boxes. Create the bottom layer as a  rectangle of 3 boxes wide by one box deep. That uses 8 boxes. Add two more identical layers on top of that to make a house shape using all 24 boxes. Now create and decorate a roof from cardboard or wooden popsicle sticks to fit over it.
    6. Alternatively, make and color Christmas shapes like stockings, stars, trees and hearts and hang them on a line with small pegs. Add a code on the back of each one and hide the coded “gifts” or activities somewhere. Or you could make bags or shapes from material and hang those on the line.
    7. Another possibility for a Christmas advent calendar is to make one using a large sheet of card, then sticking cutouts from old Christmas cards on the front as flaps to open. Again,you can write a code inside if you don’t want little fingers opening the doors ahead of time to see what is coming up. https://www.merrychristmascountdown.com/
    8. Whichever kind of advent calendar you make, number the boxes or shapes from 1 to 24 and put an activity in each container in random order (except for those that MUST occur on a particular day, such as a visit to the pantomime). Activities you could put in the box could be:
    9. Add a new Christmas decoration for hanging on the tree.
    10. A packet of pot pourri flowers or smell and some pine cones or wooden balls or shavings for making your own bowl of pot pourri.
    11. Pantomime tickets – even if you were going to go anyway, it makes it seem even more special to have the tickets appear from the advent calendar.
    12. Write or create Christmas cards for local friends or relations. (Don’t leave that one too late for cards that need to be posted.)
    13. Visit a theme park.
    14. Go to your local leisure centre and go swimming or try an activity you don’t do normally.
    15. Pick the Christmas tree.
    16. Make decorations for the Christmas tree.
    17. Decorate the Christmas tree.
    18. Visit someone who lives alone or in an old people’s home (check first that it is OK).
    19. Consider inviting a lonely neighbor or friend to join you for Christmas Dinner and create an invitation card for them.
    20. Make a small basket of goodies and leave them at a neighbor’s door with an anonymous message of goodwill.
    21. Make Christmas biscuits or mince pies and decorate them.
    22. Make a present for someone.
    23. Draw up your list for Santa.
    24. Declutter an old toy or book ready for new toys coming at Christmas.
    25. Pick out a good toy or book you could donate to a local charity.
    26. Visit the charity shop to donate.
    27. Visit Santa or Santa’s grotto.
    28. Go and see the Christmas lights being turned on, or take an evening walk to view the Christmas lights in the dark.
    29. Go out and collect pine cones for a display.
    30. Paint or decorate the pine cones with gold or silver paint. Stick them on sticks and put them in a vase as a display.
    31. Use a Christmas oil on the pine cones to make it smell Christmassy.
    32. Join a Christmas carol service or put on some Christmassy (or favorite) music and dance around the house.
    33. Buy a toy with small pieces (not for toddlers under 3 years of age) such as Lego or Playmobile and put different pieces in different advent boxes, so it builds up into a set over a few days.
    34. The twelve crafts of Christmas. Make something Christmassy on each of these days.
    35. The twelve kindnesses of Christmas. Visit someone on each day and take one of the Christmas crafts to give to them. It could be an elderly or disabled neighbor, a relative, someone in a senior citizens home, etc
    36. Look for a charity craft fair in your area and pay a visit. Make a donation even if you don’t buy anything.
    37. Write a letter to Santa and find the address to send it to, to receive a reply.
    38. Make it a “Giving” advent. Each day of advent, add a tin or packet of food to a box to hand into your local foodbank for a family that won’t have much at Christmas. Make sure you hand it in early enough for distribution in time for Christmas.
    39. Create or buy a present for a child who won’t have much this Christmas. Find a local charity that distributes these kinds of gifts.
    40. Visit your nearest library to choose Christmas books.
    41. Make salt dough and create Christmas shapes for hanging on the tree.
    42. See if a local park or facility is creating a Christmas wonderland or adventure for walking through or visiting.
    43. Get together a family date night pack with hot chocolate, popcorn and snuggly blankets and watch a Christmas film.
    44. Visit a Christmas market.
    45. Go for an evening walk around your neighborhood and count how many Christmas trees are lit and on display.
    46. Plan a Christmas Eve Box and make that item 24 on your calendar.
    47. Make reindeer food.
    48. Bake Christmas Pies for Santa
    49. Track Santa’s sleigh with Norad and watch it get closer to your house.
    50. Add a Christmas coloring page and pencils or crayons to the Advent calendar.
    51. Rock Painting with a Christmas Theme. You can make a small pile of Christmas themed rocks at your doorway. Try using glow in the dark paint.
    52. Wear family Ugly Christmas Sweaters.
    53. Make a “Santa Stop Here” sign.
    54. Print out the “Night Before Christmas” poem and read it together.
    55. Get a new board game for Christmas and play it.

Twelve Crafts Of Christmas

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Find Christmas Crafts you can do with the kids here. We have searched out some of the best sites for Christmas crafts so you don’t have to.

Santa Hand Print Craft

Makes a unique Christmas card, or decoration. This uses card, glue, cotton wool balls, paint and felt. Of course, you can use other items if you don’t have some of these.www.merrychristmascountdown.com

Paper Plate Santa

Make Santa’s face with a paper plate, cotton wool, paint, glue and a pom pom.www.merrychristmascountdown.com

Christmas Wreath

This is a more advanced craft, using a wreath form, hot glue, various ornaments, greenery and wire (you will need snippers).

Bead And Paint Tree Card

Create a card with a tree and decorations. This uses seed beads and a needle and thread, so suitable only for older children or adults. You will need card, glue and paint also.

Bake Peppermint Topped Cupcakes

This uses your favorite cupcake mix. Use snowflake baking cups and make icing and top with peppermint crunch.

Snow Globe Cookie Jar

A craft for giving. Adds snowball cookies to a jar that you decorate with snow flakes or white dots. Add some plastic Christmas themed trinkets and tie the jar with a ribbon, for a great gift.

Sparkling Christmas Star

For older children or adults. Uses tooth picks stuck into a foam sphere then spray painted silver and a hanging string hot-glued on

Beaded Christmas Tree

Make your own Christmas tree for small spaces to hang on the wall, using beads, twine and dowel rod. For adults and older children.

Hanging Advent Calendar

Hang little boxes and shapes at different heights from a willow branch hung on your wall, for a cute wall decoration as well as an advent calendar.

Mud Cloth Ornaments

Little ornaments in black, written or painted on in white. Can be used as Christmas Tree Ornaments or gift labels.

Tinsel Star Wreath

Can’t get much easier than this. A star frame, a length of tinsel and some mini pegs to hang photos or make some ornaments or Christmas shapes to hang on it.

Surprise Christmas Ball Ornaments

Another advent calendar idea or easy to make presents to give away. All you need are fillable Christmas balls, crepe paper to wrap and some decorations to make cute faces. This post gives templates for those.