what fun ages! controlled messes are going to be a dead winner ) cut paper to fit the bottom of a disposable box or Tupperware container. gather small, washable balls, like marbles, and dip them in different colors of paint. and drop them into the containers. then let the kids roll them around and make crazy designs. you can help them cut holiday shapes out of their fancy papers or fold them in half and put holiday shapes on the front to make cards. you can make paper chains for holiday decorations. you can let them build robots or animals or people using things like empty milk boxes/jugs, paper, pipe cleaners, cotton, yarn, really just w/e they have around the house. you could ask them to draw a picture of what they dream about on christmas eve or what they want for christmas and write down what they say for their parents to keep- you should encourage them to do their best to write it down on their drawing themselves too. have you tried hop scotch? that’s been a hit for me, even inside- just masking tape the squares and numbers and toss some small, soft toy. make paper hats. parade and clang on pots and pans. get two boxes large enough for them to sit in- have them hold on to each other and you pull the boxes around onto different flooring and have them decide why sometimes it’s hard for you to pull and sometimes it’s easy- encourage whatever they say. play supermarket from the cupboards or pantry- cut up some paper and card board to make bills and coins. make a fort in the living room. make lists of animals with them and draw simple pictures and the animal names on cards then sort them out together. like cats, dogs and cows live on land, fish, octopus and whales live in water. feathers vs fur, big to small, color etc. make animal noises too. when i was little my grandpa used to draw a simple squiggle and i had to turn it into something- for example, a bent line could be a nose on a face or part of a mountain range… kids looooove having their picture taken- if the parents are ok with you having pictures of them you could have them make goofy faces, another fav, and you could even get the pics printed and have them make popsicle stick frames to give their parents for christmas. you could bake with them, you could make ornaments with them…. help them stand on their hands. siiiiiigh i miss my day care job. just have fun, and be silly and loud and messy… let them be kids ) References :
I am babysitting right now. I went to Michael’s and bought crafts. Last year I bought little wooden ornaments and paint. This year I bought little foam houses that they decorated and I just thought of a random idea to make play dough. And since its around Christmas time I made it green and red. Its a super easy recipe.
1 cup of flour
1 cup of water
1/2 cup of salt
1 tbsp of vegetable oil
2 tsp of cream of tarter
&& as much food coloring as you need
mix it all together in a pot on the stove.
heat it for 3 minutes while stirring it the whole time
then lay in on wax paper and let it cool.
you can let them help you make it which keeps them entertained.
Its super easy, fast and fun.
The kids are playing with it now, that why I snuck on the computer
You can also make christmas cookies with cookie cutters.
Hope this helped! (: References : own experiances.
what fun ages! controlled messes are going to be a dead winner
) cut paper to fit the bottom of a disposable box or Tupperware container. gather small, washable balls, like marbles, and dip them in different colors of paint. and drop them into the containers. then let the kids roll them around and make crazy designs. you can help them cut holiday shapes out of their fancy papers or fold them in half and put holiday shapes on the front to make cards. you can make paper chains for holiday decorations. you can let them build robots or animals or people using things like empty milk boxes/jugs, paper, pipe cleaners, cotton, yarn, really just w/e they have around the house. you could ask them to draw a picture of what they dream about on christmas eve or what they want for christmas and write down what they say for their parents to keep- you should encourage them to do their best to write it down on their drawing themselves too. have you tried hop scotch? that’s been a hit for me, even inside- just masking tape the squares and numbers and toss some small, soft toy. make paper hats. parade and clang on pots and pans. get two boxes large enough for them to sit in- have them hold on to each other and you pull the boxes around onto different flooring and have them decide why sometimes it’s hard for you to pull and sometimes it’s easy- encourage whatever they say. play supermarket from the cupboards or pantry- cut up some paper and card board to make bills and coins. make a fort in the living room. make lists of animals with them and draw simple pictures and the animal names on cards then sort them out together. like cats, dogs and cows live on land, fish, octopus and whales live in water. feathers vs fur, big to small, color etc. make animal noises too. when i was little my grandpa used to draw a simple squiggle and i had to turn it into something- for example, a bent line could be a nose on a face or part of a mountain range… kids looooove having their picture taken- if the parents are ok with you having pictures of them you could have them make goofy faces, another fav, and you could even get the pics printed and have them make popsicle stick frames to give their parents for christmas. you could bake with them, you could make ornaments with them…. help them stand on their hands. siiiiiigh i miss my day care job. just have fun, and be silly and loud and messy… let them be kids 
)
References :
Here are some Christmas Craft Ideas –
Christmas Crafts – http://www.craft-kits.net/christmas-crafts.htm
Crafts – http://www.ornament-shop.net/holiday-recipes.htm (under Crafts)
Most are very simple and inexpensive to make (some use household items)
Enjoy!
References :
I am babysitting right now. I went to Michael’s and bought crafts. Last year I bought little wooden ornaments and paint. This year I bought little foam houses that they decorated and I just thought of a random idea to make play dough. And since its around Christmas time I made it green and red. Its a super easy recipe.
1 cup of flour
1 cup of water
1/2 cup of salt
1 tbsp of vegetable oil
2 tsp of cream of tarter
&& as much food coloring as you need
mix it all together in a pot on the stove.
heat it for 3 minutes while stirring it the whole time
then lay in on wax paper and let it cool.
you can let them help you make it which keeps them entertained.
Its super easy, fast and fun.
The kids are playing with it now, that why I snuck on the computer
You can also make christmas cookies with cookie cutters.
Hope this helped! (:
References :
own experiances.