I think I’ve found my niche as a mum – I love doing crafts with my daughter! Now she is 2.5 she is able to get properly involved and really enjoys making things which is lucky as so do I.
Christmas is always a good time to do crafts as you can use them as gifts or decorations or simply something to pass the time on a rainy (lockdown) day. Here are some very easy things I’ve made with my daughter which are suitable for babies and toddlers:
Mitten hand print decorations
These came from a baby group that we used to go to when I was on maternity leave so my daughter was under a year old. Doing things like hand and foot prints is easier when they are either very small and you can hold the child and make sure they don’t get paint anywhere else, or when they are old enough to understand you don’t want handprints on the walls! So the age my daughter is now – just over 2.5 – is actually a bit tricky and if you are going to do hand or foot painting I would advise having another person around to help if you can!
To make these, simply put two handprints (using washable paint suitable for children) onto sugar paper or card and cut around them in the shape of mittens. Attach the two pieces with string and hang them up!
Colour-in Christmas tree decorations
These are from The Works but you can probably find similar things anywhere, or make your own by printing a clip-art picture or similar or even draw something if you are artistic! My two year old enjoyed colouring these in and we have hung them on the tree and sent a few to family in the post.
Filled Christmas tree baubles
You can buy fillable baubles in a lot of shops and it can be a nice (and cheaper) way of making something really personalised. But if you want an easy craft activity for young children, you can let them fill and decorate one with anything you like. This one was made at a church parent and baby/ toddler group we used to go to sometimes – the bauble is filled with ribbon and a small wrapped chocolate and the outside is decorated with stickers.
Another similar idea which makes a really lovely memento is to measure your child’s height (or length, if they are still a baby) and cut a piece of ribbon to that length. Curl the ribbon up and place inside the bauble and don’t forget to write the year on a slip of wrapping paper inside, or using a marker on the bauble itself!
Mini Moo Life 