Christmas decorations
5 Nov 2007
Get into the spirit of Christmas by creating simple decorations using an exciting array of colourful and shiny recyclable materials
Designing and making area for Christmas decorations
Choose a suitable area where the children can design and make Christmas decorations. Provide creative resources with an emphasis on festive colours such as red, green, gold and silver, as well as shiny, reflective materials.
Make an interactive display with appropriate posters, photographs and pictures on the wall and a table containing a selection of Christmas tree decorations to explore underneath (avoid decorations that are made of glass or with sharp points). Stand an artificial Christmas tree near the area.
Encourage the children to explore the resources and create their own decorations to hang on the tree. Vary the selection of resources when focusing on a specific type of decoration, for example, making tree garlands with paper strips or imitation sweets with screwed-up paper covered in Cellophane.
Suggested resources
Posters, photographs and pictures of decorated Christmas trees and festive scenes of children opening parcels and stockings; Christmas tree decorations such as baubles, tinsel, salt-dough hangings and an angel; Christmas wrapping paper; tissue paper, Cellophane and crêpe paper; shiny items such as sequins and glitter; gold and silver foil; short lengths of tinsel; silver and gold thread; pine cones.
1 Fun with felt
Design and make padded felt decorations
Physical Development
Using Equipment and Materials
Development matters: engage in activities requiring hand-eye coordination (30-50 months), use simple tools to effect changes to the materials (40-60 months).
Early learning goal: handle tools, objects, construction and malleable materials safely and with increasing control.
What you need
Group size: small group. Designing and making area; ‘Christmas shapes’ photocopiable sheet; A4 card; coloured felt; scissors; hole punch; glue; sequins; buttons; beads; cotton wool; glitter thread.
What to do
Copy the photocopiable sheet on to card and cut out the shapes. Explain to the children they are going to make padded felt tree decorations. Invite each child to choose a shape and felt. Cut out two pieces of felt for each child using their template. Punch a hole near the top for the hanging loop.
Demonstrate how to glue around the edge of one felt shape, leaving a gap to insert the filling. Place the other felt shape on top and press it into place. Invite the children to do the same and then glue on some sequins, beads and buttons.
When the decorations are dry, encourage the children to push cotton wool into the hole to create a padded appearance, then glue the hole together. Help them form a hanging loop by pushing glitter thread through the hole in the top.
Support
Help the children make the decorations, but allow them to add the sequins, buttons and beads themselves.
Extension
Provide the children with thick needles and embroidery thread and invite them to sew the shapes together.
0-36 months
Encourage the children to stick shiny materials on to card using flour paste.
Cross-curricular links
PSRN – talk about, recognise and recreate simple patterns.
CD – use their imagination in art and design.
2 Christmas bakers
Create salt-dough decorations for your Christmas tree
Problem Solving, Reasoning and Numeracy
Shape, Space and Measures
Development matters: begin to talk about the shapes of everyday objects (30-50 months); show curiosity about and observation of shapes by talking about how they are the same or different (40-60 months).
Early learning goal: use language such as ‘circle’ or ‘bigger’ to describe the shape and size of solids and flat shapes.
What you need
Group size: four children. Designing and making area; ‘Salt-dough recipe’ photocopiable sheet; images of salt-dough decorations; different-coloured paint; paintbrushes; PVA glue; sequins; glitter; pencil; thin red ribbon; card; Christmas shape cutters; dough tools.
What to do
Look at the images of the salt-dough decorations and invite the children to make their own decorations to hang on the Christmas tree. Make the dough together, following the recipe on the photocopiable sheet.
Invite the children to experiment with their hands, dough tools and cutters to make Christmas shapes. Using a pencil, punch a hole in the top of each decoration, and bake them as instructed. Invite the children to paint their decorations, then varnish with PVA glue, or add glitter and sequins. Tie red ribbon through the holes and hang the decorations on the tree.
Support
Suggest that the children create simple shapes such as flat circles and help them to punch the holes into their dough.
Extension
Encourage the children to read the recipe on the photocopiable sheet and make their own dough with minimum adult support.
0-36 months
Provide more pliable dough for the children to explore and manipulate.
Cross-curricular links
PD – handle tools, objects, construction and malleable materials safely and with increasing control.
CD – respond in a variety of ways to what they see, hear, smell, touch and feel.
Home links
- Encourage parents to involve their children in making a variety of simple Christmas decorations to hang up at home.
Further ideas
- Read the story ‘The lost decorations’ on the photocopiable sheet as an introduction to making decorations with the children.
- Provide the children with a selection of wrapped presents and some labels indicating their contents, for example, teddy, book, ball and so on. Ask them to read the word labels and attach them to the correct present.
3 Miniature parcels
Create tiny presents to hang on the tree
Communication, Language and Literacy
Language for Thinking
Development matters: use language as a powerful means of widening contacts, sharing feelings, experiences and thoughts (22-36 months); use talk, actions and objects to recall and relive past experiences (30-50 months).
Early learning goal: use talk to organise, sequence and clarify thinking, ideas, feelings and events.
What you need
Group size: small groups. Designing and making area; extra-small boxes; sticky tape; elastic bands; glitter thread; Christmas wrapping paper; pictures of Christmas presents.
What to do
Look at the pictures of Christmas presents to stimulate a discussion with the children about any gifts they remember receiving and what they would like this Christmas.
Invite the children to make tiny presents to hang on their Christmas tree. Discuss the resources that they might use to do this. Leave the children to experiment with their ideas and support them where necessary, for example, fastening wrapping paper around the boxes and so on. Fasten glitter thread loops on to the presents so the children can hang them on the tree. Encourage them to count the number of parcels they can see.
Support
Let the children wrap larger boxes to put under the tree.
Extension
Invite the children to create tiny gift labels for their presents.
0-36 months
Provide the children with everyday objects loosely wrapped in paper to unwrap.
Cross-curricular links
PSRN – count reliably up to ten everyday objects.
KUW – find out about past and present events in their lives, and in those of their families and other people they know.
The lost decorations poster notes
Extend the children’s learning with these activities linked to ‘The lost decorations’ poster
Christmas shapes
Copy these shapes onto card. Cut them out and use them to make fantastic Christmas tree decorations
