Holidays bring a lot of hustle and bustle, but they should also bring a lot of opportunities for parents to establish fun holiday traditions with their children. One of the best ways to do this is to set aside time each week from Thanksgiving to Christmas to do at least one holiday craft. This is something that’s especially fun for young children.  Below are a few holiday crafts you can do this holiday season with your young children. Create Personalized Stepping Stones:  This is a great holiday craft that is a lot of fun to do and it can also be given as a gift to a parent or grandparent. You will need to go to your local craft or hobby store and find a stepping stone kit.  The kit should come with the concrete mix and mold for the stepping stone. If you just find the concrete mix by itself, there should be round or square plastic mold nearby. You will also need to purchase some decorative stones or gems as well as paint in different colors. You will follow the directions on the kit to mix and pour your concrete. Then you will let it sit for a while until it sets up slightly. (Don’t wait for it to dry completely.) This is when you can help your little one arrange the decorative stones and gems on the stepping stone.  Encourage your child to keep these decorations along the edges of the stepping stone so you will have room to paint in the middle. Once the stone has set up completely, you can then help your child paint a picture in the middle of the stone. Or, if she prefer you can put her hand or foot in paint and make a print in the middle of the stepping stone.  (Or, they can actually put their hand or foot into the cement before it dries. Make the print first, then add the embellishments to surround it.) Just make sure you put your child’s name and age somewhere on the stone. This will is always a great gift idea for grandparents. Make Decorated Sugar Cookies:  When many people think about the holidays, there is usually some memory that involves food. So, what better way to create holiday memories with young children then by making Christmas sugar cookies together?  Children as young as toddlers can help make sugar cookies. It doesn’t matter if they help stir, roll, cut, or ice -- they can help!  And, if you are just not that great a baker OR find yourself short of time, simply buy a roll of ready to bake sugar cookie dough from the store -- and remain feeling guilt free about it because the kids won’t remember how the dough got created or whether the cookies were special shapes or round as much as they’ll remember the fun of decorating the cookies and eating them!  (In fact, maybe I was too much of a perfectionist, but I have memories of being very frustrated with trying to make cookie cut-outs as a child -- they just were too hard to get right and the dough always broke, etc.!) Whichever way you go and the cookies are on the cookie sheets, it can then be as simple as providing an assortment of Christmas-colored sugars, and sprinkles and letting them go to town with decorating the cookies before baking them. Or, you can bake them first and then add cookie icing before adding the other decorations. Not only is this a fun “messy” activity that your little ones are sure to enjoy, but it has a yummy ending as you all get to eat the cookies when finished. Oh, and remember how good your house will smell, too! And, unless you eat them all first -- you can even give away some of these cookies that have been personally decorated with fun and love as gifts! Mod Podge Coasters:  This is another great holiday craft that can also be a sentimental keepsake. If you go to your local home improvement store and you will find plain white ceramic tile squares. Usually you can purchase these separately and not by the box. You will need 2-4 coasters for every person you want to give them to as a Christmas gift. You will also need a container of Mod Podge, a camera and printer (or other photos you have already had printed), and some little round self-adhesive felt pads. The first thing you need to do is take fun pictures of your children. They can be posing or fun candid shots, whichever you prefer. Then, print off the pictures you like best.  You will next cut the pictures in squares to fit on the tile. Make sure you cut the picture just a little smaller than the tile. Next, put one coat of Mod Podge on the tile and then “stick” your picture on top of it.  Finally, put 3-4 coats of Mod Podge on top to protect the picture (it dries clear). Young children love helping put the layers of Mod Podge on! Once they are all dry, turn them over and affix one small round self-adhesive felt pad to each corner (to protect your table tops from scratches). Merry Christmas Holiday Pillow

	FREE Ebook: . Lyrics for 53 Beloved Christmas Songs! Right-Click HERE and choose "Save Target As" to save the ebook onto your own computer.... . Then you can open the ebook file from your own computer, print it out (or only print certain selected favorites) and enjoy singing Christmas Carols this year with family and friends! . NOTE that if you try printing without first saving to your computer, it may not work. . Rev. 3

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