• Christmas - Crafts for adults - Elf on the Shelf - free printables

    {Free} Printable Elf Lunchbox Notes

    I couldn’t resist. Today I put the Christmas bedding on and bought some candy canes. I know the two aren’t related but it’s a sign that Christmas is coming! I quite enjoy when our Elf on the Shelf comes to visit and I have planned plenty of activities to keep him busy in the run up to Christmas. Our Christmas Elf always packs the children’s lunches in Christmas wrapping paper. This year I’ve gone one step further and made some  free printable Elf lunchbox notes to slip inside the children’s lunchboxes. Printable Elf Lunchbox Notes I thought I would share…

  • Christmas - Crafts for kids - free printables

    {Free printable} Santa’s Workshop Lego Challenge

    My children are full of the Christmas spirit. They have designed their own Christmas cards at school, been practicing for their Christmas assemblies and  keep changing their minds about what to put on their Christmas lists. It’s really exciting to see Christmas through their eyes. Both my children (and us adults!) love Lego. This year we added the Lego Gingerbread House to our collection, and soon it will be time to get our other Christmas Lego sets out. It’s just not Christmas without Lego! {Free printable} Santa’s Workshop Lego Challenge I have a free gift for all my readers today,…

  • Christmas - Crafts for kids

    Clay fingerprint Christmas tree decorations for kids to make

    Every year we try and make our own decoration to add to either our main Christmas tree or the smaller trees both children have in their bedrooms. We have made some fun keepsake Christmas decorations from air drying clay so thought we would add clay fingerprint Christmas tree decorations for kids to our collection. Supplies to make clay fingerprint Christmas tree decorations  Air drying clay Christmas tree cookie cutter Paint Black sharpie Bakers twine to hang How to make Clay fingerprint Christmas tree decorations We bought a large block of air drying clay so cut off a chunk large enough…

  • Christmas - Crafts for adults

    How to make a simple twig star decoration

    I don’t feel as though I have made as many Christmas decorations as I would have liked to this year. What with my new job, although I’m not sure I can call it ‘new’ for much longer, my crafting time is really limited. Today we had some much needed time at home though, and I was finally able to play with my new Ryobi Glue Gun. A few weeks ago we went for a lovely walk in Ruislip Woods. The weather was beautiful and I collected lots of long twigs for crafting. With Winter coming up I had a few…

  • Christmas - Crafts for adults

    Chocolate Christmas tree pretzels recipe

    December seems to be whizzing by just as quickly as November did. The children are so excited which is lovely to see. They love the excitement of seeing what’s inside their Advent calendars every day. We have some bigger Christmas treats lined up this weekend and I really hope we will get to make a start on building our annual gingerbread house too. I love making Christmas treats and my Chocolate Christmas tree pretzels are always a big hit. They are simple to make so I thought I would share them in case you are in need of a quick chocolate…

  • Christmas - Crafts for kids

    Nativity lacing paper plate craft for kids

    We don’t start celebrating Christmas until the 1st of December but I couldn’t resist sharing our Nativity Lacing Paper Plate craft with you. December seems to whizz by but I’m looking forward to sharing some of our favourite Christmas crafts with you over the coming weeks. Supplies to make our Nativity Lacing Paper Plate craft Paper plate scissors hole punch wool in yellow and brown glue stick marker brown, yellow and light blue crayons printed PDF template Nativity Lacing Paper Plate craft instructions First colour and cut out the template. Draw a cute face on Baby Jesus! Next, cut the inner…

  • Christmas - Crafts for kids

    6 Ideas for Festive Children’s Art and Crafts

    With Christmas only a few short weeks away, there’s no better way to get into the festive spirit than with some seasonal art and craft activities for children to enjoy. All you need are some educational resources and a big imagination to get stuck in with these 6 ideas for festive craft activities. 6 Ideas for Festive Children’s Art and Crafts Salt Dough Christmas Ornaments Salt dough is a versatile modelling material, and this easy to make dough is perfect for a suitably festive activity like making Christmas tree ornaments. All you need is some salt dough, cookie cutters, some paint, and your imagination.…

  • baking - Christmas - Crafts for adults - Handmade gifts

    Peppermint Oreo Bark recipe

    I always have a few easy handmade gift ideas up my sleeves at this time of year. Our diary is filling up with dates to catch up with friends and family in the run up to Christmas. I have to take something with us (as well as a bottle of mulled wine!) and our Peppermint Oreo Bark recipe always goes down a treat. It only requires 3 ingredients and is quick and simple to make. Ingredients: 24 oz. white chocolate chips 10 oreos, roughly chopped ½ cup peppermints, crushed How to make Peppermint Oreo Bark Line a baking sheet with parchment…

  • Christmas - Crafts for kids - gingerbread - Handmade gifts - Painted rocks

    Gingerbread house painted rocks

    We love making and hiding painted rocks around the town where we live. It’s something we’ve done for a while and really enjoy. We didn’t find any painted rocks on our most recent rock hunting trip so we knew it was time to decorate some for others to find. With Christmas coming up we thought we would try decorating some seasonal gingerbread house painted rocks. Equipment to decorate your own painted rocks Bag of smooth pebbles or rocks (we like these – Amazon affiliate link) 8 pack of Uni Posca paint pens with Ultra fine 1mm nib (we like these…