simple kids - day 3

It's never too late to write a letter to Santa, especially if your behavior has been less than excellent as we approach Christmas.  It might be a good time to grovel.

Writing to Santa is today's simple idea for the kids to do today.

If you want it to take more time, make the older kids write (or sound out) what they want to say, while the younger kids can draw a picture.  Get out crayons, markers, stickers, or whatever else you think Santa might enjoy receiving from your kids.

Here is the template I made for my kids using Photoshop.  Feel free to download it, place it in a Word document, change your margins to 0", and then print.

simple kids - day 2

Today's idea for a project with the kids is a gingerbread house!

Now, the only way this is a simple, non-messy project is if you buy a kit.  Look for one with pre-made frosting, fun pieces, and ours even came with a base that had grooves to put the bottom of the house, the sleigh, and the reindeer in!

Don't forget to "accidentally" leave out a few candies for the smallest trouble-maker!

Oh, how I love those chubby hands!!

simple kids - day 1

Okay, so your first simple kids' Christmas idea is one of the basics, and you may have already done it, but you can never have too many, so make some paper snowflakes!

See what kind of fun shapes you can make!

With the younger troublemakers who needed more help, I let them tell me what shape they wanted, and on which side of the triangle they wanted it.

Hang them from the ceiling.  Hang them on your windows, the walls, the door, etc.  The possibilities are endless!

Happy Crafting!

simple kids' christmas

Are your kids out of school this week?

Mine are.

The. Whole. Week.

So, what am I supposed to do with my kids that will keep my house in tact, yet keep them busy enough not to make me crazy?  ("Santa wants our house to be clean," only works so many times.)

I'd like to introduce:

I hate dislike doing crafts with my kids.  I'm too much of a perfectionist.  I love the little art projects they bring home to me from school, but watching them make something while accidentally sticking their fingers in the glue, putting pieces on crooked, etc makes my skin crawl.

So, I'm putting that aside this week and working on simple crafts with my kids to keep them entertained for the next 5 days until Christmas. 

Each day I'll feature one so that maybe we can all enjoy (survive) this week together!