A Few Fun Festive Crafts! There's still time!

This year we have done a lot of homemade crafts for gifts and decorations.  I always have loved doing homemade crafts for gifts and holiday decor, but this year I've taken it to a whole new level.

I just wanted to share a couple fun decorations the kids and I have done for our home.  I will share a few of the fun gifts we made for the neighbors and friends soon.  I'd show you today, but I might spoil the surprise for someone ;).

Here is a fun craft you can do with the kids that might help them get out of your hair for a few minutes.  It is a printable nativity scene that the kids can color and cut out and then you glue the pieces onto toilet paper rolls.  I have been saving our empty rolls for a while now, but it won't take much more than a paper towel roll and a few toilet paper rolls.

Here is how ours came out:

Here is the link to the printable nativity scene and the instructions - Nativity Scene Printable


For myself, I found this adorable craft, make your own mistletoe kissing ball.  I had all the ingredients laying around, so I had to do it.  I am always looking for an excuse to cover my kids in kisses and I had a feeling this would be fun for both kids to AVOID getting kissed by one another.  Boy, was I right!  Daily, they are either standing under it and taunting the other person to come and kiss them and then running away or one is trying to drag the other underneath it.  Then there are those precious moments when they both find themselves under there together and cover one another with kisses.  Plus, I have been getting so much extra love and kisses from both of them,  I might leave it up all year long. :)  Here is my mistletoe:

Here is the link to the pattern - Mistletoe Kissing Ball Tutorial
The only suggestions I would like to add to the tutorial are:
1) When you cut the wavy lines between the two green rectangles, don't be afraid to go close to the edges.  I would leave only a half and inch to an inch of space.  I didn't cut mine too deep and it left me with a huge center when I glued the two halves together that was hard to fluff out and make it look full.
2) When you glue the two centers together, glue the ribbon in between the two halves of mistletoe.  I glued mine on top and after finishing, I think it would have been best to glue it in the center for extra support.


Then I have a couple special decorations that I have added to our tradition.  My cat of 15 years, Tomas, passed away in August.  I find myself missing her a lot this time of year.  She has always had her own stocking, a Christmas ornament for the tree, a special Christmas frame with a sweet kitten picture of her in her Christmas scarf, her Christmas scarf, and another little Christmas holly piece I used to put on her for "fun" torture.  As I pulled each piece out of the Christmas box it made me miss her that much more.  I am at peace with her parting because she was very ill and had lived a long happy life, and died peacefully and perfectly, but it doesn't stop me from loving her and missing her sweet face, her warmth, and her company on these cold winter nights.  I found a couple ways to honor her memory and keep her alive in spirit in our home each Christmas.

My Tomas statue that my mom bought me for my birthday after Tomas passed away.  Now my "Tomas" can still wear her scarf each and every year :).  This makes me very happy and comforts me.  Even our dog, Mississippi, stopped to take a long sniff ... I think she may miss Tomas the most.

This is a sign I had made for my garden.  I started creating this "safe space" on the patio for Tomas just before she passed away.  She loved being outside, but we are on a very busy road.  The garden is sparse right now because it's winter, but I hope it will be in full bloom with herbs this spring and my "Tomas" will be able to hang in the shade in spirit and enjoy the fresh air.  I decided to hang the other christmas piece I loved to dress her up torture with every year on this sign.

I hope you all are staying warm and are all finished with your shopping and are ready to enjoy the festivities, food, family and fun!!!  Happy Holidays!