When you hear the term “kid friendly” what sorts of things do you think of? Most people automatically associate children’s toys and bright colors with things that are kid friendly. It is not the norm to consider kid friendly things as beautiful. Yet, there are many ways that you can make beautiful Christmas decorations that are in fact kid friendly.
Making beautiful Christmas decorations that are kid friendly may require more effort but you do not have to sacrifice style for function. There are many different ways that you can either create your own beautiful decorations or that you can alter your existing decorations to be more conducive to a home with children.
Below you will find some suggestions for kid friendly decorations that you can make with your children. Not only do these craft decorations have the potential to create a lot of happy memories for you and your children, but they can also be a beautiful addition to your home this holiday season.
Salt Water Clay Ornaments
Salt water clay is the perfect medium for kids who want to be creative. Salt water clay is edible (but doesn’t taste very good) and can be molded into almost any shape. A great thing to do is to make ornaments for your tree by using the clay and some holiday cookie cutters as the molds. Have your kids push the clay into the molds or roll the clay flat and cut out the shapes with the cookie cutters. Poke or cut a hole at the top of the shape that will be large enough to string a ribbon through. Allow the clay to dry and paint the ornament. Try not to use too many different colors of paint. Sticking to one base color usually gives the end product a cleaner look. Decorate your shape accordingly. If you made gingerbread man shapes out of your clay, use gumdrops, peppermints and any other edible small candy to give the gingerbread man a face and buttons or clothes. Use a glue gun or frosting to attach any candy details. Allow everything to dry and then string and tie a piece of ribbon through your finished ornament. Your kids will love that they helped to contribute to the making of the ornaments for the tree, and you can appreciate the simple and beautiful touch that these kid friendly ornaments add to your tree. Adding shatter proof bulbs to the tree will help to fill in the bald spots on the tree and are still safe enough to be handled by children (just make sure that you use ribbon to tie them on the tree instead of metal hooks).
Paper People Strand & Snowflakes
For decorations that you can use all over the house, all you need is a pair of scissors and some white paper. Making a paper people strand is easy and can be used to decorate all kinds of areas in your home. You can use this strand as a garland on your tree. You can string these paper people on the mantle or along the railing of the staircase. Or you can use a paper people strand to dress up your dining room table by adding some visual interest to the edges of the table. Paper snowflakes are even easier to make and can be taped to any flat surface (i.e. a window or door), it can be attached to string or ribbon and hung by the ceiling (so you get the look of real falling snow), or you can use paper snowflakes as ornaments. The best thing about all these decorations is that they are safe for kids and it is hard to make either of these decorations the wrong way. The more unique they are the better.
Use fabrics : Using fabrics to add elegance to your holiday decor is another easy kid friendly decoration. Drape holiday fabrics over your favorite chair or make some simple pillows that you can throw on your couch. With minimal effort you can achieve a beautiful look that is still fun and safe for your kids.