2017 Home for the Holidays

2017 Home for the Holidays LINCOLN DAILY NEWS November 22, 2017 Page 21 you help them make a special key with the message, “Dear Santa, We don’t have a chimney in our house. Please use this special key instead! Lots of love (Suzie Q).” Just trace out a key, write the message on it, and let kids decorate with stickers and glitter or whatever they choose. Outdoor decorations can be easy to make and even ones that look decidedly non-professional still take center stage on Grandpa’s front porch. n Have children decorate white paper bags and put in battery operated tea lights to make luminarias that can line a walkway. n Take plastic candy canes and glue them together to make several heart shapes that form a wreath. To add more decorative touches, use small beads and ribbon. n Outdoor snowmen can be made even without snow. Just staple plastic cups together side by side facing outward in a circle until you have a half sphere, then make another half sphere the same way, stapling the spheres together for the body. For the head, just make smaller spheres and staple them together. The nose can be made from an orange piece of cardboard and the eyes from two black circles. A scarf and hat make good finishing touches. Personalized Christmas cards Personalize Christmas greetings by having children make Christmas cards to send out to friends and family. n Using green and red tempura paint, kids press their fingerprints to create Christmas trees or wreaths on the cards. Add a picture of the family as a tree topper. These personalized cards might even become keepsakes. n Trace kid’s hands on green construction paper to make a tree and let them decorate it however they want. n Cards can also be made using green construction paper to make a tree that can be glued on to cardstock. Children can decorate with shapes, stickers, glitter, beads, or whatever embellishments they want to use. Cards can also become part of the holiday décor n To display cards, just take twigs and arrange them in a pitcher or vase, then tie or clip the cards to the twigs. n Take old Christmas cards that were too pretty to throw away - kids can help mount the cards on mat board to make a decorative picture. Making gift wrap Save money on gift wrap by making it. n Stamped gift wrap can be made using holiday stamp pads and white butcher paper CONTINUED ===