Christmas Countdown 2013 - 18 Sleeps to Go!

Decorate the Mantle

One day we will have a beautiful hall table to decorate, but I have been looking for one that is just right for a couple of years now and still haven't found it. Until I succeed on that front, the rather unattractive mantle above our unused fireplace gets the attention.

It was a good day to do this activity today. The little ones were tired and fractious so having an activity that didn't require too much of them was perfect. Last year we had lots of decorative items that the kids had made at daycare which were ideal for the mantle, but this year it was rather slim pickings. So we had to make do with stuff I had in my decoration stash. 

  
But first off, I had the kids string their decorated cones from the other day. I had some spare beads lying around so we knotted on on at the end of some gold cord and threaded on a cone used a large upholstery needle (because I couldn't find the kid-friendly plastic craft needles that I put in a safe place recently). Another bead was knotted on about 10-15cm above the threaded cone and so we continued until there were 3 cones on a string. 

We hung the cones and then continued with placing the rest of the decorations. Somewhat conveniently I happened to have a box of 3 red felt sleighs that I had bought at Ikea last Christmas. They went perfectly with the little reindeer that I *ahem* splurged on when I took the kids shopping for their decorations the other day. Throw in a few mini candy canes and hey, presto! Decorations sorted.

The most difficult part of this activity was getting the kids to smile for a photo. 

Christmas Countdown 2013 - 20 Sleeps to Go!

Colour in Christmas Cones

Months ago I found these really cool colour-in Christmas cone printables doing the rounds on Pinterest. They appeared to be the ideal activity for a girl who has just spent 7.5 hours at preschool, so they were slated for today. Only problem was that when I went to download the files, I discovered that not only were they not free (just cheap at US$4.49) but I would also need to set up an account with all my contact details etc in order to purchase them. Really! I am not willing to give all my details for a digital download purchase of $4.49. 

So, what to do? Go and consult with my friend Google, that's what. And that is where I found these cool AND free cone decoration printables. The only drawback is that they come pre-coloured, so rather than a "colouring" activity, it became an "embellishing" one. Did the kids care about the change of plan? Absolutely not!

In a fit of uncharacteristic organisation, I actually prepared (almost) everything that was required for the blinging session before I left to collect DD from preschool. 

Fortunately I had the forethought to do a full set of cones for each child. I suspect there may have been blood spilt had they been required to agree on who got which designs. The industry was amazingly focused and there was a lot of glitter everywhere (there still is). DS demonstrated amazing precision dotting his Christmas Tree cone with my not-as-cheap-as-poster-paint Liquid Pearls. He then demonstrated some very "interesting" creativity when he stuck mini googly eyes on top of said Liquid Pearl spots (while I tried to not run off screaming words like "sacrilege").

We had to leave the artworks to dry before we curved them into their cone shapes. That was a pre-bedtime reprisal. If you are going to try these cones yourself, go straight for the double sided tape to secure the sides - I ended up just sticking my fingers together with glue.  

So, now me and my industrious little elves need to find a home for today's creations while you experience the Elves Lament....