Your kids are keen to get crafty this Christmas, but the idea of mess makes you feel less than merry.
Enter mum, teacher, and crafting expert Shannon Wong-Nizic with her top tips for mess-free, stress-free Christmas craft.
Craft essentials: Craft sessions don’t need to be big, grand experiences. Choose items that are fun and effective to use. The most basic kit includes scissors, clear glue or tape, coloured card or paper, and a set of coloured pens or markers.
Tape mate: Coloured tape is a hero of the arts and crafts world. It’s simple to use, low-mess, and allows mini-makers to practise some fine motor skills and engage in sensory play.
Colour up: Don’t feel you need to stick to traditional Christmas colours such as red, gold, and green. There’s no reason why you can’t have a rainbow Christmas!
Enjoy the journey: Try not to focus on the end result and instead enjoy the journey. It can make the whole experience more enjoyable for everybody. When children are engaged, they are happy just to create and explore.
Free play: Christmas is a great time to encourage creativity. Try leaving easy-to-use, low-mess art materials out on the table so that kids can create whenever and however they please.
Join in: Have fun creating alongside your children. Provide the materials to everybody, create exactly what is in your mind, and let the kids create what is exactly in their minds. You’re then in control of your process and product and not imposing your ideas onto their process. It models to your children that you value the act of creating and also spending time with them, immersed in their world.
Download Shannon’s Christmas craft templates at pilotpen.com.au/blog/have-your-elf-a-merry-little-craftmas-with-pintor.
