Welcome to another Wacky Workshops project – Christmas ornaments that are so easy you can make them yourself.

This week’s projects include a cute little sled out of paddle pop sticks, a wine cork tree, photo blocks to hang on your Christmas tree and little stars the kids can decorate.

EASY CHRISTMAS ORNAMENTS

SANTA’S SLED

MATERIALS

• 4 x paddle pop sticks
• 2 x larger craft sticks
• Paint
• Glue

METHOD

• Glue the three paddle pop sticks together, side by side, so that the middle one is sticking out further than the other two.
• When the glue is dry, glue those sticks to the edges of the two craft sticks.
• Cut a small section from the remaining paddle pop stick to form a seat and glue that to the top of the craft sticks.
• Paint in desired colours.
• Follow the steps below to make a sweet Santa for your sled.

Check out my post, 5 Fabulous Jewellery Projects to Make for Christmas, for instructions (and a template) for the little presents.

WINE CORK TREE

This is so fast and simple and would make great place name decorations on the Christmas table.

MATERIALS

• 6 x wine corks
• 1 x champagne cork
• Glue
• Beads and straight pins
• Paperclip (optional)
• Name tag (optional)

METHOD

• Glue three corks side by side.
• Add glue to adhere two more corks together and glue them on top of the three.
• Glue the remaining cork on top of the two.
• Cut the champagne cork in half and use the wider part to glue to the bottom of the three wine corks.
• Attach pretty beads by pushing the straight pin into their hole and into the corks.
• If you want to use the little trees as place name decorations, twist the paperclip so one end can be pushed into the top of your little tree.

EASY CHRISTMAS ORNAMENTS – DECORATED STARS

This is such a good craft for the little ones.

MATERIALS

• Light cardboard
• Wool or ribbon in assorted colours
• Hole Punch
• Star-shaped cookie cutter
• Marker
• Scissors

METHOD

• Use the cookie cutter and marker to make star shapes on the cardboard.
• Cut out the stars.
• Give your little ones the wool and ribbon to wrap around the stars. This is great for fine motor skills – they need to have the wool at the right tension so it sits close o the star, but not so tight it bends the star.
• Use the hole punch to make a hole near one of the points to you can add some ribbon and hang.

PHOTO BLOCKS

The first few years after the oldest two Goddesses were born, I found little photo frames to hang on the tree for myself and the other grandparents in their lives.

With more Goddesses, I discovered that little tradition was becoming expensive and also took up a lot of space on the tree.

These little blocks are the perfect substitute.

They are not expensive to buy in craft stores and the fours sides (not including top and bottom) mean I have space for each of the four Goddesses. Of course, if you have more than four grandchildren you will need more blocks. If you have less, you can use the other sides of the block for the child’s name, the year, or a Christmas word such as ‘joy’.

METHOD

• Twist a little metal hook into the top of the block.
• Print your favourite headshots of your kids to fit the size of the sides on the block.
• Glue into place and then cover with a clear craft glue – to protect the picture.
• Add ribbon to the hook and hang on your tree.
• If you are using four sides for photographs, you can write the year on the bottom of the block with a permanent marker and add a new block each year.

Don’t forget to share this if you enjoyed the ideas.

Happy crafting and have a gleeful week, Tamuria.