All kids love crafts. Yours may like slimy, gluey or drawing crafts, but you know your limit and their interest, so get them involved and spend some quality time together.
Kathy's granddaughter Sloane came on the TV segment today. She helped make a holiday decoration for the front door of her home!
This will hang on the front door, similar to the way you would use a wreath.
Bells became a popular form of communication in the Middle Ages.
Usually, the largest building in the city was the church and within the church was a bell. This bell would be rung for a variety of reasons, but each reason centered around communication. Bells would be used to communicate the time of day, the arrival of important persons, important announcements, emergencies, the beginning and end of various events, and they would also be used to announce special celebrations.
Children and adults will perform with hand bells at school/ church performances which have been a Christmas staple for decades.
Over time, Bells have evolved to become more than just a tool to communicate with folks in the community. The uses of bells has become common in Christmas Music, Christmas Movies, and many other Christmas functions.
Silver Bells
Carol of the Bells
Jingle Bells
Jingle Bell Rock
I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day
Sleigh Ride
Ding Dong Merrily On High
Caroling Caroling
Here Comes Santa Claus
Winter Wonderland
So let's make a craft with bells. These supplies you may have in your home already. You can modify it for your age group.
Supplies you may need:
Paper or plastic cups
Pipe cleaner/ Ribbon
Big bead or jingle bell
Satin ribbon
Wrapping Paper, Poster paint or acrylic paint
Paint brush
Glitter/ Gems
Scissors
1Make a hole in the bottom of the plastic or paper cut. You may want to use a pencil, drill, scissors or poker to do this. Please be careful and have an adult help depending on the tool needed.
Use a pencil to punch a small center hole at the bottom of a paper cup.
2Decorate the cup.
You may want to Paint the outside of the paper cup with tempera or poster paint. Add little or no water to the paint. If your cup has a glossy or waxy finish, use acrylic paint. You may also like the color of the cup and keep it just as it is for your bell base. Some may want to use wrapping paper and wrap their cup for a holiday theme. If you use paint, you will want to let your cup dry, before continuing your project. Especially if you are in your holiday best.
Ideas: You can paint your paper cup gold, silver or bronze. For a Christmas bell, you can go for a red or green-colored bell.
3Sprinkle glitter and add details.
For added sparkle, sprinkle some glitter while the paint is still wet. or use hairspray to keep the glitter sticking. Spray the hairspray on the cup and then sprinkle your glitter. You could also use stick on foam decorations, stickers, and fake gems.
4Attach a string to a pipe cleaner.
Make a small loop on one end of a pipe cleaner. Cut a piece of string—its length should roughly be the same as the paper cup height. Tie the string to the loop on the pipe cleaner.
5Connect a jingle bell.
Connect a jingle bell at the end of the string. This will be the bell inside the cup.
6Insert the pipe cleaner.
Insert the end of the pipe cleaner through the hole from the inside of the paper cup. Push all the way until the loop on the pipe cleaner touches the bottom of the paper cup.
7String a bead.
String a large bead through the pipe cleaner. Move the bead all the way down until it touches the bottom of the paper cup.
8Fasten the end above the bead.
Bring the end of the pipe cleaner down towards the top of the bead. Fasten it just above the bead.
9Tie a ribbon.
Cut a length of satin ribbon and tie it into a bow above the bead. The jingle bell should just be in the same level as the cup's mouth. Adjust the length of the string, if necessary. You can decorate the top of the bell with a greenery, holly berries, larger bows or more. Be creative. You could add the bells to some greens or on a wreath to make your craft even larger.
If everyone at the celebration makes one, it will be fun to talk about the different creative styles that for sure will show up. Sing a song together. Let the kids preform. Talk about new events to try within the next year and ring your bell to show your excitement. Whatever you do, have fun. It takes little effort to connect with kids. Give them something to put in their hands other than their phone and say a little prayer of thankfulness, because time goes too quickly.
Be blessed this Christmas Season!