Here at TMC, we love a good theme and what better theme could you ask for, than Christmas? We’ve been going crazy over all of the Christmas crafts, treats and play ideas so we wanted to share some with you.
CHRISTMAS CRAFTS, TREATS & PLAY IDEAS
FOOD
Chocolate Truffle Balls
Photo and Process Courtesy of Jessica/ The Mumma Koala
What you’ll need: –
1 x 300g packet of rich tea biscuits
1 x 400g tin condensed milk
2 x tablespoons of cocoa powder
1 1/2 x cups of desiccated coconut
2 x tablespoons of water (liqueur for an adult’s version!)
Process: –
– Crush biscuits with a rolling pin or in a blender.
– Add condensed milk, 1 cup of desiccated coconut, water (or liqueur) and cocoa powder to crushed biscuits and mix well.
– Once combined, roll into balls about the size of a walnut. Pour remaining desiccated coconut onto a plate and roll each coconut until covered.
– Store in the fridge in an airtight container.
Melted Snowman Chocolate Bark
Photo and Process Courtesy of Jenn/ Princess Pinky Girl
What you’ll need: –
– White Melting Chocolate
– Mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
– Candy Eyes
– Orange Jimmies (I got mixed rainbow jimmies and just picked them out)
– Red Hot Candy
– Pretzel Sticks
– Silicone baking mat or wax paper
– Melt candy discs either in microwave or over a double broiler.
– Spread chocolate on a cookie sheet covered in either a silicone baking mat or wax paper.
– Press the snowman candy onto the melted chocolate immediately and before it begins to set.
– Let set on counter or place in the refrigerator for a few minutes to speed it up!
Avocado Christmas Tree
Photo and Process Courtesy of Healthy Little Foodies
What you’ll need: –
– Wraps: Choose your favourite, check the sodium levels for younger kids.
– Avocado: You need the avocado to be nice and ripe so that it mashed easily.
– Cherry Tomatoes: You can replace the tomatoes with red capsicum (bell pepper) cut into rounds.
– Cheese slices: Can be replaced with a carrot or apple etc star.
Process: –
– Mash the avocado and spread on a tortilla wrap
– Cut the wrap into quarters.
– Chop the cherry tomatoes in half (quarters for young children)
– Cut star shapes from a slice of cheese using a cookie cutter.
– Place the cheese star at the tip of each quarter and arrange the tomatoes to resemble baubles on a Christmas tree.
Easy Cucumber Christmas Tree
Photo and Process Courtesy of Eats Amazing
What you’ll need: –
– 1 large carrot
– 1 whole cucumber
Process: –
– Peel the carrot, discarding the top and bottom.
– From the thicker end of the carrot, cut 8 rounds, around ½ cm thick.
– Using a mini star-shaped cutter, cut a star from each piece of carrot.
– Divide and cut the remaining piece of carrot into 8 pieces, which will form the trunks of your cucumber trees.
– Set the carrot stars and pieces to one side.
– Using a vegetable peeler, cut long strips from the cucumber, the whole length long.
– Starting at the smallest end, carefully fold a strip of cucumber back and forth, starting with small folds and getting gradually bigger with each one, until you have created a tree shape.
– Push the folds together and push a cocktail stick through to skewer them from top to bottom.
– Push the cocktail stick into one of the carrot pieces, big fold side down.
– Push a carrot star onto the other end of the cocktail stick.
– Carefully separate the folds a little so that the cucumber fills the space between the two carrot pieces.
– Stand your edible Christmas tree on a plate or serving tray and repeat until you have made as many cucumber trees as you need.
– Serve immediately
Reindeer Snacks
Photo and Process Courtesy of Family Fresh Meals
What you’ll need: –
– celery sticks
– peanut butter
– candies eyes
– M&Ms
– pretzels
Process: –
– Spread peanut butter on celery and arrange candy eyes, pretzels and m&ms on celery sticks to make reindeers
Cranberry Feta Pinwheels
Photos and Process Courtesy of Danelle/ Let’s Dish Recipes
What you’ll need: –
– 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
– 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
– 1/2 cup chopped green onions
– 1 (5 oz) package dried cranberries
– 4 (10 inch) flour tortillas
Process: –
– In a small bowl, combine the cream cheese, feta cheese and green onions. Stir in dried cranberries.
– Divide the mixture evenly between the four tortillas. Roll each tortilla up tightly and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
– Slice the rolled tortillas into 1-inch slices and serve.
Christmas Light Cookies
Photos and Process Courtesy of Christina Lane/ Dessert for Two
What you’ll need: –
– 3/4 cup flour, plus extra for rolling
– 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
– pinch of salt
– 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
– 1/4 cup sugar
– 1 egg yolk
– 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
– 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
Process: –
– In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
Christmas Marshmallow Pops
Photo and Process Courtesy of Two Sisters
What you’ll need: –
– Regular sized Marshmallows
– Ghirardelli Chocolate Melting Wafers or Chocolate Chips
– Wilton Red Candy Melts
– Wilton Bright White Candy Melts
– Wilton Dark Green Candy Melts
– Wilton Lollipop Sticks
*Wilton products can be substituted*
Process: –
– Place 3 marshmallows on a lollipop stick.
Santa Hat Mini Pancake Stackers
Photo and Process Courtesy of Eats Amazing
What you’ll need: –
– 140g self-rising flour
– 1 tsp baking powder
– 2 tbs golden granulated sugar
– pinch salt
– 125ml milk (or soya milk for dairy free)
– 1 large egg
– 2 tbs vegetable oil
– butter or dairy free spread for frying
To serve: –
– 8 large strawberries
– mini marshmallows
– icing sugar for dusting (optional)
Process: –
– Start by making the mini pancakes. These taste best warm from the pan but can also be made in advance and stored in an airtight container in the fridge for a day if necessary.
– Measure out the flour, baking powder and sugar and sift into a bowl along with the salt.
– In a separate jug or bowl, lightly whisk the egg then mix with the milk and oil.
– Mix the wet and dry ingredients together then lightly whisk until well combined and lump free.
– Spoon the pancake mix into a sauce bottle or piping bag then leave to rest for 5 minutes while you heat up the pan. If you don’t have a sauce bottle or piping bag, just leave the mixture to rest in the bowl and use a teaspoon to make the pancakes instead.
– Heat the pan over a medium heat, then drop in the butter and swirl around until completely melted.
– Draw and then fill in mini circles of pancake mixture to make your pancakes, making sure you leave enough room between the pancakes to flip them over once ready.
– Cook the pancakes until they start to bubble up, then flip them over and cook on the other side until golden.
– Remove from the pan and repeat until all the mixture is used up.
– If making in advance, leave the pancakes to cool then pop in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to serve.
– To assemble the pancake stacks, start by making the Santa hats. Cut the top off each strawberry. Push each strawberry onto a cocktail stick leaving a small point sticking out of the pointy end, then pop a marshmallow on top to form the hat.
– Stack the pancakes, 4 or 5 to a pile, then top each stack with a Santa hat strawberry, pushing the cocktail stick into the stack to hold it all together.
Rice Krispies Christmas Puddings
Photo and Process Courtesy of Lou/ Crumbs and Corkscrews
What you’ll need: –
– Milk Chocolate – Using milk chocolate gives the puddings the perfect colour but also balances the flavour. You can use dark chocolate if you prefer a richer taste
– Mini Marshmallows – The sticky part! The melted marshmallows bind the Rice Krispie balls together. You can use larger ones if mini marshmallows are not available
– Butter – When melted and added to the marshmallows, it helps to keep the cereal balls soft
– Rice Krispies Cereal – I’ve used Rice Krispies but Coco Pops would give you a little extra chocolate hit
– White Chocolate and Sugar Decorations – For drizzling and decorating the top of the Christmas Puddings
Process: –
– Start by melting the chocolate and butter together in a large saucepan or in the microwave; then add in the marshmallows. Give the mixture a little more heat for 30 seconds and stir everything together until everything’s melted.
– Now grab your large mixing bowl, pour in the Rice Krispies and then add in your marshmallow mixture. Stir it all together and let it chill for five minutes, while you grab a cuppa.
– Then, this is the part you get stuck in with your hands… roll the mixture into bite-size Christmas Puddings. Chill them in the fridge for 30 minutes then decorate.
CRAFT
Photos and Process Courtesy of One Little Project/ Debbie ChapmanWhat you’ll need:-
– 3 Green Popsicle Sticks
– 1 Purple Popsicle Stick
– 4 ” of Twine
– Sticker Rhinestones
– Glittery Foam Star Stickers
– Hot Glue
Process :-
– Cut the green popsicle sticks into 6 pieces in 1/2″, 1″, 1-1/2″, 2″, 2-1/2″ and 3″ lengths.
– To cut the popsicle sticks, firmly cut into the popsicle stick on both sides of the popsicle stick a few times. Then bend it and it should cleanly snap apart where you scored it.
– Add a generous glob of hot glue on the end of the purple popsicle stick, place both ends of the twine on top of the glue, then sandwich the 1/2″ piece of green popsicle stick on top to hold the twine hanger in place.
– Line up the remaining 5 green popsicle stick pieces evenly on the purple popsicle stick and glue them in place with hot glue.
– Use hot glue to attach the sparkly foam sticker star.
– Decorate your tree with the glittery rhinestones!
Popsicle Stick Gingerbread House
Photos and process courtesy of The Printables Fairy
What you’ll need: –
– Popsicle Sticks
– Acrylic Paint
– Paintbrushes
– White glue
– Scissors
– Printable Ornaments
Process: –
– Paint the popsicle sticks with acrylic paint.
– Arrange the sticks from small to big.
Photos and Process Courtesy of Kitchen Counter ChroniclesWhat you’ll need: –
– 9 toilet rolls or paper towel/wrapping paper rolls cut down to 4 inches length
– brown acrylic paint
– brown pipe cleaners
– brown pom poms and 1 red pom pom
– black marker
– googly eyes
– festive ribbon
– white craft glue
– 1 thumb tack
Process: –
– Gather up the toilet paper rolls. Make sure that your toilet rolls are cleaned of all the little bits of toilet paper. If you are using another type of paper roll, cut them down to about 4″ in length.
Paper Plate Christmas Tree
Photo and Process Courtesy of Made to Be A Momma
What you’ll need: –
– Paper plates (the super cheap ones are fine)
– Gold Glitter Paper
– Green Paint
– Brown Paint
– Hot glue gun and a clear glue stick
– Scissors
Process: –
– Paint the entire front of the paper plate green. Then, let it dry.
Photo and Process Courtesy of Crafty MorningWhat you’ll need: –
– Potatoes
– Knife (for adults)
– Paint
– Paintbrush
– Sparkly pipe cleaners
– Glue
Process: –
– Start by cutting your potatoes in half and carving out designs/lines in it. I would look for a potato that is the most round to make it look like a ornament bulb. Have the kids take a paintbrush and paint on Christmas colours.
DIY Snow Globe
Photo and Process Courtesy of Laura/ raising_arabellarose
What you’ll need: –
– Mason/ glass cookie jar
– Fake snow
– Christmas ornaments
– Wire fairy lights
Process: –
– Make your snow as per the instructions on the packet
Photo and Process Courtesy Of The Inspiration EditWhat you’ll need: –
– Wooden slices
– Brown glitter paper
– Red glitter paper
– String
– Brown paint
– Paint Brush
– Black marker pen
– To create these adorable Rudolf ornaments you need to place your wooden slices on your surface.- Paint one side of the wooden slice brown using your brown paint and paintbrush.
– Then, allow the piece to fully dry.
– Whilst the wooden slices are drying, draw and cut out two sets of antlers for each reindeer ornament.
– Next cut out a large red nose for each Rudolf
– Using your glue gun glue the brown glitter antlers to the back of your wooden slices.
– Glue the red nose onto the bottom half of the wood slice and draw two eyes with your black marker pen.
– Draw a line under Rudolf’s nose to add a mouth!
– The final part of the process is to thread a piece of string through the hole on your wooden slice.
Your Rudolf Christmas craft is now ready to hang on the Christmas tree or in another location in the home.
Clay Pot Christmas Tree Ornaments
Photos and Process Courtesy of Projects with Kids
What you’ll need: –
– Acrylic paint
– Q-tips
– Paint palette
– Paintbrush
– Mini clay pots (our pots were the 2inch size)
– 1-inch Wooden stars
– Glue gun
– Ribbon
– Mod Podge
Process: –
– First, start by painting your mini clay pot with green acrylic paint. Depending on the type of paint you use, you will need 2-3 coats. Make sure to turn your pot over and paint the bottom as well.
– Let kids be creative here and choose their own colours they would like to use to decorate their tree.
– But you can do all white dots for a winter tree (I think we might try this as well!) or add in some gold and silver if you like.
Christmas Tree Print
Photos and Process Courtesy of Amanda/ Process of Play
What you’ll need: –
-Cardboard.
-Tempera paint (take a look at my supplies list for paint suggestions).
-Paint brushes.
-Containers for paint.
-Cork or bottle stopper.Process: –
– Cut your cardboard into a tree shape. Cut two different sizes. Take the top layer of paper off to expose the corrugation – it creates lovely texture for printing.
Wooden Spoon Angel Christmas Ornaments
Photo and Process Courtesy of I Heart Crafty Things
What you’ll need: –
– wooden craft spoons
– white craft foam sheet
– 5-inch round doily
– yarn (colour of choice)
– gold glitter stick*
– fine point black marker
– ribbon
– hot glue gun
– scissors
– Glue
Process: –
– Fold your doily in half and glue it shut. Then cut it in half to make two angel wings.
– Cut out a white angel gown from your white craft foam sheet and a few strands of yarn to use for hair. Also, cut off a section of your gold glitter stick to make a halo. Bend the end of the glitter stick section to form a circle and wrap the ends of it around the remaining section of stick to close it shut.
– Hot glue a ribbon onto the back of the angel so that you can hang it on your Christmas tree as an ornament.
PLAY
Courtesy of Alyssa/ Where Imagination Grows
My Ugly Christmas Sweater
Courtesy of Jessica/ The Primary Parade
Courtesy of Jen/ Baby Bear Went to Play
Courtesy of Colleen/ Raising Lifelong Learners
– Flour
– Cinnamon
– Nutmeg
– Allspice
– Ginger
– Oil
– Salt
– Cream of tartar
– Brown food colouringProcess: –
– Mix 1 cup of flour, 1/2 a cup of salt, 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil, 1 tablespoon of cream of tartar, and a sprinkle of each spice in a small saucepan. Add a heavy sprinkling of ginger to make this smell just like gingerbread. Add some brown food colouring.
Courtesy of Ashley/ The Purposeful Nest
What you’ll need: –
– Baking Soda
– White hair conditioner
– In a large bowl mix 2 1/2 cups of pure baking soda with 1/2 a cup of white hair conditioner.- Stir mixture in large bowl until ingredients are well combined.
– Enjoy hours of sensory play!
Christmas Surprise in a Muffin Tin
Courtesy of Simple Fun Kids
What you’ll need: –
– Muffin tin.
– Large juice bottle lids. {Ours are from Simply Orange juice.}
– Small Christmas bows and/or mini Christmas ornaments or other small toddler-safe Christmas items you have on hand.
Chickpea Baubles
Courtesy of Harry and Louisa Adventures
We hope you’ve found some easy & fun new Christmas craft, food & play ideas! Make sure to tag us if you try any of these.
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