| Some of the best Christmas memories I have is taking | | | | Then let the child cut out the image. While they're |
| time with my children to make Christmas decorations. | | | | cutting, you may fold a piece of light brown |
| We have made decorations for the house that we still | | | | construction paper (from top to bottom, making a 4" x |
| use today. It's wonderful to remember activities that | | | | 6" piece). Next draw a slightly elongated shape with |
| we shared as we created decorations for Christmas. | | | | slight points at the folded end. This is where the finger |
| Ideas for creating your own keepsake decorations are | | | | "antlers" will be glued. While the child is cutting out this |
| fun for the whole family. | | | | shape, you need to cut 2 white "egg" shaped |
| We love to make wall decorations that add Christmas | | | | circles the size of a silver dollar, 2 dark brown |
| memories and color to our home. A fantastic | | | | quarter-sized circles, and a half dollar sized red foil |
| keepsake decoration is 'Rudolph', a deer with antlers | | | | circle. These are for the face. Cut out white candy |
| made in the shape of your child's hand. Make sure to | | | | cane about 2" (hook) and 5" long, and draw on about |
| put the date, child's name & age on it. A perfect | | | | 12 diagonal lines for the red stripe, which can be |
| complement to Rudolph is a wreath with your child's | | | | colored with the markers. |
| picture, which is detailed in Keepsake Christmas | | | | Now it is time to glue everything on and make the |
| Decorations, Part 2. | | | | keepsake memory of the antlered deer, using your |
| DEER WITH HANDS ANTLERS | | | | child's hand. Take the light brown oblong shape and |
| Materials:Â light & dark brown, & white construction | | | | glue the "antlers" on the folded part with the slight |
| paper, scissors, red marker and glue. The first you | | | | points. Next glue on the oblong white shapes about 2" |
| need to do is to draw around your child's hands, with | | | | to 2 & ½" from the bottom, on either side of the |
| their arms crossed and laying on the light brown paper. | | | | "face", with at least 1" between them. Now glue the |
| This will let the right thumb be pointing left and the left | | | | dark brown circles in the middle of the whites and glue |
| thumb will be pointing right. Have the tips of their little | | | | the red foil just below the eyes, in the middle of the |
| fingers about an inch apart. After tracing the hands | | | | face. With a black marker, make a mouth, slightly |
| and the area between the little fingers to the wrist | | | | curved, almost the shape of the bottom of the "face". |
| (which forms a "U"), add the antler's bottom by | | | | Glue on the candy cane angling from the mouth. You |
| drawing a line between the thumbs that matches the | | | | now have 'Rudolph' with your child's "handmade" |
| width of their hands (about 2"). Make it parallel to the | | | | antlers, a wonderful keepsake in the future of what |
| line formed between the little fingers. Sideways, the | | | | size your child was this year. |
| form will be a "C" with fingers aiming out. | | | | |