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Party Planner and DIY Projects

- Christmas Kids Craft: Grinch Ornaments
  November 29, 2021When it comes to Christmas classics, the hands-down favorite in our house is The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, and after watching the newest version of the holiday film, my boys wanted to create some Grinch Christmas ornaments for our tree. We started by gathering up some of our favorite craft supplies including feathers, pom poms, pipe cleaners, pony beads, glitter, and more…BUT, the real beauty of this craft project is that it can be customized to use whatever your favorite craft supplies are (as long as they will fit inside of a clear ornament!). Carefully remove the top of the ornament and check to ensure that there are no sharp edges on the glass or plastic. Fill the ornament with your craft supplies of choice. Replace the ornament top and add a glittery heart sticker to represent the Grinch’s heart (which grew three sizes after his escapades!). My boys ended up using pony beads, pom poms, and feathers for their ornaments, and I love the way that they all turned out! Finish off the ornaments with a bow, and they’re ready for hanging! These Grinch ornaments looks so cute hanging up on our Christmas tree!... Read more...
- How to Make Candy Cane Reindeer
  November 26, 2021Do you remember making these sugar cane reindeer at school? Isn’t it interesting? How could it be so simple, but we have forgotten it for years? Then it pops up on Pinterest and you are like “Oh yes! Those are great!” And you will find yourself going to Michael’s house late at night after the kids go to bed, because earlier in the day when you ran errands, the dollar store and Wal-Mart does not have any brown pipe cleaners. Then you have to buy 100 brown pipe cleaners because the sizeable 25 pipe cleaner packages are out of stock. Do not? Is it only me? (What the hell am I going to do with 100 brown pipe cleaners!?) I think the purchase process for this item was not smooth, but I finally found everything. The holidays are still early, so the Christmas shops are not fully stocked yet. The dollar store doesn’t even have candy canes. All the Christmas boxes are stacked in the aisle, but the packaging is not opened. Although I wanted to pull out the keys and tear the tape on those boxes, I resisted (although it is difficult…considering it, I must stare at the boxes for at least a minute… ). But don’t worry, candy cane is the first thing I see when I walk into Wal-Mart. It was those damn brown pipe cleaners that I had to spend more time. I haven’t seen these for a long time, they are a perfect craft for kids! Maybe I’m just a big kid, but it’s so fun to make these! I like my three-year-old kid to help me, I like these are almost foolproof! Candy Cane Reindeer You’ll need: Googly eyes Small red pom poms Brown pipe cleaners Candy canes Hot glue gun You’ll definitely want to pull out your trusty glue gun for this. I’m pretty sure nothing else is going to stick to the plastic. The glue gun was perfect though. I placed one of the eyes badly and tried to rip it off and it ended up pulling off part of the candy cane plastic underneath it. So if you are worried about eyes and noses falling off, don’t be, because they’re not going anywhere. I tried a few different sizes of pom poms, but the small ones seemed to work the best. It was a toss up between these and the super mini ones, but the minis were just too small. I’ve seen these made both with tiny googly eyes and the size that I chose here. If you do a quick search on Pinterest, you’ll find lots of other examples of these candy cane reindeer with different sizes of eyes and differently shaped antlers… and some other cute ideas too! I tried out a few different antler shapes, but ultimately the spiral ones were the easiest, so that’s what I went with. Wrap the pipe cleaner around your finger and then bend them into shape. I got to “borrow” my three year old’s finger to bend a bunch of the pipe cleaners. She was thrilled to help! She found the dollar store Santa hats that I bought for our Christmas card photo (Eek… I can’t believe it’s already time to start planning the Christmas card photo! No candy canes, but they had Santa hats…). She couldn’t do any gluing since we were using the hot glue, but she loved passing me all the pom poms and googly eyes. Those googly eyes are a pain to pick up off the table! Plus, it was festive just having her around in her Santa hat. And then, just for fun, we finished them off with little red and white bows. I used 50 cent ribbon I picked up from Walmart. Not that it needed it, but it just added some extra cuteness! These guys are so fun, and so easy to make! They’d make great little Christmas ornaments for the tree! Or you can give them out as party favours or classroom gifts. Or, if you’re like us, you can just do them as a fun craft with the kids. My five year old was at school when we made them this afternoon, and when she sees them, she’s going to be so sad she wasn’t here to help! These candy cane reindeer are so easy to make! All you need are a simple craft materials and you’ll be all set! Make them for the Christmas tree, or as treats to send to school, or just as a fun craft with the kids. They’re really simple, and next to impossible to mess up! ... Read more...
- Stuffed Paper Bag Thanksgiving Turkey Craft
  November 24, 2021Using a stuffed paper bag to make a Thanksgiving turkey craft is a genius idea to make some low cost decorations. The kids will have a great time ripping and scrunching up paper, and there is plenty of cutting and gluing to test out their motor skills at the same time in this easy project. Read on for step by step instructions on how to make your own paper bag turkey decorations. Including photos and videos to help you along. Prepare Your Craft Area Your paper bag turkey will be made entirely out of paper. But you will need a handful of other fiddly materials. Best to prepare a clear area with your materials off to the side. If you have a toddler and they get hold of the string then things could get messy! Plus it is also safe to keep the scissors out of reach. Paper Bag Thanksgiving Turkey Craft Video Demonstration Before we jump into the written instructions the video below will give you a quick demonstration for how your stuffed turkey craft will come together. Watching this in full before starting will help you understand the full process so you stay on track when guiding your kids. Materials Bond Paper Paper Bag Glue Tape String Old Newspaper or Magazine Tools Scissors Marker Instructions Stage 1: Fill the Paper Bag with Crumpled Paper Step 1 – Tear up some pages from an old newspaper or magazine (if you still buy them?!) and stuff it in the brown paper bag until it is half full. This will form the body of the turkey. Step 2 – Tie the opening of the paper bag tightly with string to form a thin neck-like shape that stays narrow all the way to the top of the bag. Step 3 – Tear up some additional pieces of newspaper and stuff into the small cavity created above the string to create a ball shape at the top of the neck. Step 4 – Seal the top of the bag using glue. This will allow you to mold it into a round shape to make the head of the turkey. Stage 2: Cut the Features of the Turkey Step 5 – Using a marker draw two eyes on white paper and cut into two small circles. Step 6 – Using yellow paper, cut a small triangle for the Turkey’s beak. Step 7 – Then with red or orange paper cut a small J shape for the snood of the turkey to hang underneath the beak area. Step 8 – Trace a long oblong shape on colored paper. Step 9 – Place on top of a multicolored stack of paper and proceed to cut out the shape. This will give you multiple cuts of the same shape to create a colorful array of feathers for your turkey. Stage 3: Assemble the Turkey Features on your Paper Bag Step 10 – Glue the facial features of the turkey; eyes, beak, and snood. Step 10 – Arrange the feathers and glue together to create your turkey tail. Step 11 – Attach the feathers at the back of the paper bag on the opposite side of your turkey face using tape. Step 12 – Your stuffed paper bag Thanksgiving turkey craft is now complete and ready for decoration! Why Make A Stuffed Paper Bag Turkey These are cheap to make, and can be a large decoration depending on the size of your paper bag. You can make a few of these to scatter around the house as part of your Thanksgiving decorations, and you may even want to make a larger one for a Thanksgiving centerpiece. More Thanksgiving Crafts If you are looking for more ideas that your kids can enjoy then check out our full list of Thanksgiving craft ideas. These are all suitable for toddlers and pre-schoolers. Here is a sample of some of our other projects: Final Word You can get very creative with these stuffed paper bag turkeys, and your kids can go crazy with the colors and some googly facial features if they wish. Most importantly it is a great way to get your kids involved in the Thanksgiving celebrations, and have some ownership in the day. ... Read more...
- Footprint And Handprint Thanksgiving Turkey Craft
  November 22, 2021This Thanksgiving craft project will involve mixing paint with little feet and hands to make a super cute little turkey. It can be added to your decorations quickly and easily, and your children can have all the freedom they like when choosing the color of the turkey feather (handprint). This will ensure a high level of participation from the start. Projects like this will also serve as snapshots of those little feet and hands that you can keep for years. Prepare Your Craft Area As much as the kids get excited, I’ll bet you are already cringing at the mess! So prepare your space with a nice big mat or plastic sheet so that you can relax and not worry about any stray paint. You can then set out your materials freely without having to worry about paint getting knocked over. Just look out for painted feet walking off onto your carpet!! Foot And Handprint Turkey Craft Video Demo Before you get started, check out this time-lapse video that will show you the whole process from start to finish. This should make it easier for you to follow the step by step instructions below to create your own foot and handprint turkey decorations. Materials Bond Paper Acrylic Paint Tools Scissors Paint Brush Instructions Stage 1: Prepare your Hand and Foot Prints Step 1 – Choose your favorite colored paint, and brush over the surface of your palm. Step 2 – Once completely covered, stamp it to the bond paper. Step 3 – Repeat several times with different colors to give your turkey feathers some brightness. Step 4 – Repeat the above step, but with the sole of your foot. Use brown colored paint to on the sole of your foot, and a lighter red or orange color on the toes – this will give the turkey it’s body. Step 5 – When you stamp the foot on the bond paper you will see the contrasting colors. Stage 2: Cut the Features of Turkey Step 6 – Using a marker draw the pupil of the eyes o and cut a small triangle for the nose of the turkey. Step 7 – Cut a big teardrop shape this will serve as the snood of the turkey. Step 8 – Cut the different color handprints. Step 9 – Cut the footprints. Stage 3: Assemble the Foot and Handprints Into a Turkey Step 10 – Paste with the glue the face features of the turkey in the foot. Step 11 – Arrange the handprints like a sided feather of the footprint turkey then paste it. Step 12 – Find somewhere to hang up your new decorations!! Why Make Foot And Handprint Turkey Craft You can hang these up all over the house on Thanksgiving, and because they are flat they can easily be stored away for next year. It may tickle some nostalgia in future years when you pull them out and remember how small those hands and feet actually were all those years back. Don’t forget to take pictures with your kids looking all messy and covered in paint! You will remember this more than the cleanup job ahead…... Read more...
- DIY Thanksgiving Turkey Pop Up Card
  November 19, 2021Here’s an easy DIY Thanksgiving Turkey Pop Up Card that pops right up to wish kids a Happy Thanksgiving Day! A favorite activity in our home during the holidays is making homemade cards. My daughter enjoys getting creative and sending cards to family and friends. This week we are making pop up turkey cards to send for Thanksgiving to our out of town family. Materials used: Green cardstock Construction papers 8 x 11 inches or A4 size – Yellow, Orange, Red, Brown Markers – Black & Orange Glue stick & glue White circle dot stickers Scissors Washi tape for the card borders Steps to create the DIY Thanksgiving Turkey Pop Up Card: Start by folding the letter sized cardstock in half. We used a green card, but you could use any Fall color. Cut out long rectangle strips from the construction papers. Cut the red 4 inches wide, orange 3 inches wide, and yellow 2 inches wide. We cut along the long edge of the Letter sized papers. Start making equal-sized folds in an accordion-style along the long edge. Make sure the folds line up correctly when placed on top of each other. Line them up by their width. To make the turkey body, cut a 5-inch square out of brown paper. Fold in half and trace a design as shown in the pic above. Notice that the lower part of the bird has a diagonal cut that will be folded Cut out a small orange beak and a red wattle. Stick on white circle stickers and add an eye using markers. Stick on the eyes, a beak, and a wattle to the turkey body. Fold a small triangle at the bottom of the turkey’s body. Line the turkey’s body along the center of the card. Stick on one side and fold the card to stick the other end. Stick the accordion fold paper strips behind the turkey body. First the yellow, then orange and finally the red paper fold. We added some pumpkins and a greeting. and some claws for the turkey. Tada your turkey popup card is ready. ... Read more...
- Painted Pinecone Turkeys Thanksgiving Craft for Kids
  November 17, 2021My homepage is now all turkey! Between the cinnamon rolls/bacon turkey for breakfast on Thanksgiving morning, the chocolate peanut butter cup + pretzel sugar turkey (no doubt it will disappear long before we get close to dinner), and of course the pine cone turkey The crafts we shared include felted pinecone turkey and silky pinecone turkey…I mean, we were eliminated by the turkey! Today I still have a pine cone turkey to share with you! these painted pinecone turkeys are super, super cute! the pinecone scales themselves become the colorful turkey feathers. this one really is so simple to make and required just a few simple supplies: pinecones. if you’ve got pine trees growing near your house, first of all – you’re lucky! your pinecones are free! secondly, you will undoubtedly have a lot to choose from, so choose the biggest and best for this craft. if you’re like me and have zero access to pinecones falling off the tree, you’re going to have to buy them, so look for big, beautiful, unbroken pinecones. you can find them at craft stores in mesh bags…usually scented, which is just an added bonus! paint. my favorite colors to use for anything fall-related are deep orange, red, yellow, and brown. since the pinecones are naturally brown you won’t need any of that paint color, but you should pick up some paint in the other fall colors you like. paint brushes (aff link). i started with the little foam brushes pictured below, but truth be told: i didn’t like them. they’re great for other projects, don’t get me wrong! but for this one, it is definitely better to go with a smaller paintbrush. pom poms (aff link). you’ll need little – medium size pom poms for the turkey’s face. googly eyes (aff link). and you’ll need to have some of these to make him look extra cute. scraps of felt. in both orange and red – orange for the beak, and red for the waddle. glue (aff link). just a little bit of white glue is needed to assemble the turkey’s face and then adhere it to the pinecone. So let’s get to how to make these gorgeous painted pinecone turkeys! the first thing you need to do is start painting the pinecone scales. i started with yellow… …then red… …and then finished off with orange paint. i left some of the scales natural because i thought their brown color looked so great with the red, yellow, and orange colors. when you’re painting the scales you want to make sure you are spreading each color around and not bunching all the reds in one area, etc. you need to try to disperse each color throughout. also, you will probably find that you need to do 2 coats of paint. after you do the first coat for each color you should then be able to do the second coat almost right away – the paint dries relatively quickly. now you need to make the turkey faces by gluing on two googly eyes. next, you’ll need to cut out a small triangle from your orange felt, and a waddle from your red felt. i just freehanded the waddle – a rounded shape at the bottom with a thinner pointed shape at the top. there is a piece of pinecone that sticks out of the very top/front of the pinecone and you’ll need to carefully cut that off, and potentially a few scales as well, in order to nestle the turkey face at the front of the pinecone. add some glue to the back of the pom pom and hold it in place until it dries. oh, just look how adorable he is!! he is going to look so great on our thanksgiving table! i think being a place card holder would be the perfect job for him! i hope you enjoy the third installment of our three thanksgiving pinecone turkey crafts! they’ve all been so fun, and my kids just love them! happy turkey day everyone!... Read more...
- A Banner Thanksgiving
  November 15, 2021This Thanksgiving banner is made from items in your home, which is both festive and easy to make. What You’ll Need: Have your child gather objects from the pantry and the yard, such as dry beans, cinnamon sticks, twigs, and pinecones. You’ll also need 8 1/2 x 11 inch colored art paper, glue, scissors, pencil, tape, and raffia, yarn, or ribbon (to hang the garland). Step One Make a flag for each letter of your message. Fold in the corners on one end of a piece of paper, as shown, so that they meet in the middle. Step Two Fold in the long edges of the paper as if making a paper airplane. Make sharp creases so the flag looks neat and hangs straight. Step Three On the smooth side of each flag, print one letter of your message in pencil (we spelled out “Give Thanks”). Have your child glue objects onto each letter. Let dry. Step Four Cut a length of raffia (or yarn or ribbon) long enough to fit your message. To attach letters, have your child flip over each flag and fold the top portion down over the length of raffia. Tape to secure. Step Five To finish, knot a short length of raffia between each letter. To hang, use suction cups with attached hooks. ... Read more...
- Handprint Thanksgiving Poem
  November 12, 2021This Thanksgiving handprint poem reminds us of the true spirit of this season. You can also create your own leaves with things you are personally grateful for. Trivia: Governor William Bradford organized the first Thanksgiving feast and invited their Native American allies. When the guests of the Wampanoag Indians came to join the pilgrims, they decided to extend the feast, which lasted three days. Supplies Construction paper Scissors Crayons or Markers Glue Instructions Select a paper to signify one of the many cultures that make our country great and trace around each of your hands and cut out. Make sure the hands stay connected. Click on the printable patterns and print out the poem and leaves. Color the leaves and fill in the things you are thankful for on the blank leaves. Cut out and glue on the hands using the photo as a reference. Hands can be folded in prayer and opened to read the poem. ... Read more...
- Canadian Thanksgiving Mobile Craft
  November 10, 2021On October 11, 2021, our Canadian neighbors celebrate Thanksgiving. To celebrate this celebration, the FreeKidsCrafts team specially designed a Thanksgiving phone for them. For young children, this is a simple and inexpensive craft. Trivia: The meaning of Thanksgiving is slightly different in Canada and the United States. Historically, in Canada, Thanksgiving is celebrated to commemorate the journey from the explorer Martin Frobisher’s successful crossing of the Northwest Passage in 1578 to the time of the World War. Victory, and America’s focus is pilgrims and Mayflowers. Supplies White Paper String Wire Coat Hanger Hole Punch Tape Instructions Click and cut out the components under Printables for your mobile. Punch holes in bottom of Canadian flag and tie string for Cornucopia, fruits and vegetables. Tape Flag to coat hanger and you have your mobile to swing in the breeze. ... Read more...
- DIY Fall Placemat (Great for Thanksgiving)
  November 8, 2021This DIY autumn placemat is the perfect project for kids to participate in the Thanksgiving feast. Whether it’s your family or extended to add some close family members, this special addition to your table setting is perfect. The children will proudly announce to everyone present that this is their contribution. Trivia The first Thanksgiving Day was held in the autumn of 1621, with a total of 50 pilgrims and 90 Wampanoag Indians participating and lasted for three days. Supplies: Shaving Cream (unscented) 8½x11 Card Stock or Heavy Cardboard (this is a minimum size) Disposable Tablecloth, Newspapers etc. Stylus White Paper Scissors Glue Stick 12″ x 18″ Construction Paper in Fall Color Acrylic Paint or Food Coloring Laminating Roll Disposable Gloves (optional) Paint Smock, Apron or Old Tee Shirt Instructions Protect your surface with the disposable tablecloth, newspapers or whatever you normally protect your table with when crafting with messy materials. And of course make sure the kids are dressed with the mess in mind. Next spray the Card Stock or Cardboard with a layer of shaving cream (don’t use Noxzema or everything will smell like it) It doesn’t need to be a thick layer. Put small dots of paint or food color in various spots on top of the shaving cream. (Here is where you decide about the disposable gloves.) The acrylic paint will wash off but the food coloring will stain the fingers. Have the kids choose 3 colors, keeping the Fall scheme in mind. Of course if their favorite colors are more unique, don’t limit their creativity. With the stylus. swirl the paint around in the shaving cream, leaving some of the swirls white with the shaving cream showing through. Next take a 8.5 x 11 piece of paper and lay it on top of the shaving cream and color mixture and press down. Here is where you will be glad you protected the table. Lift the paper off and scrape the excess shaving cream/paint mixture off with a scraper made of scrap card stock or cardboard. Let dry. You may be able to get two prints from each mixture by adding a little more color to the shaving cream. Once the masterpieces are dry the next part of the fun begins. We’ve provided leaf patterns for a Fall placemat but you can cut them down for cards or notes and even frame them as gifts. Fall Placemats: Print and cut the leaves out of your dried prints using the pattern below. Glue the leaves to the large piece of card stock. Laminate according to directions to protect the placemats from damage. ... Read more...

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