It's that time of year! A recycling box full of unwanted catalogues and children wanting Christmas craft ideas.
Once I've flicked through them, if I even get time for that, I pop them straight into the recycling bin, making a mental note to remove myself from the umpteen mailing lists.
That is, until last week when Natty was off school due a sudden bout of bed and pyjama-covering vomiting. Clearly not able to go to school but jolly and chirpy in herself, we decided to settling down to a spot of Mummy and daughter making and doing.
The plush paper booklets, fliers and leaflets lay on the kitchen table as we ate our breakfast, promising ever more original gifts for the neighbour, teacher, pet dog...
AHA! I thought. They were all in festive colours, silvers and greys with touches of red and green splurged on them. They would make perfect Christmas decorations: paper chain material!
In the past I have bought costly paper chain making kits, the sort where your child ingests copious amounts of glue, licking the ends to stick them together. They look lovely but... we would have a go at making our own, for a fraction of the cost.
You will need:
unwanted Christmas catalogues
scissors or a guillotine
stapler
I cut the paper into roughly similar widths and lengths then Natty began looping the strips through each other and holding them in place while I stapled them together. I was struck by how fiddly this was and what a super little exercise for developing her fine motor skills. Her Occupational Therapist would have been proud!
She even demanded to do it all by herself. The stapler was a little stiff for her small hands but with a bit of help she got the hang of it.
The results were better than I could have imagined, we made meters of the cheap decorations over a few days. And more importantly Natty learnt a new life skill and she was kept occupied while getting over her tummy bug.
Happy Christmas artsy crafty creating!
Check out our Christmas Pinterest Ideas here.
You might also like to read Painting a Triceratops: Fine Motor Skills Development here. Or try Christmas pretzel biscuits here.
