When I was still a kid, I have always looked forward to Christmas. Who doesn't? I bet that if you ask the kids what their favorite holiday is, I'm sure they will all shout CHRISTMAS! We all look forward to the Christmas lights, decors, carols, presents and of course, celebrating with our families and loved ones!
I grew up with fun memories of Christmas although I didn't come from a wealthy family. My mom didn't buy much Christmas decors but she managed to decorate our house beautifully every year. She has the knack for creating decors mostly from styrofoam, wrappers and crepe papers. I have always admired her creativity and frugality. She showed me that it is possible to make beautiful decors by spending less.
We made Christmas Tree ornaments from styrofoam and paint. Back then, National Bookstore sold styrofoam shaped as socks, bells, candy canes and snowmen. The only thing I had to do was to paint the styrofoam then Mama would sew a gold string in each decor and let me hang them on the tree. I could still remember how proud I felt with my "creations".
Now that I'm a mom, I am more excited for Christmas not because of the presents (which are getting less and less every year) but because I now have my own family to spend it with. I already have our Christmas Tree standing in our living room but it didn't feel like a major accomplishment to me. I wanted to do something that I will be proud of. Then I remembered what brought joy to me when I was a kid---creating DIY decors with Mama :)
My daughter is still a toddler so this year, I had to do the DIY decor by myself but I'm looking forward to sharing fun memories of creating DIY decors in the next years with her --- just like the memories that me and Mama shared :)
You too can have a DIY Christmas fun with your kids! I'm not really artistic but I feel very special when I create something. If I can do it, so can you! So what if your DIY craft is not so perfect? The important thing is that you and your kids have lots of fun together while doing it with less cost. Just don't forget to take photos while you're in action. My mom forgot that part!
I would like to share with you my DIY Snowman decor, inspired by www.diynetwork.com but modified to suit materials available. Like what I said, I'm not artistic enough but I feel really proud with this. Hubby said it is beautiful and that's all I need to know. Lol! This only costs Php 100-150 :)
If you like what you see, then follow these steps :)
Materials you'll need:
1 small styrofoam ball
1 big styrofoam ball
1 big square styrofoam
2 small square styrofoam
3 toothpicks
bottle cap
all-purpose glue
liquid glue
buttons
embellishments
silver glitters
felt paper
foil paper
ribbons
paint/permanent marker
Here are the steps:
1. Apply liquid glue all over the 2 styrofoam balls then sprinkle silver glitters on them. Once dry, push a toothpick into both balls to create the snowman's whole body.
2. Paint the bottle cap with your desired color. You may use paint but I chose to use a red permenent marker. The bottle cap size depends on how big you'd like the hat to be (I used Dr. Edwards water bottle cap). Cut a square from the felt paper. Again, size depends on your preference. Stick the painted bottle cap on the center of the square felt paper using all-purpose glue. Once dry, glue it to the snowman's head.
3. Glue 2 buttons for the eyes using all-purpose glue. For the nose, you may insert half of a toothpick. In my case, I used a portion of a plastic fork which I found lying around the kitchen and glued gold glitters around it. For the mouth, stick a mouth-shaped foil paper. You may also use other embellishments like glitters or just simply draw a mouth with a permanent marker.
4. Cut a long rectangle from the felt paper. Trim the edge to create a fringe. Wrap this around the snowman's neck and glue edges together to form a scarf. Use embellishments to add details to the scarf. You may also glue buttons down the body if you want to.
5. Push a toothpick between the snowman's base and the square stryofoam to create a more stable base. You may also wrap the square styrofoam if desired.
6. Wrap foil paper to the 2 small square styrofoams and tie a ribbon to create the gifts. Glue these beside the snowman.
And there you go! Your very own snowman :) Feel free to add more embellishments to make it prettier. Let the kids take care of the glue or let them sprinkle the glitters. Whatever makes it more fun for them.
I hope you have fun making this snowman with your kids. It's spending less and at the same time making fun Christmas memories with the little people that matter most to you.
Merry Christmas, everyone!!! :)
Check out the rest of our Spend-Less Christmas Carnival Participants!
While I was reading your post, my toddler was beside me. He went head over heels with the Snowman and he wanted to visit this page again and again! We will definitely make a snowman!
ReplyDeleteYay! Your little boy got taste! Lol! I'm happy to know that I inspired someone! Thanks for letting me know :)
DeleteI'm not artistic myself. Our tree is kinda bare right now, except for a string of lights and the angel on top, because I was planning to buy new decor. But because of your post, I'm thinking of letting my girls just make their own decor to put on our tree. :) For someone who's not artistic, you're snowman looks really cute!
ReplyDeleteHe is kinda cute :D Yes, let the girls use their creativity. They're at the age of boundless imagination and they'll have fun doing the decors together. :)
DeleteI love it that you are set on passing your DIY Christmas tradition to your child. Just shows how wonderful your childhood memories are! Lovely!
ReplyDelete(Speaking of memories and family traditions, I received your comment on a blog post but it isn't showing up even in my Disqus dashboard. I've had this problem before :( So anyway, I just want to say that yes, the "kindness Advent activity" would be great when your child is a bit older by next year. )
DIYs are always fun and more sentimental because of the personal touch. Your snowman is blinged out, May :) Cool!
ReplyDeleteDIY is love. I am looking forward to doing more DIYs with my son. I don't want to miss out on crafting with him! Thanks for the tips. :) And thanks for joining the spend-less carnival! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks too , Martine! For organizing this blog carnival with Cheryl. Looking forward to more blog carnivals in the future :)
Deletemy kid is also too young to DIY ornaments, but it will definitely be part of our future Christmases!
ReplyDeleteGosh, so many DIY ideas from this Spend-Less Christmas carnival! :) Thanks for sharing, May! :) Will try some of the ideas posted — including yours! :D (TRY is the operative word, haha!) God bless!
ReplyDelete