When my oldest son first started school, I delighted in the handmade ornaments and crafts he’d bring home. His preschool teachers did not disappoint, and the assorted Popsicle stick trees, reindeer and paper snowflakes became instant heirlooms. Unfortunately, they were often lost amid the larger ornaments and lights of our Christmas tree.
I found the perfect solution: our family Kids-mas tree (named by our daughter, who couldn’t pronounce “Christmas” as a toddler). It’s a fantastic way to cherish those fragile hand-made memories, and it provides a wonderful centerpiece for any room. Years later, this tree still beats out anything in a department store or catalog for the ability to make me catch my breath.
Here are some great kid-friendly decorations to use on your Kids-mas tree:
Felt ornaments – It’s soft, inexpensive, and holds up over the years. For younger children, cut basic shapes out of different colored felt pieces and let them make a masterpiece. Glue a loop of ribbon to the back to use as a hanger.
Beaded ornament hangers – Older children love to make these quick crafts! Buy some pretty ornamental beads and hang them on simple packaged metal ornament hangers. They make great gifts for teachers, too!
Button wreaths – Most craft or fabric stores sell bags of mismatched buttons. For this project, the more mismatched, the better! Run a 6-8″ wire through the buttons; for some variety, add a few small jingle bells to the pile and work them in. When you’re finished, bend it into a circular shape and fasten the ends together — you have a pretty button wreath! These make attractive decorations for presents, too.
Recycled card ornaments – Save old cards and cut out snowmen, Nativity scenes, pretty trees or animals. Glue a ribbon to the back and you’ve got a free (and eco-friendly) ornament!
Glass globes – Fill clear glass ornaments with artificial decorative “snow”, or decoupage them with white school glue mixed with water over torn pieces of tissue paper. I especially like using white tissue paper with glitter on it, which reflects light very well. These are super-fun to make and even young children love “painting” the glass balls with glue, with the help of a favorite grown-up.
Ribbon – We use ribbon as both a tree-topper and a garland. It’s a fantastic way to recycle the prettiest ribbons from our gifts each year! These can be reused and provide a quick camouflage for the parts of the tree not covered by decorations.
Photographs – Unfinished decorative ornaments with space for a photograph can be found at any craft store. Take a photo of your child painting and decorating the ornament, and then use that photo in the ornament itself. They’ll become annual favorites!
Whenever we have visitors over the holidays, the one thing that stops them in their tracks isn’t the smell of cookies baking or the decorations outside. It isn’t even the massive live tree in the living room, topped with its purple-robed angel. The most popular and beloved decoration in our home at Christmas is our Kids-mas tree… and it gets better every year.