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This is my favorite time of the year. I am a bit of a Christmas junkie, and for the month of December I enjoy all things Christmas. From the music that entertains me in my car and at work, to putting up the decorations, and all the time with family and friends - this time of year is special. One of the things I look forward to the most as my daughter gets older is the variety of Christmas crafts available for her to make. When I was growing up I enjoyed our annual Christmas crafts at church where, for a half-day, I would make a variety of crafts one morning along with other church friends. Some would be simple, some a little more involved, but I enjoyed them and I hope my daughter will have a similar experience as she grows, too. With that in mind, I set out to find some websites that parents and teachers could use as the source for all sorts of Christmas crafts. Below is a list of websites that will offer hundreds of options for you to make Christmas crafts for kids.

Check out FaveCrafts.com for a great list of homemade Christmas crafts. http://www.favecrafts.com/Christmas-Decorations/42-Homemade-Christmas-Decorations/ct/1
Spoonful.com has a good list of a variety of Christmas crafts, including “Nightmare Before Christmas Crafts,” homemade Christmas cards and ornaments, Disney Christmas, and Christmas Stocking crafts. Check out the groupings at the link below.

http://spoonful.com/christmas/christmas-crafts
After making my list I realized we have a couple of sites in common, and I encourage you to
check out their list. There are also lots of comments left by users on other craft ideas and craft sites.
http://sassysites.blogspot.com/2011/12/400-christmas-crafts-for-kids.html
I’ve been to this site before for other craft ideas, and have to mention it for Christmas ideas as well. A wide variety of craft ideas are available at the link below. And I also recommend bookmarking the site for all your craft needs. http://craftsbyamanda.com/?cat=24
I great assortment of ideas comes courtesy of theCraftyCrow.net.
They have over a hundred advent calendar ideas, including a Lego Advent Calendar idea where every day you add a couple more pieces until the Christmas tree is built. For this, and other ideas, be sure to check out the link below.
http://www.thecraftycrow.net/christmas/
There are many sites with various ideas, and I’ve provided a couple below that I liked.
http://catholicicing.com/2009/12/diy-printable-nativity-for-kids/
http://www.craftlinky.com/nativity-crafts.html (a collection of links with Nativity crafts)
Another great compilation of Christmas Crafts. Be sure to visit and see all they have to offer. http://www.livinglifeintentionally.blogspot.com/2012/11/155-christmas-crafts-activities.html

Please share your craft ideas and links to sites that you have used with your kids!
If your’re trying the footprint Christmas tree, I recommend the following:
1. Have a brush for both the red and green paints. Brush on the red/green accordingly.
2. Do 1 foot at a time. At least with small children, having only one foot covered in paint at a time was manageable. I don’t know how you could have both feet painted at the same time and not make a mess.
3. This one should be intuitive, but wait until after you’ve made the footprint tree to add the star and trunk.
All of those made my life a lot easier when making them. (I actually made 8 prints, again, using just one foot for 8 sheets, then cleaning off that foot and starting with the next foot.) Let me know if you have any questions!