Art & craft

As Christmas approaches, offer opportunities for children to create gifts for the special people in their lives.

Snowstorms

- Have fun playing with snowstorms and supply the resources for the children to create their own.

- Provide plastic jars with screw-top lids, small figures (those used for cake decorations are ideal), glitter or dessicated coconut (check for allergies first) and waterproof glue.

- Where necessary, help the children to glue the figures to the base of the jar and to screw on the lid once they have added the water and 'snowflakes'.

Candleholders

- Draw children's attention to candles in Christmas books, cards and pictures and provide resources for them to make candleholders: clay, PVA glue, varnish, sequins and glitter.

- Demonstrate how to form the clay into a dome shape and push the candle into the top. Remove the candle and allow the clay to harden before painting and varnishing it with PVA glue. Paint a thin layer of PVA glue over the surface of the candle and sprinkle sequins and glitter on to it. Allow to dry and stand the candle in the holder.

Herbal bags

- Explore the smells associated with the festive season and provide resources for the children to make perfumed bags: circles of attractive fabric (cut out using a pinking shears), ribbon and a selection of fragrant herbs and spices, such as lavender, cloves, rosemary and small pieces of cinnamon sticks.

- Help the children place the herbs and spices in the centre of the circles of fabric and gather up the side to form a small bag.

- Tie the neck of the bag and form a hanging loop with thin ribbon.

Wrapping paper

- The fun of preparing for Christmas will be all the greater if the children can wrap the gifts that they have made.

- Provide some Christmas wrapping paper that the children can use to wrap their presents or as inspiration for creating their own designs. The children may choose to draw Christmas images on to plain wrapping paper or to cut out and stick on images. Other children may want to print patterns on to plain paper.

- Provide gift tags, ribbons and bows for the children to add the finishing touches to their presents.