Toddler Craft ideas needed for Santa Party

[HGraceMom]

We're hosting a Santa Party for eleven 2-4 year olds next week - I've got almost everything figured out, but am coming up short with a craft idea.

The party will run from 10-12 with this schedule:

10 - 10:15 arrive, snacks (carrots, cheese cubes, goldfish)
10:15 - 10:45 craft time
10:45 - 11:30 (or so) Santa arrives - caroling, photos, etc.
11:30 - 12:00 pack up and go home

I have cute gifts set for everyone - a cellophane bag with a candy cane, cookie cutter, custom CD of Christmas music and Santa Pencil tied up with ribbon, small Christmas ornament and gift tag.

I thought about decorating sugar cookies - the supplies would run around $10 plus the cookies, but wondered if anyone here has any better suggestions - I'm open to glue sticks, cotton balls, crayons, even glitter, if need be - Santa, Christmas or Snowman theme would best...

TIA!

[trumansmom]

What about buying some foam sheets (is that what they are called?) and foam sticker and cutting out and decorating Christmas ornaments? Or you could pre-cut felt and paste it to cardboard and that.

The foam stickers have been a HUGE hit with DS and friends. We make door hangers on a regular basis! (Because they are cheap!)

Jeanne
Mom to Truman 11/29/01 and Eleanor 4/14/04

[blnony]

At preschool, DD's class made "Christmas Wreaths"
Take a paper plate, cut out the middle. Let them paint it using washable paints, and/or glue on cotton balls, or the little poms poms you find at a craft store for more color, have adults make bows that they can glue on (cut out of construction paper or card stock or the inside of the plate, painted.) or the older kids can have plates that have slits in them and they can thread ribbon through, then make a bow. they can even use crayons to color them or draw things on them. If you want to get fancy, you can use glitter.
They are really cute and fit perfectly on the fridge to show off. :)

[MelissaTC]

I second the foam cut-outs. Our MOMS Club did that with the door hangers. DS LOVED it. They wound up being the self-adhesive kind so it was PERFECT - no glue mess! He was able to arrange them on the door hanger according to his vision (hee hee) and talked about it for the rest of the day.

[hjdong]

I third the foam idea. We did foam Christmas ornaments (a wreath and a snowman) with circles to put a picture in. To my amazement, DS loved it, they're easy, and look really cute.

[ellies mom]

The Starbucks in our area had a Christmas party for regulars. They had little crafts for the kids. One was gluing cotton balls on to a piece of paper cut in the shape of Santa's beard. The kids seemed to enjoy it. I really like the ornament idea suggested by the PPs. I may be a scrouge, but I'd skip the glitter. That stuff spreads like wildfire. The party sounds like a wonderful idea. I'll have to remember to do one when DD and her "friends" get a bit older.

[calebsmama03]

Umm - can I come to your party?!? It sounds terriffic!!

Let's see - craft ideas..
Reindeer ornaments - This would need more adult intervention, I think, for the little ones, but I did this in kindergarten. In addition to what they show, I dip the "feet" in brown paint to simulate hooves http://www.kidsdomain.com/craft/reindeer.html

Cinnamon dough ornaments

pipecleaner wreathes or candy canes

Actually, here's a list with tons of holiday crafts for kids!
http://www.kidsdomain.com/craft/_xorn-other.html
I'm bookmarking it for future use!

Lynne
Mommy to Caleb 3/3/03
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Oh my!! #2 5/05

[Thatchermom]

DS made one of these last year at a preschooler Christmas party. We thought they were so cute we made a dozen more as gifts last year. This year's craft was a foam thingy they cut out hand shapes with to make wreaths, but I just wasn't as thrilled with it. I am thinking of tweaking last year's idea to make snowmen or reindeer instead. Everything was prepped ahead of time, pots painted white, faces on wooden beads, wings cut out. Parents threaded the ribbon through it all and kids did glitter glue painting and jewel placement. It has stayed on my kitchen windowsill all year.

They also did an edible craft that was a lot more likely to look like an alien, but the kids adored it. If you can't tell, there's an ice cream cone body, a nilla wafer head and pretzel wings that make this alien angel. All decorated and glued together with canned frosting. Just try telling a two year old angels don't have four eyes...

http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/18447.jpg


http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/18448.jpg

[suribear]

One year, for a playgroup party, I bought plain brown cardboard ornaments from Michaels. I found several in a birdhouse shape, so that's the one I got for the party. The kids decorated them with stickers and markers, which is easy enough at that age. I'm a big fan of sticker crafts for that age as they are less messy than other things :) You could even ask them to bring leftover pictures for the parents to help them cut up and stick to the ornaments.

We still have the ones that DD made and use them on our tree!

Kris

[August Mom]

DS loves foam stickers too. The other thing I was thinking was making Santa hats. You could either make them to wear or just to display, but you could glue cotton balls at the tip and around the portion closest to the head. The kids also could color on them or use glitter if you want something extra.

The party sounds so fun. What a good idea!

[HGraceMom]

Thanks everyone - I'm going to scope out Michael's during preschool Wednesday morning - hopefully they'll have lots of the foam sticker stuff - if not, it looks like cotton balls or cookie frosting will do the trick.

If anyone thinks of anything else, please chime in... thanks again! Renee