If there's one thing that kids love to do it's create things. The holidays are just the right time for them to have free reign with crafts. Since everyone is hard at work decorating the house, kids can lend their creativity to the moment by creating their own decorations of Santa Claus.

When you mention Christmas kids think of Santa Claus. The bearded man in the red suit has fascinated young ones for decades. Show the kids how to make fun Christmas crafts that feature Santa.

Before you buy anything, check around the house. Primary colors for Santa Claus are red, white, and black. Go on the hunt for materials that match this description. A bag full of cotton balls can be turned into a white beard for several crafts. Pipe cleaners, wooden clothespins, pieces of fleece or felt, and Popsicle sticks are excellent for many holiday crafts and Santa crafts are no exception.

Once you've turned the place upside down, head out to the store for the items that you are missing. Using items that you already own saves money especially when there is more than one child and they want to make a lot of crafts.

Let's return to those cotton balls. If you have some generic Christmas stockings lying around, give them a face lift. Use a black marker to draw the face of Santa Claus on the stocking. Attach a cotton ball beard, eyes, and a nose with non-toxic glue. These items can also decorate Santa Claus hats and scarves. Be sure to let the crafts dry completely before hanging or wearing them.

Paper bags are for more than just lunch sandwiches. The end of the bag where it folds can be outfitted with a Santa Claus face to make a merry puppet. Make hands and arms with extra felt pieces. Let kids stand their puppets up on canned food cans to dry. This idea also works well for sock puppets.

Red plastic cups or small terra cotta pots can be turned over and used as Santa's body. A Styrofoam ball can double as Santa's head. Give kids the space to decorate and dress Santa the way that they want to. Get them to make enough of these Santa cups or pots and place them on your table as a small gift for each dinner guest.

Using clothespins and pipe cleaners, you can create miniature Santa ornaments for the Christmas tree. Remember, younger children will need more help and supervision no matter which craft they are making. For older kids, spread the craft items out over the table and see what their imagination can conjure up.

Santa is a big part of the celebration of Christmas and therefore should be part of the household decorations and festivities as well. Santa crafts are easy holiday fun that allows kids to contribute to the decorations and be proud of their completed work too, so let them show their creations off as much as they want to family and friends who come by to visit this holiday season.

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Candy cane lovers are going to love this delicious holiday treat! Watch for those candy cane sales.

Ingredients:

2 pounds white chocolate
30 peppermint candy canes
*(If it's not the holidays get a bag or two of the red and white swirly peppermint candies!)

Instructions:

First we're going to smash up those pretty candy canes! Put them in a large Ziploc bag and do whatever you want to do to smash them up, hit them with a meat mallet, smack them off the counter, drop them, whatever gets them broken into pieces. The kids will be sure to want to help with this step. Melt the chocolate. This can be done in the microwave. Start off with 1 - 2 minutes. Stir. Heat for another minute. Stir. Continue doing this until you have completely melted and smooth white chocolate. Stir broken candy pieces into the melted chocolate and spread the mixture evenly into a jellyroll pan.

*Tip ~ line the jellyroll pan with foil first for easy removal and clean up. Chill until set, at least one hour but probably more. Break into pieces and store in a sealed container.

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Kids love making their own Christmas decorations for their home and displaying them proudly.

Use ribbons and bows to decorate lamps, curtains and drapes. Choose different color ribbons and bows according to the colors in your home. For example, if you have white curtains, add red and green bows you can stick onto any surface, and arrange the bows on the white curtains any way you wish.

Kids may want to decorate the drapes using different sized white doilies, and fill the drapes with snowflakes. Attach green or red garland to the bottom of the drapes, and hang small light colored ornaments on the garland.

Kids can also decorate the entertainment center with candles of all colors, little glass bowls of Christmas balls, and Christmas figurines. Whether the entertainment center is wood, white or black, this is a sure way to make the entertainment center a Christmas display.

Have a coffee table? If the coffee table is glass, the kids can decorate the edge of the coffee table with garland and ornaments. Remember to choose a garland that compliments the colors in the room. Tape the garland around the table. Start with taping the garland at one corner of the table and let the garland hang a few inches. Repeat the process: tape and hang, until you have hung the garland completely around the coffee table. Then add favorite ornaments and hang them on the garland. This is a wonderful visual effect that also works on your mantel or a banister or railing, too.

Your children can create Christmas artwork with markers, paints or crayons. If you display it in a nice frame, it will complement your home décor and look like you paid money for it.

And, of course, a favorite Christmas decoration is a gingerbread house. Create a gingerbread house with your children. The gingerbread house will be a perfect display for a countertop or in the middle of your coffee table.

Choosing Christmas decoration ideas for kids to make is easy; arranging them to compliment the décor of your home is the challenge. Choose the decorations, and have the kids use their imagination to turn your home into wonderland of color.

More Christmas Ideas Here

Christmas is the time of year when families get together for fun and fellowship.  It is during these times that traditions are created that can be passed down to each new generation.  What are your family traditions?  If you really hadn't thought about it, use this Christmas season to begin a few special ones.

Depending on your denomination of the Christian faith, some people attend services on Christmas.  Programs are held on Christmas Eve night or on the Sunday immediately before Christmas Day. Attending a service gives families time to reflect on the spiritual aspect of the season and share the nativity story with their children.  In some churches, the children perform Christmas plays for the church congregation.

"The Night Before Christmas" is the perfect time for the famous story of the same name by Clement C. Moore.  The story is about a man who witnesses Santa's visit to his house on Christmas Eve.  Gather the entire family for the reading just before bedtime. 

Christian and secular traditions don't have to exist separately.  The two can be merged to create a well-rounded holiday family tradition.  For those parents that choose not to let their children believe in Santa Claus, tell them the story of St. Nicholas. When a child really thinks about it, he or she will realize that no one can make it around the world to every home in a night, let alone fly on a sleigh to do it.

St. Nicholas is the bishop on whom the legend is based.  He was a Christian man who sought to use his money to serve the people in godly ways.  He was so loved that after his death, stories circulated about his many deeds.  Over time, the good deeds turned into miracles performed.  In Europe, more specifically among the Dutch, the legend of Sinterklaas was born.  He was the predecessor of the American folk hero, Santa Claus.

Christmas traditions can include volunteering at a soup kitchen or collecting money for charities.  When thinking about others, families express the true meaning and spirit of the season. Good will towards mankind sets an example that our children can and should follow.  Not only will you be helping those in need by doing these things, but you will be teaching your children great lessons for life at the same time.

A favorite tradition of mine is telling stories of past Christmases shared with family.  remembering the excitement of Christmas Eve night when I was the age of my own kids brings a feeling of warmth to my soul.  Christmas traditions that I grew up with such as decorating the tree together in Early December are observed in my home today. 
 
How about you, what memories or Traditions do you have from your own childhood that you could incorporate into your own family now?

1. Christmas trees were first lighted with actual candles, which presented a fire hazard. As a result containers filled with water had to be kept near the Christmas tree.

2. Workers in the construction industry are responsible for the tradition of having a Christmas tree on display at Rockefeller Center in New York City. They are credited with placing an undecorated tree at the site in the early 1930s.

3. Since the mid-1960s, The National Christmas Tree Association has maintained a presence in the White House at Christmas by donating a Christmas tree to the First Family.

4. The former Woolworth department store first sold manufactured Christmas tree ornaments in 1880.

5. Plastic became the primary material used to make tinsel after their use for decorative purposes was at one time prohibited because lead was used in the manufacturing process.

6. The idea of Christmas greeting cards started in Britain in the late 1830s when John Calcott Horsley started to produce small cards that had festive scenes and a holiday greeting written inside. Similar cards were also being made in the United States at about the same time by R.H. Pease, in Albany, New York, and Louis Prang, who was a German immigrant. The idea of sending the greeting cards during Christmas gained popularity in both countries about 10 years later when new postal
delivery services started.

7. The shortened form Xmas for Christmas has been popular in Europe since the 1500s. It is believed to be derived from the Greek word 'Xristos' which means Christ.

8. According to the National Confectioners Association, for 200 years candy canes were only made in the color of white and it wasn't until in the 1950s that a machine was invented that could automate the production of candy canes.

9. The day after Christmas is called Boxing Day in England and it is a national holiday. Several stories exist for the origination of the name. It is believed to have originated from the practice of boys who would be about collecting money in clay boxes. Another thought is that the term is derived from a custom in the Middle Ages, about 800 years ago, when churches would open their 'alms boxes' and distribute the contents to poor people on the day after Christmas. Alms boxes are boxes in which donations of gifts and money would be placed. Yet another belief is that it comes from a custom of masters giving their servants Christmas presents in boxes on the day after Christmas.

10. Evergreen trees had special meaning in winter to people, particularly in Europe, before Christianity started. Ancient peoples would hang evergreen branches over their doors and windows because evergreens were believed to ward off witches, ghosts, evil spirits and illness. For worshipers of the sun god, evergreen plants were a reminder of all the green plants that would grow with the return of summer and the sun god being strong again.

11. In ancient times, many people worshiped the sun as a god in December because they thought winter occurred yearly because the sun god had fallen into ill health. They therefore celebrated the winter solstice because it was a sign that the son god would begin to regain strength and return to good health.

12. Legislators in Congress did business on Christmas Day in 1789, which was the first one to be observed under the country's new constitution. The reason for the Congressional session was because it had become unpopular then to observe and take part in English customs following the American Revolution. And when Christmas celebrations were barred in Boston earlier in 1659 to 1681, it became a costly thing to be seen participating in any event or activity related to Christmas. Anyone caught doing so had to pay five shillings.

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