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Christmas

Christmas Sticky Tree

By Sharla Kostelyk

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The creative vision for this activity was inspired by Angela at TeachingMama. She made a Fall Sticky Tree for her boys a few months ago and I knew that my kids would really enjoy doing one so I went out and bought the main supplies and then time got away from me and before I knew it, it was no longer fall! Snow covered the ground and an autumn activity no longer seemed like it would fit in, so I improvised!

Christmas Sticky Tree at The Chaos and The Clutter

To make this, I used poster putty to attach clear contact paper to our patio window. (For those who are not familiar with it, contact paper is sticky on one side.) I used two sheets of contact paper side by side to create the width that I wanted. I kept the backing on the contact paper until it was stuck to the window and then peeled away the backing.

I used a green Sharpie (permanent marker) to draw the outline of a Christmas tree. I then provided the kids with a pile of things they could use to decorate the tree: tinsel garland, light Christmas balls, pompoms, metallic pompoms (note: the metallic pompoms didn’t stay on very well and most fell off after the first day), felt stars, large glittered foam star, beads, foam candy canes and foam ornaments.

Christmas Sticky Tree Sensory ActivityThe kids really appreciated the creativity of being able to decorate this tree without any instruction or limitations. I would say that it held the attention of my girls a bit better than my boys and I’m not sure if that is because of the activity itself or just the moods on the day it took place. My boys generally enjoy craft activities as much as my girls do. It was a good holiday sensory activity for all the kids and involved both fine motor and to some extent, gross motor as well.

The activity was more of a success than I had anticipated in that now, several days later, when I pass by the tree, I see that even more has been added to it including paper ornaments that the kids have coloured on paper and cut out. It’s always nice to see an activity that expands and takes on a life of its own. Other than the metallic pompoms which did not stay on very well, everything else is still sticking to the tree and it’s been four days since we first made it.

Christmas Sticky Tree - easy set up and can be used again and againThis was a hands-on and easy way to begin to decorate our homeschool classroom for the holidays!

If you would like to see other ideas for Christmas crafts and activities, you may want to follow my Christmas Crafts board on Pinterest.

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Filed Under: Christmas, Crafts and Activities, Sensory Tagged With: sensory play

Christmas Cranberry Ornaments

By Sharla Kostelyk

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These ornaments smell wonderfully, look great on a tree and make wonderful gifts or they can be attached to gifts as a nice addition to the wrapping.

Christmas Cranberry Ornament

I first made these ornaments about 15 years ago. At the time, my kids weren’t old enough to make them with me but I decided to make them with them this year. They really enjoyed it. In fact, they found the process of stringing the cranberries very relaxing and they are planning to make more.

assembling cranberry ornaments at The Chaos and The Clutter

supplies needed:

wire (we used 22 gauge floral wire)
wire cutters
dried cranberries (we used Craisins)
silver jingle bells
raffia or ribbon

Cut a piece of wire to 14 inches. This should be done by an adult or older child with adult supervision.

String dried cranberries onto the wire. Again, the ends of the wire are sharp so this is something that should be done by older children or be closely supervised. Fill the wire with dried cranberries until there is just a bit of exposed wire on either end. Twists the ends of the wire together and then fold down the ends. Move the cranberries over to cover the closure. I like to have the closure at the side as it’s less noticeable there. Shape the ring into a heart.

attaching cranberry ornamentsString a jingle bell onto a piece of ribbon or raffia and place a knot above a small loop. Place the knot beneath the wire at the dip in the heart and attach it to the ornament by knotting again just above the wire. Create a loop to hang the ornament with and put one last knot at the top.

cranberry ornaments

My kids enjoyed making these so much that they want to be able to make them on their own as gifts. I put all the supplies into a bag and have it ready for them to create with.

cranberry ornament suppliesIf you are interested in more Christmas crafts or activities, you may be interested in following my Christmas Crafts board on Pinterest.

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Filed Under: Christmas, Crafts and Activities

Gifts That Give Back

By Sharla Kostelyk

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Christmas can easily slip into being about the gifts and the shopping. It isn’t our intention of course but our scramble to meet the expectations we’ve set for decorating, gift giving and celebrating can leave us feeling overwhelmed, overspent and empty.

Gifts That Give Back

A number of years ago, I found myself dreading the holiday, the endless preparations, the pressure to get the perfect Christmas card picture AND get it sent out on time, the crowds in the malls, my grouchy children crying and fighting over gifts on Christmas morning. Christmas had morphed into something that we never intended it to be. So that year, we cut back on the amount of gifts we bought for each of our kids. We bought them one gift each and some stocking stuffers. We found that they expressed more gratitude that year and that our home was more peaceful and less stressed leading up to the holiday and on that day.

Every year since, we have found new ways to point our focus back onto Christ, the reason for Christmas in the first place. We have scaled back even further on the gifts we give the kids and have yet to hear a complaint. We have participated in charitable endeavours as a family during the holidays and last year, after being inspired by a stranger paying for our entire family’s meal in a restaurant, we decided to make our advent season about paying it forward. We set out to do acts of kindness every day in little and small ways and were so blessed by it. It also drew us closer together and closer to God.

Another thing we changed was what gifts we give to our extended family members. Where we used to spend time and money buying them something that they may never use and probably already had, we began to be more purposeful about our gifts and have discovered many gifts that give back.

These are things that won’t clutter up the closets or get returned during those frenzied Boxing Week sales. These gifts are ones you can derive real joy both in giving and in receiving.

Gifts for a family going through a hard time…

You may know or know of a family who is going through a hard time, be it the loss of a loved one, a prolonged illness, family member hospitalization, a wayward teen, divorce or separation, a difficult pregnancy, recent miscarriage, colicky baby, adoption, or job loss. Consider one of these gifts:

  • Meals – Take Them A Meal is a service that allows you to create a meal schedule for families. Other friends, family, or their church congregation can then sign up to deliver meals to the family. This free service makes coordinating this easy and receiving the meals is such a blessing for families with new children or families who are going through a hard time.
  • Maid Service
  • Lawn Care
  • Laundry – it may be most helpful if you pick it up from their home and deliver it back to them clean and folded instead of staying in their home while you do it.
  • Childcare
  • Errands – offering to deliver groceries, pick up dry cleaning, pick up medications at the pharmacy, get their oil changed or car washed, return library books, or any other errands that can free up some of their time and relieve them of some stress
  • Gift Cards for hospital parking
  • Gift Cards for Gas
  • Gift Cards for Groceries
  • Gift Cards for Books
  • Gift Cards for Restaurants near home, work or the hospital
  • Rolls of Coins for vending machines, parking and phone calls
  • Keep them Busy Bags for Siblings

Gifts That Pay it Forward…

When you buy gifts for your loved ones such as a goat for a family in a developing country or mosquito nets for a family in an area where Malaria is an issue or give a donation to an organization benefitting impoverished children in the name of a loved one, you are truly paying it forward. You can tailor these gifts to the recipient. If you are giving to a child, you may want to choose a gift such as school supplies for a child in or For more ideas, here are some websites to check out:

  • Operation Christmas Child – packing shoeboxes with your kids is a great way to start discussions with them about how fortunate they are and to get them to contribute to the ideas of what a child their age might like to receive.
  • Samaritan’s Purse (for Canadians) – gift catalogue that includes school uniforms, feeding a child for a year, clean water, a goat or chickens for a family, and agricultural training
  • Compassion (for Canadians) – gift catalogue or child sponsorship
  • Compassion (for Americans) – gift catalogue or child sponsorship
  • Kiva – micro loans that empower people to create a future for themselves and their families

Gifts That Give Twice…

  • Bead for Life – this beautiful jewelry made by Ugandan artisans of recycled material support the women, their families and their communities. You can host a party in your home to sell the jewelry or you can buy some beautiful pieces to give to friends and support these amazing women.
  • Africa Sleeps – sleep and swim caps, hair and body care – 5% goes towards Vulnerable Children Society and the rest towards raising funds for this family’s adoption from Ethiopia (they have already adopted 2 daughters from Ethiopia). These make great stocking stuffers or would be great to add to a gift basket.
  • Reece’s Rainbow Angel Tree – this wonderful organization allows people to donate directly to the adoption funds of special needs orphans around the world.
  • Adoption Support – buying gifts that support adoptive families in their fundraising efforts supports adoption in a tangible, practical way. You can purchase gifts such as Haitian Christmas ornaments and support adoption at the same time.

I’m joining some of the other bloggers in the iHomeschool Network to share our Christmas Gift Lists. There are many ideas shared including gifts you can make yourself, gifts that don’t cost a thing, gifts for Dr. Who fans, and more!

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Filed Under: Christmas, Parenting in the Chaos

Easy Christmas Ornaments

By Sharla Kostelyk

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Easy Sequin Christmas OrnamentThe kids have been making these beautiful ornaments for their grandparents and a few other special people. They catch the light nicely on the Christmas tree and are so easy to make!

Needed:

–sequins (we used a pack with shades of blue and silver)
-sequin pins
-foam ball
-ribbon

Push a sequin pin through the sequin into the foam ball and repeat this until the entire ball is covered in sequins. When done, add a ribbon on top using a pin and hang on the tree.

A few of my kids made mosaics with their sequins in patterns that created fish or faces or other shapes. You could also vary the look of them by using different sizes of foam balls or by using foam eggs.

*of course, since this craft uses actual pins, adult supervision should be used with younger children.

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Filed Under: Christmas, Crafts and Activities

Christmas Shopping

By Sharla Kostelyk

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The past few years, I have had a harder and harder time with gift giving at Christmas. Most of us in North America already have so much and it’s hard to justify spending money on more “stuff” when there are so many around the world who don’t have the basic necessities of life. We have cut back drastically on our overall Christmas spending and have also changed what we spend on! There are two main ways we now choose our Christmas gifts.

We buy gifts such as a goat for a family in a developing country to give to my mom or mosquito nets for a family in an area where Malaria is an issue for a friend or give a donation to an organization benefitting impoverished children in the name of a loved one. If you would like to consider giving such a gift, here are some websites to check out:

One Child

Compassion (for Canadians)

Compassion (for Americans)

Vulnerable Children

We buy gifts that support adoptive families in their efforts to fundraise to bring children who need a family home.  Not only does supporting these efforts help children get a forever family, it encourages the families.  If you’d like to join me in supporting adoption in a practical way, please check out these links:

Africa Sleeps Sleep caps – 5% goes towards Vulnerable Children Society and the rest towards raising funds for this family’s adoption from Lesotho (they have already adopted 2 daughters from Ethiopia).  Dancing Queen is getting 2 of these in her stocking (shhh, don’t tell her)!

Hope t-shirts and Etsy creations This amazing family has such a beautiful story!  They adopted a son from Uganda and are going back to adopt his 2 best friends.

Wild Prairie Farms Selling everything from soaps to t-shirts to coffee and more, this family’s fundraiser will not only help them bring 2 more children home from Ethiopia (they already have 3 Ethiopian born children), it will help them relocate to Ethiopia all together to serve there.

Reece’s Rainbow Angel Tree This wonderful organization allows people to donate directly to the adoption funds of special needs orphans around the world.

Happy Christmas shopping everyone!

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Filed Under: Christmas

Gingerbread Playdough Station

By Sharla Kostelyk

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This week, we are concentrating on the letter “G” and I just couldn’t think of a great sensory bin to go with that, so instead, I made a Gingerbread Sensory Table. I have this awesome recipe for Gingerbread Playdough that looks and smells like real gingerbread dough. We make it most years before the holidays.

This scented gingerbread playdough smells just like gingerbread and makes such a fun Christmas sensory station.The only negative thing about this playdough is that it smells so good and the colour looks so much like true gingerbread dough that kids want to eat it. In fact, my great-niece was over last night and couldn’t resist tasting it!

I set out a rolling pin, a cookie sheet, 3 gingerbread cookie cutters, and a flipper (spatula) along with a large container of the gingerbread playdough. Our kids have so much fun pretending to bake gingerbread men. You can also set out items like yarn for them to decorate their gingerbread men. The playdough stays fresh for a long time as long as it’s kept in a tightly sealed container in between play sessions.

Gingerbread Playdough Station

Gingerbread Playdough Recipe:

5 cups flour
1 cup salt
6 Tbsp. oil
2 1/2 tsp. alum
3 pkg. unsweetened orange Koolaid
3 1/2 cups boiling water
6 Tbsp. instant coffee
1 Tbsp. each of cinnamon, ginger, and cloves

Mix Koolaid, flour, spices, alum, and salt in a bowl. Pour in oil and mix until crumbly. Combine water and instant coffee and pour over dry ingredients. Mix well. Keep dough in an airtight container.

This dough makes a great Christmas gift, especially if packaged with a few gingerbread cookie cutters and a children’s rolling pin.

We also have several other Christmas playdough themes that you may be interested in. I find that they are a great way to keep kids occupied during the holiday season while I am busy preparing food or cleaning.

Join me for a free 5 part email series Sensory Solutions and Activities and get your Sensory System Behaviours Easy Reference Cards.

snow playdough and invitation to playSnow Playdough and Invitation to Play

Scented Gluten Free Candy Cane PlaydoughGluten Free Candy Cane Playdough

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Filed Under: Christmas, Crafts and Activities, Sensory Tagged With: playdough stations, sensory play

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