just for kids

december 2000

My husband's and my first Christmas tree was a decorator's delight: A perfectly shaped fresh tree, trimmed with delicate ethereal bulbs of the same color, garlands of silk flowers and ribbons in the same hue. Our second year we were away for the holiday season and I was pregnant with our first child so we didn't bother to decorate. For the remaining 35 years of our life together, decorating the home for the holidays was a family affair with our small sons painting wooden ornaments, making "shrinky dinks" plastic decorations, weaving pieces of construction paper into chains, and stringing popcorn into long ropes. I still have our son's first decorations made at school to proudly put on the tree. Now we're adding decorations made by and with our granddaughter to our revered collection. Just as posting their prized artwork and school papers on the refrigerator with kitchen magnets, filling your home with handmade decorations made by and with your children shows them explicitly that they are loved and their work is precious to you. Here's some decorating projects that we've found particularly fun in past years. You'll find most of your supplies at a crafts store. These are an excellent project for children wanting to learn how to stitch. Don't be concerned if their first attempt is rather crude-you'll treasure these ornaments even more when the child is a grownup. felt tree ornaments: patterns (below) tracing paper 9" X 12" (22.5 cm X 30 cm) felt squares: gold, apple green, Christmas green, lime green, Christmas red, and white (each sheet will make approximately 4 ornaments) dressmaker's chalk embroidery floss: green and red plastic size 26 embroidery needle For each ornament, transfer desired pattern to the felt using the tracing paper. Cut 2 for each ornament. With edges aligned, mark the stitching line with chalk. Using floss, stitch the 2 pieces together using a running stitch. Tie tiny bows where ends of floss meet. Using an 8" (20 cm) of floss, run the floss through the top of each ornament and tie the ends to make a loop for the hanger. If you're short on time, these apples and greenery also look lovely simply heaped into a large, beautiful wooden, glass, or pottery bowl, But the tree is well worth the extra time and effort and easy for school-age children to handle. apple tree: 10" (25 cm) Styrofoam cone wooden florist's picks red, green, and yellow fresh apples sprigs of fresh or artificial greenery, holly, and berries loops of different ribbons wired to florist's picks Push florist's picks into the bottom of apples and push into the Styrofoam cone, arranging the apples in a decorative color pattern. Fill the spaces between the apples with sprigs of greenery, holly, and berries and the loops of ribbons. Place on a large decorative round plate and decorate the bottom with additional greenery, holly, and berries. Even a small child can stick a clove into an apple or orange; it's getting them to continue until it's covered that's the hard part. You can completely cover the fruit with the cloves or leave some space between each clove. pomander balls: fresh apples fresh oranges fresh tangerines whole cloves ground cinnamon ground cloves ground nutmeg orris root (found at herb shops and some garden and craft stores) dried lavender (optional) Stud apples, oranges, and tangerines with whole cloves, covering the fruit. Roll in a mixture of equal amounts of ground cinnamon, ground cloves, ground nutmeg, and orris root. Leave in the open to dry. Heap the dried pomanders in a pretty bowl-traditionally on a bed of dried lavender to fill the room with a pungent fragrance. My granddaughter loves to string beads-these were particularly fun for her to make during her Thanksgiving visit to hang on her Christmas tree back home. Only 5 years old, she needed some help using the pliers, but she tried and finally did the last 2 or 3 by herself. wire & beads tree ornaments: wire clippers and pliers 24- or 32-gage steel wire (determine the size by the size of the hole in the beads wooden or glass beads in assorted colors, shapes, and colors ribbon for hanger Cut a piece of wire to desired length plus 8" (20 cm). Cut a second piece of wire, 1/2" (1.25 cm) shorter. Thread beads in an attractive pattern of color and size onto the longer wire, leaving 4" (10 cm) free at both ends. Bend wire into a ball, bell, or star shape. Twist ends together. Thread the second piece of wire in the same manner, bend, and twist ends together. Place smaller shape sideways into the larger shape. Twist wire end of both shapes together. Slide a large bead onto the twisted wires and using the pliers, shape the twisted wires into a loop, pushing wire ends into the large bead hole forming a ring. Thread a piece of ribbon through wire ring. Knot to form a hanger. The wonderful thing about collage as that there are really no rules. What fun to give new life to lacquered gift bags from department stores and unadorned gift boxes. No further gift wrapping needed! recycled gift bags and gift boxes: department store shopping bags and gift boxes for Christmas gifts: last year's Christmas cards, Christmas stickers, leftover pieces of last year's Christmas wrapping paper, ribbon, wired ribbon, and clumps of artificial holly or berries for Hanukkah gifts: stars and dreidels cut from blue and white foil or craft paper, the colors of the Israeli flag glue stick or liquid glue Cut illustrations from cards and wrapping paper to glue over the store names on shopping bags or gift boxes. Add stickers and ribbon bows to create a beautiful collage. Make coordinating gift tags for each bag and box from the same materials. To finish the gift bags, tie big bows of wired ribbon on the handles and stuff the bags with colorful tissue. To finish the gift boxes, attach holly and/or berry sprigs to the box. We love paper-mâché because it's so easy to do even if you're not artistically talented, and it's cheap. We first saw this bowl at the home of one of our Jewish friends, using the Star of David pattern. Since then we've made one of our own. using the pattern of the Christmas Star. A word of caution, between holidays store in a bowl in a heavy, well-sealed plastic bag-we didn't the first time we made it and a mouse got into the garage and was attracted to the wallpaper paste, destroying the bowl. Star-of-David or Christmas Star paper-mâché holiday bowl: glass or metal bowl for mold petroleum jelly plastic wrap large disposable container for mixing adhesive powdered vinyl wallpaper adhesive brown paper grocery bags, cut or torn into strips 1" (2.5 cm) wide and 7" (17.5 cm) long golden-yellow construction paper, cut into strips 1" (2.5 cm) wide and 7" (17.5 cm) long royal blue construction paper spray varnish Coat the bowl used for a mold with a thin layer of petroleum jelly. Press a single layer of plastic wrap into the bowl, completely covering the inside of the bowl and extending over the sides by at least 2 inches (5 cm). Smooth out wrinkles in the plastic wrap as much as possible. Following the manufacturer's directions for the wallpaper adhesive, mix adhesive with water to make about 1 cup of paste (depending on size of the mold). If making more than 1 bowl, double or triple amount as needed. Let mixture set for 5 to 10 minutes to allow it to develop a paste consistency (it will appear very thin at first). Dip 1 brown paper strip in adhesive, removing the excess adhesive from the strip with your fingers. Smoothly lay the strip into bottom of the mold bowl. Continue laying dipped strips in 1 direction to cover the inside of the mold bowl with 1 layer of strips. If you desire a lip on the bowl, extend the strips 1" beyond the edge of the bowl. If no lip is desired, end the strips at the edge of the mold bowl. Lay a 2nd layer of paste-saturated strips at right angles to the 1st layer. If making a lip, mold the lip with your fingers, if necessary, supporting the lip with crumpled aluminum foil. Let bowl dry for 30 minutes. Continue adding layers, each layer perpendicular to the last layer, for a total of 6 or 7 layers. Let bowl dry completely overnight, then using plastic wrap lift the bowl out of the mold. Discard the plastic wrap. Continue to dry the bowl for another couple of hours. Mix a second batch of paste and saturate the golden-yellow construction paper strips and apply in the same manner, completely covering the inside and the outside of the bowl. To make a smooth edge, extend the strips over the lip and press them onto the back. Cut out royal blue stars in different sizes in the shape of the Star of David or the Christmas Star. Using the adhesive, apply the stars to the inside and outside of the bowl. Let dry for another 24 hours, then spray with 2 coats of varnish, letting the bowl dry For our last project, you must live where it's below freezing. That way, hung outside, the ornament will last 2 or 3 days. Even then, the sun and wind will eventually wear it away. We first saw this wreath hanging from a tree alongside the driveway to Martha Stewart's Connecticut home. A long-time friend and colleague, Martha had invited me to join her on a photo-shoot for her popular magazine. True to Martha's style, her farm was decorated to the "nines" for the holiday season. After the shoot, I went home and made my own ice wreath from greens and berries that grew on my property and hung it with a long loop of wide outdoor red ribbon on the outside of my kitchen window. It is a "good thing"-- thank you, Martha. ice wreath: large ring mold such as a Savarin tin winter greens such as evergreen, juniper, hemlock; and small branches of berries such as winterberry, pepperberry, pyracantha, or holly Place greenery and berries in a mold, allowing them to protrude beyond the edges of the mold. Fill mold with a thin layer of water. Place in the freezer until firm. Fill the mold with water and freeze again until firm. Carefully unmold the wreath. Hang the wreath outdoors outside a window or from a prominent tree that everyone will see, by a double loop of twine or a loop of 3-inch- (7.5 cm-) wide outdoor ribbon.