Sharing a lovely time with children is a chance that no adult likes to miss out on. So here are a few fun craft projects that you can indulge in with children and make the magical time of New Year’s even more memorable for them.
Shakers:
Buy an assortment of strong cardboards paper bowls along with small plates. Now tell the kids to decorate the plates with a host of art materials like (paper scraps, crayons, markers, felt paper, magazine clippings etc.). Stenciling “Happy New Year” on utencils is also a good idea. Now place within the bowls a handful of beans and staple the lid shut of the bowl with a plate. Every time your child shakes it will make sounds, your personalized homemade Shaker is now ready.
Time-Capsule Noise Maker:
Firstly you need to make a shaker in the manner described above, and then try to hide a time capsule inside. You can make the kids draw family pictures, or answer some questions about themselves and also have them include their hopes and dreams for the upcoming year. Place the piece of paper in the noisemaker and then staple it shut. Let the kids play around and make noise when the clock strikes twelve after which you can safely tuck away the noise maker for a few years, and take them out later. This makes up for a good craft activity and a beautiful memory that can be shared later.
Rattles:
Since skids love to make some noise here is another craft project that will make them squeal with delight. All you need is two clear plastic cups and then ask the kids to fill one with small things handful of dried beans, rice, clean fish tank gravel, shiny pennies, or colourful beads to make a rattle of their choice. Now place the other glass on top and tape them securely together from rim to rim. You can try putting colourful tape to make them look more attractive, you can try making different patters like stripes and crosses.
Recycling the Holiday Tree:
Since New Year’s and Christmas arrive around the same time, a good idea would be to recycle the Christmas tree and use it as a Mew Year’s tree. As the Christmas spirit wears off and the ornaments that are used for Christmas are taken off the tree, you can let the lights stay. Collect as may odd decorative new year pieces you can find like party hats, paper horns, bows, ribbons, wrapped candy bars with ribbons on top (which should be placed away from the curious eyes of toddlers), and put them on the tree making it look exciting and steeped in the New Year spirit. You can ask kids to contribute too in making ornaments and breathing new life into the celebrations in your household.
The Resolution Box:
The first step to making a resolution box is probably explaining to the children what a resolution really is. Now that you have explained this, things are relatively simpler; all you need is a shoebox, some decorative paper, scrap material etc. Help the kids write down their resolution and sign them with the date when the resolution was made. Add a photo of the child to the box and include within it some party items like confetti, hats, horns etc. Other things that you can add to the box are reminders like, baseball cards, list of goals, a lock of hair etc. that would all be cherished as memorabilia later. You can make this into a tradition, and it also serves as amemorabilia of your children growing up.