As you can see, we’ve been extra crafty lately! It may be all the freezing cold weather followed immediately by torrential rain that we’ve had the last couple of weeks. But, its also the holidays and that means that we need to decorate and give homemade presents! Here is our latest creation. I didn’t make it up, but I also can’t remember where I saw it at, so I can’t give credit to anyone for it. Oh well. Without further ado, Santa handprints!
1) Paint toddler hands (palm in red and fingers in white).
2) Stamp toddler hands down onto piece of paper (or even better, foam so that they will last longer, but we only had magenta left and that would not have looked good, so white paper it was).
3) Glue on googly eyes and cotton ball for hat.
4) Cut out and hang on the tree!
I think that everyone who is getting one of these ornaments and reads my blog has already gotten theirs, so if you got a package in the mail from us and you haven’t opened your presents yet, this is your official SPOILER ALERT!! This is a very easy, but also very pretty and fun craft for a toddler to make that may actually look good on a family member’s tree. All you need is some clear glass ball ornaments (ours were 50% off at Michael’s when I went in on the spur of the moment to get them!), some paint (we just used our good old tempera paint), and some ribbon to hang them with. We made twelve which was maybe about four too many as Clara was at the end of her patience when we finished. Six would have been the perfect amount for her attention span.
This is how easy this really is:
1) Take the top off the ball.
2) Squirt some paint into the hole.
3) Swirl it by shaking or by putting a paintbrush into the hole (hint: shaking can get a little messy).
4) Let dry.
5) Put the top back on.
6) Thread some ribbon through the circle on top.
7) Hang up and admire!
While trying to convince me to share some bread dough~
“Dough sleep good in my tummy!”
While getting a poop changed~
“I shared with my friends!”
“What are you sharing? Your poop?”
“Yes! On their hands!!”
“I see the moon! Its flying!!”
Upon eating a piece of Auntie’s yummy fudge:
“I love creamy chocolate!”
While waiting for her friend Sophia’s imminent arrival:
“I want my-fia!”
As we were watching Elf (the best Christmas movie e-ver), Buddy, the main character said, “Technically, I’m a human, raised by elves.” Clara replied, “I technically a princess.”
In a sudden fit of hugging and kissing her mommy, Clara shouted out, “Best friend Momma!”
As I was putting up our Christmas decorations this year, I realized that I had forgotten our all-important stockings at my in-law’s house! The horror! What would Santa put our presents in? I needed to remedy this situation and fast and with a two-year-old helper! So, I cut out some construction paper stockings, pulled out some wrapping paper, glue, and cotton balls, and we set to work. This was Clara’s first glue experience, and she actually did really well with it. I was impressed. And they turned out pretty good for stand-ins.
Delayed gratification is a hard concept for many (most?) adults. So, you can imagine how hard it is for a two-year old. Even waiting for Mommy to go to the bathroom is too much many days, let alone waiting for noodles to cook for lunch. Which is why I am now torturing myself with an Advent calendar. Really, Clara loves it. She gets a piece of chocolate and “words” which tell her what our holiday activity for the day will be. But if I have to hear, “I want candy!” more than ten times tomorrow… She just doesn’t understand why she should have to wait until tomorrow to have another piece. But, its good for her, I keep telling myself. She’ll learn how to yearn for something and not have it yet. I’m just not sure what I’m learning from the experience.
I made my advent calendar based on this one at Kid’s Craft Weekly. It was actually easier than it looks, but don’t be mistaken, Clara did not help me make it. She only helped to empty the candy out of the cups.
