These easy suprise dinosaur eggs are the perfect sensory activity to keep exploring minds busy. They make great party favours too!
Tag: activities for kids
Wacky Box SA – Everything you need to entertain your kids, in one box
Lets see how many times you have googled “activities to stimulate my child” this lockdown… 2, 3, 4? As a blogger who focuses a large portion of her writing on activities for children, I have certainly noticed a huge increase in requests for ideas since COVID changed our world. Yet I still find myself at a loss from time to time at what to do. Working from home during this time has also left me with less quality time with my kids (believe it or not), because I am always trying to juggle between the two. I wasn’t finding the time to prep activities for them or to think in advance of things to do, not to mention my craft supplies were dwindling at a rapid rate.
Enter Wacky Box SA. The Wacky Box is brought to you by the Educational Box Company, and it aims to provide support, promote and empower parents in South Africa, giving them the ability and opportunity to spend quality time with their kids, despite their busy lives. Every Wacky Box is jammed packed with activities and follows a different theme for the month. The activities are tried and tested for each age group, and it comes with a detailed instruction booklet for parents, highlighting the benefits of each activity, as well as ways to step it up. The activities inspire both fine and gross motor skills, sensory play as well as arts and music. The box is designed to be completely used up, if fact, even the box and packaging are used as part of the activities.
Our boxes were themed for “senses”, so we had activities such as sticky jelly play, drawing on sandpaper, “listening” by creating shakers, making binoculars, physical movement and of course music themed activities. We even had cinnamon scented oats!
Double it up
My boys are pretty close together in age, so most of the time, I need activities that will engage both of them. One of the things I love the most about Wacky Box is that you can double up your box for siblings for just R110 extra. No more fighting over who gets to do what activity, now they can both do exactly the same thing.
At a time where we are at home more, Wacky Box has been a lifesaver. I haven’t had to think of themes, everything is provided for you, every piece of tape, piece of paper and inch of glue. The boys particularly enjoyed the physical activities, the ping pong ball races and spider climbing. It also prompted “out of the box” thinking (excuse the pun), letting us get creative by drawing on sandpaper to experience different textures. Another aspect I appreciated is that a lot of the materials in the two boxes (we got 4-6 years and 1-2 years) were actually the same. It was just the way the activities were executed that were different. Take the oats for example, For baby they were more of a sensory experience picking up and scooping, filling containers etc, whilst the boys used them to create art. This is a huge benefit when your little one wants to copy her big brothers all the time!
Toddler Play
I jumped at the chance to get a box for my daughter, who is 14 months old. I find myself at a loss of things to do with her, as everything requires supervision, and she isn’t “old enough” for crafts yet. She is at a bit of an “in between phase”, always wanting to do what her big brothers do. We dug animals out of jelly, painted with bells on a brush to add another learning element (I loved this idea) and even reused our box to learn the concept to enhance fine motor skills. It’s been a treat to sit down with her and allowing her to discover new things.
How does it work?
You an order your monthly subscription at just R380 per month, with a different theme chosen for each month. Simply select your appropriate age group and everything is delivered to your door! There are also once off boxes available as well as gifting options. Delivery across South Africa is free.
For more information visit the Wacky Box website, and follow them on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Pinterest.
Giveaway:
We will be gifting one lucky parent with a 4 month subscription to WackyBox , worth R1520.
To enter:
- Like and follow both In these stilettos and Wacky Box SA on Facebook and Instagram .
- Share this article so more people can find out about this awesome service!
For another chance to win head on over to Mommalikeme to enter!
Winner will be announced on 30 June 2020 and the chosen individual must have a child aged between 5 months and 6 years old.
** Disclaimer ** This article was written in collaboration with Wacky Box, however, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
Stay At Home Activities To Keep The Kids Busy During The Corona Virus Lockdown
Its official, South Africa has declared a state of natural disaster and with that our President has released some pretty hardcore regulations for us all to follow to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Schools will be closed for more then a month to see how things pan out and most families will be practising voluntary self-isolation. Queue LOTS of home time and kids climbing up the walls. I don’t think there has ever been a more apt post then this. Save it to your bookmarks and refer back to it, whenever you need quick easy activities to entertain the kids.
One of the central recommendations experts make in order to maintain some sense of security for your kids is to create a schedule. Focus on educational activities for the morning, or arts and crafts for the afternoon. Make sure your kids are getting enough outdoor time.
Start compiling items like sensory activities for younger children and put together baskets full of activity books and games for older kids. Take an afternoon and head to the crazy store and grab a bunch of items to store together.
Create a Scavenger Hunt – hide things around the house or garden and write down a list for the kids to go and find (draw pictures of the objects if they are too young to read)
Create an Obstacle course – a friend did this with the kids when we went around for a visit and they absolutely LOVED it. Send the kids to race to the wall, then hop across the yard on one foot, then skip to the tree etc, you get the picture.
Paint Outdoors
Go on a bug hunt
Wash the car – never underestimate how much the kids love this.
Build a bird house or make a bird feeder
Have a Pyjama party
Watch the clouds
Play with water balloons
Make a batch of home made playdough
Play Charades
Play Hide and Seek
Build Engineering structures
Good old colouring in
Make a sculpture out of cardboard
Play some board games
Set up a mini library at home and read books
Play Cards
Create something with Beads
Make some story stones – the images on the stones become characters in a story that everyone can tell
Play I-Spy
Plant a garden
Build some lego
Download and print some worksheets from the internet
Play catch with your kids – seriously, the power this simple game has is extreme
Have a puzzle morning
Stick some numbers or objects into plastic eggs and hide them around the house. As they open up the eggs they can tick things off the list
Grow some veggies
Play a round of bingo
Grab some paper and crayons and do some leaf and bark rubbings
Create your own stress balls – these are great for fidgety fingers!
Host a pretend cooking show (with the kids of course)
Build a Fort
Make a Marble Run
Do some crosswords
Do some sensory play
Make your own DIY Jellyfish (arts and crafts)
Make your own musical instruments
Create a suncatcher
Create something with air drying clay
Create a nature weave
Make some paper planes and have a competition to see who can get them the furthest
Make some finger puppets
Play with Foam Paint
Create some egg cartoon creations
Draw on the bricks with sidewalk chalk
Make some science crystals
Try some origami
Make a fairy garden (yes even boys will love this)
Make your own “wizard wands” out of sticks
Paint with bubble wrap
Make your own DIY Flip book
Make your own fridge magnets
Set up some tin can, carnival style throw games
Make your own water wall
Create a town with a cardboard box
Make some lemonade
Play a memory game
Paint with vegetables – potato or apple printing
Do some mazes
Do some sticker art
Set up some “bath” stations for your toys
Decorate some T-Shirts
I know its going to be hard for people to feel “trapped” at home. Sometimes I get into a space and cant think of anything to do with the kids and I often end up succumbing to TV if it weren’t for lists like this. So save this, print it out and whenever you need to try to stick to the game plan and turn to something more constructive.
We will get through this, one day at a time. Lets cherish this quality time, it’s the worlds way of telling us to slow down a little. Appreciate the small things xx
Chickpea Foam – Taste Safe Sensory Fun
Aquafaba, its been around for years; I certainly haven’t created anything new here but I personally only discovered it recently and what an incredible eye opener! Aquafaba is often used in vegan cooking and baking. This super cool substance mimics the functional properties of egg whites in cooking, and can be used as a direct replacement, including meringues and marshmallows.
With baby around now I have to start becoming more conscious of some of the sensory play we do with the boys, and in a few short months I will start introducing her to our wonderful world of play! I was researching edible slime and foam recipes when I stumbled across this Chickpea foam, and in all honesty, it really is the best foam, in terms of consistency, that we have made.
Easy to make
It could not be easier. Simply strain a can (or two) of chickpeas into a bowl and beat on high until it starts to fluff up. Add in a tablespoon or so of Cream of Tartar to really stiffen the peaks, and add in food colouring of your choice. Ill be honest, at first the smell is a bit much, so I chucked in a tiny bit of rose essence to lighten it up.
It foams up better than shaving cream and keeps its form for longer. We made up a rainbow batch that the boys played with all afternoon, making potions and soups for us to sample. Kids adore sensory play and the texture of this foam will keep them busy for hours, just make sure you have some good chickpea recipes on standby for the week to use up the tins 🙂
Have you got any other super fun taste safe sensory play ideas? Id love to hear about them!
Dino Dig Sensory Play
A “Dino Dig” is something I have been dying to try with my boys. Making our own dino fossils has been top of my “wish list” but I just havent had the time or energy to do it. Recently though I paid a visit to our favourite “Plastic Land” (I feel like that’s a bit of a swear word these days), and when I saw a pack of plaster of paris I quickly grabbed it for my fossils.
I had to write an actual blog for this activity because initially, It was an epic fail. It was my first attempt at using Plaster of Paris, and clearly I hadn’t put much thought into it. I just mixed and poured, and well, it did require some pre planning.
There are a few things you should know if you use this method:
- You CANNOT pour Plaster of Paris down the drain, it will break your pipes (thankfully I didn’t), and it sets almost immediately. Which means you have to work very quickly, it also means, use something disposable when mixing it so you can do an easy clean up. That was mistake number 1 for me, I mixed it up in a baking bowl with a wooden spoon; and I then had to try dissolve all of it with Bicarbonate of Soda (which actually worked very well).
- Use moulds that you can break or peel away. I had found some playdough moulds at Toyzone that I thought would make the perfect dino fossils, except they didn’t 🙂 I couldn’t get the plaster of paris out of the mould and had to almost break my brand new playdough cutters.
So after I failed one night of trying with the plaster of paris, and getting utterly frustrated, I ended up making good old salt dough fossils the next day. They were super quick, easy, and the boys always love to play with salt dough so it certainly wasnt a waste of time. I just wasnt happy with how they looked in comparison to the “Pintrest” pretty fossils I had seen. I turned to good old You Tube and caught a video where they used plastic around the playdough which was then just cut off and thrown away.
Make your own dinosaur fossils (Plaster of Paris):
Ingredients:
Plaster of Paris
Water for Mixing
Playdough
Small Dinosaur Figurines
Paper Muffin Cups
Method:
Roll out your playdough and cut into shape with your muffin cup, placing your playdough at the bottom of each cup.
Insert and press down with the dino figurine to leave an imprint into your playdough (remove your figurine).
Mix up your Plaster of Paris (In a disposable cup), and pour into your cupcake/muffin cups on top of the playdough. You want it a bit thicker as if it’s too thin it will crack and break easily.
Once set, peel away your paper muffin cups/plastic, whatever you used. Peel away the playdough from underneath and Voila! Instant Dino Fossils! You will notice the playdough does get a little sticky when you peel it away, so I just took a slightly damp tooth-brush to brush away and clean up the playdough.
If you are really OCD and want a smoother fossil, you can sand down your fossils, but this mama does not have time for that!
Sensory Play
Once I had my fossils ready I pulled out some of my old moon sand/ cloud dough, which is just a combination of flour and oil, you can view my recipe here. If you have a sandpit even better! I “hid” the fossils under the sand and got some old paint brushes, a magnifying glass and some dino books for us to read. Once the boys had found the fossils, I whipped out the original figurines and we made a bit of a puzzle out of it, matching the figurine to the fossil, and then learning about that dinosaur! It was a great activity and really did keep them occupied for quite some time.
The best part is everything is saved and packed away for another day of play!
I would absolutely love to hear your feedback. Have you tried making your own fossils before? Let me know what you think of the two different methods and what you prefer. Happy playing!
Things To Do With The Kids In Gauteng – For Free!
Il’l be honest, when we moved back to Joburg one of my biggest fears was that doing stuff with the kids was going to cost a fortune. In the Western Cape there are so many things to explore in nature that you didn’t have to spend any money to have a great day out. In a “big city lifestyle” however, chances are you’ll have to pay an entrance fee wherever you go.
Well maybe not….. Here are a few places I like to take the boys for free in Joburg (Ok ok, so maybe under R50)
Museums/ Educational
Ditshong – National Museum of Natural History
Since going the first time we have literally been back twice! There is so much to see and because the boys were little still attention spans weren’t too long. The National Museum of Natural History also has a section made for littlies, where they can explore with their senses. At R20 for kids and R35 for adults, it comes in under our R50 mark! Such a fun, educational day out and the dinosaur skeletons in the garden will have you coming back time and again!
James Hall Museum of Transport
Another hidden gem in the heart of Jozi that more people should really visit. Especially if you have transport obsessed kiddos like me! You’ll spot everything from animal drawn cars, to bicycles from the 17th century! They even have a collection of steam vehicles. Entrance to the Museum is absolutely FREE!! Donations are welcome.
If you do have budget to spend, why not make a day of it and get there by jumping on the Johannesburg “Hop on Hop Off” red bus trips. One of the stops is the museum and it will add to your transport theme!
Immerse yourself in culture at the Nan Hua Buddhist Temple
For a truly educational, architectural feast, visit the Nan Hua Buddhist Temple in Bronkhorstspruit. The red glazed roof, vibrant murals and beautifully kept gardens make for a wonderful day out. The temple is open to visitors from Tuesday to Sunday, 09h00 to 16h00, free of charge. On the weekends they host vegetarian lunches that cost a little as R30.
South African National Museum of Military History
If you follow me on Instagram, you will clearly see just how much we love this place. The boys have honestly asked to go there no less than 10 times. We make a day of it and get dressed up in our “finest” military gear. They love learning about the aeroplanes, tanks and weapons and afterwards our treat is to go and get an ice cream from the guys who stand by the zoo wall and sit on the steps of the beautiful commemoration arch. It’s also a fabulous party venue, for kids and adults alike. At R30 for kids and R40 for adults it also meets our R50 budget 🙂
The Planetarium is an age old favourite in Joburg, for both kids and adults alike! Its fun, educational and what kid doesn’t like to learn about planets and space? There is a show catered for younger kids called “space travel” which follows Thomas the astronomer in his “giant rocket”. Entry is from R40. Call 011 717 1390 for more info.
Ever considered taking the kids to an art gallery? The Johannesburg Art Gallery often referred to as JAG, is located in the centre of Joubert Park in downtown Johannesburg. The building is architecturally beautiful, and it houses one of the biggest art collections in the country. It offers heaps of art and history and entrance is completely free. It’s a little neglected, but as with all places in Gauteng, the more we support these historical gems, the more we can contribute to their longevity. They are child friendly and offer art classes on a Saturday. We have ubered there in the past, which I would recommend as its downtown city centre.
Pushing this one into it, JUST. Children are R40 over 3 years of age, so that just makes the mark, but adults are R60. If you haven’t heard of the Sci-Bono centre you may have been living under a rock 🙂 It’s the perfect outing for rainy days or an educational morning. It’s a state-of-the-art interactive science and technology centre where kids — big and small — will learn to love science. They run various programs, with a specific focus on holidays too so phone in beforehand to see what they have on offer! Call 011 639 8400 for more info.
The Wits Art Museum has won a number of awards and is situated in Braamfontein. It houses the biggest collection of African Art from all across the continent. I have found them to be hugely child friendly and the exhibitions kept the boys interest. Admission is free and they are open from Tuesdays to Saturdays.
Visit to the fire station
With a little bit of pre-planning this is one activity your kids will remember for a long long time. Our favourites include Sandton and Lonehill fire stations, Lonehill even has a fab play area and the firemen and women are always very accommodating. Sadly, Lonehill hasn’t had an operational truck for quite sometime though, but hopefully that should be restored soon and if you go in a large enough group they can somtimes “borrow” one from a neighbouring station.
Parks and Outdoors
Relax at Zoo Lake
Zoo Lake will always be a firm favourite for lazing under the shady trees, with kids kicking a ball around you and the smell of braai’s filling the air. Feed the ducks (careful, they bombard you), or ride your bikes on the paved paths. For a small fee you can even rent a canoe and have fun splashing about on the water.
Take advantage of the awesome play area at Delta Park
The first Joburg park we fell in love with after coming back from Cape Town. Delta Park has the best (in my opinion), kiddies play area and several walking trails to explore. Its HUGE and it even has an awesome environmental center which is open from Monday to Friday where kids from Grade R through to Grade 11 can learn about the environment.
Feed the ducks at Emmarentia Dam
One of our favourite places for a Sunday stroll. Visit the botanical gardens, take along a canoe for a paddle or bring along some bread to feed the ducks. There is always something happening at the park and you would probably catch a music show for free as well.
Go for a Hike in a Nature Reserve
Put on your walking shoes and head to Kloofendal or Klipriviersberg nature reserves in Johannesburg. You may want to go in a slightly larger crowd, but we have done Klipriviersberg a few times and always felt perfectly safe. You will be amazed at the amount of wildlife you can spot along the way! Hennops
Wonderboom Nature Reserve
Have you ever seen a 1000-year old tree? This gem is between Pretoria and Magaliesburg and is open from 7am up until 4pm daily. The Wonderboom fig tree spans over 50 meters wide and is truly a sight not to be missed! R37 gets adults in and between R13 and R21 for kids age dependent. Take a hike to try and find the waterfall or see how many Zebra and Impala you can spot along the way.
Walter Sisulu National Botanical Gardens
Get back to nature by visiting this glorious garden in the west of Johannesburg. Home to a “insta-famour” waterfall, a pair of breeding Verreaux’s eagles, hiking trails and picnic spots there’s no shortage of stuff to keep the kids busy. Kids get in for R15 (if you’re under 6 it’s free) and adults are charged R40. They often have family events on so hop onto the facebook page to keen an eye on up coming events.
Junior Traffic Center – Fontainebleau
The amount of fun we have had here is priceless and I have held two birthday parties there personally, and have attended many more. The centre can be visited by anyone, we tend to get a group of people together and go and take picnic blankets while the kids ride their bikes around. It has small roads, stop signs, circles and sharp corners where children can ride bicycles and tricycles to learn the laws of the road. Its best to pop by beforehand to get a visit booked. The best part is its absolutely free, even birthday parties!
Rand Society of Model Engineers
Open the first and third Sundays of each month, this requires a little pre planning but absolutely worth it. Entrance is free and train rides are from R10 each. Take a picnic blanket and enjoy a day out with the family with the kids marvelling at how trains work. If you’re in Pretoria, Centurion has one as well, and is open every Sunday from 10am. The scenery is beautiful!
Animal Interactions
Recently re-opened, its a sanctuary for small farm animals and houses over 200 animals, mainly bunnies, rescued from across Johannesburg. R40 per adult and R30 per child.
Entrance and strolling around the farm are free. If may decide to have a delicious scone at the restaurant or purchase fresh produce from the Deli, but for a beautiful scenic walk and a chance to see cows being milked or feed the swans, its free! You aren’t allowed to take in a picnic blanket or any food/drink but it’s a beautiful family morning out and great to get back into nature.
Public swimming pools
Believe it or not, Joburg still has a few public swimming pools that are relatively well maintained and good to swim at. The entrance fee is minimal, literally like R12 per person. Our favourites are Linden (which is heated and indoor, can you say winter swimming?), and Zoo Lake (You can pack a picnic and sit on the grass), but I believe Parkhurst and Roosevelt Park are also well maintained. They are perfect for larger playdates!
Public Libraries
Yup, we have done these to and you will be surprised by some of the activities planned for kids, especially during the holidays. Our favourites includes Olivedale and Randburg. Across these March/April holidays you can expect activities like an Easter egg hunt and craft at Parkview, Blackheath is hosting an Easter Story Time and across Johannesburg the Libraries will deliver 30-minute puppet shows. Our local Rivonia library hosts a story hour on a Thursday at 3pm. So, select your closest one and phone ahead to see if they have anything planned!
Shopping Malls
What? How on earth are shopping malls free? Well in terms of entertainment you’d be surprised. Across the holidays most of Gauteng’s major malls have some sort of entertainment available for kids. Mall of Africa, Sandton City and Cradlestone Mall often have holiday specific entertainment just do a quick google search. In Sandton we have seen Paw Patrol Live, Shimmer and Shine on stage and even the Nutcracker live. Cradlestone currently has a “Space Wonder” exhibition on where your little ones can see a “Space Chamber”, check out a couple of robots, or play on an inflatable UFO Space Ship. Last year we checked out their jungle wonderland as well as the Dinosaur Exhibition.
So there you have it. There is quite a lot to do in terms of activities that fall under R50 around Gauteng. Some just require a little more forward planning and thought but are well well worth the effort. Id love to hear your thoughts if you have gone to any of the places or if you know of anymore? Please leave a comment below xxx
Crafting With House Of York – Easy Crafts With HouseHold Items
March is officially “Craft Month” and boy oh boy, do we have a lot up our sleeves 🙂
The beauty of crafting with kids is that it often uses things typically found around the house. Egg cartons, tooth picks, pegs, cupcake cases, you name it; we will find something to craft with it 🙂
I also love that arts and crafts expand our children’s imaginations. They encourage independent and pragmatic thinking, which in a world filled with television and media, is something we so need to work on!
Together with House of York, one of South Africa’s most loves household brands, we have been playing around with everyday wooden objects that we could turn into Arts and Crafts.
First up in our craft spree are their skewers.
Traditionally used in South Africa for braai’s, we incorporated the skewers into some fine motor skill building sticks.
Stick a skewer into some playdough and let your kids thread cheerio’s, froot loops, or pasta onto the sticks. It requires huge concentration for little hands to thread those objects onto the skewers. Add in beads or use different coloured fruits to bring in pattern recognition; get your kids to follow an order of objects that you placed to encourage repetition. A simple, fun, learning activity that the little one’s love!
Next up are toothpicks.
The possibilities here are endless, I honestly had to limit myself to two activities.
First up we worked on our STEM skills. I built a molecular structure that the boys then had to replicate with their toothpicks and baby marshmallows (you can use sweets, or any fruits like grapes or apples for this as well). My 5-year-old worked on this with uninterrupted concentration and asked me to make more! My little one however (he’s 3), managed the basic concept of a square and triangle. This activity encourages 3D thinking and I LOVE the concentration that took place.
I then took a whole bunch of toothpicks and dyed them different colours with food colouring. They are so pretty, this could have been an activity, toothpick rainbows? Why not?
The activity I chose was based around creating pictures. To up the interest a little, I took some sticky plastic wrap (the kind you cover books with) and stuck it onto the sliding door. You could use paper, but I just did want to get hands too sticky with glue. The kids stuck their toothpicks onto the contact plastic and created their own pictures.
Lastly, let’s look to one of our favourite household items to create with, pegs!
Not only are they super affordable, but they are a perfect size for little hands to hold and play with. They also offer one of the best fine motor activities you can ever give to a child; simply hanging clothes on a line. The pincher grasp and squeeze of a peg is crucial for healthy development, and that really doesn’t take any creativity!
OK, I may have gotten involved in a some of the finer detail on these ones, but the boys painted the wooden pegs. We then decided on what animals we wanted to create and how we would do it. We made crocodiles, birds on a “branch” (Skewer), a Giraffe as well as some super easy butterflies, which the kids pretty much did themselves.
I LOVE how these turned out and they are now proudly displayed on our “Gallery” wall.
So, there you have it. Using affordable items, often found around the house, we created several different craft activities. This “Crafting” Month of March I encourage you all to spend more time doing things WITH your kids. Whatever it may be, the act of doing something with them is priceless and they will value the time with you forever.
Life Cycle Of A Frog – Squishy Sensory Bin Fun
My eldest got some tadpoles at school the other day, and the excitement was very very real! Everyday when I fetched him he would show me their progress and point out the ones that were growing. I had been waiting for the perfect moment to use my Toobs figurines from Kid-Ease, and this was it!
My youngest still is fully absorbed by sensory trays so I always try and combine them with a little learning for my 5 year old now as well. We picked out a froggie book and got to making our “pond” habitat.
Materials Used:
Waterbeads
Jelly type substance – you could make some goop up from cornflour and water, but I used Sno Ball from Zimpli Kids and added some blue food colouring to it
Logs/sticks
Pebbles
Leaves
Frog figurines or any other figurines found around a pond
I also used polystyrene cut into the shape of a lily pad because I didnt have any other suitable “lily pads”.
Explore the Life Cycle of a Frog
I always have to hold my kids back a bit before they dive right into a sensory tray. So I began by pointing out the various different stages of a frog and asked Aadam which order he thought they belonged in. As soon as he touched the sensory tray it was over and they both were too excited to play. We combined it by reading one of our favourite “frog themed” books, frog on a log. We also spoke about what other animals you would find around a pond like dragonflies, fish, butterflies and turtles. We also spoke about how the frogs lay eggs in groups and that they need to be in the water or they will dry up and not hatch We also discussed how the frog changes as it gets bigger and how it slowly loses its “tail”.
Its so much fun to learn when you get to play and explore as well!
I never know whether to turn our sensory trays into blogs or just post the pictures up on instagram. What do you prefer? Whichever way I hope you got some inspiration, and happy playing!
Christmas Salt Dough Ornaments
You may remember from last year that we made Salt Dough Christmas Ornaments. Its something we do every year and it always ties in nicely with teachers end of year gifts and homemade sentiments for family and friends.
This year I was inspired by Sugar and Paper Parties insanely gorgeous sugar cookies, I’m not one to attempt anything like the masterpieces that Liezl creates (well actually I did and they looked like a dogs breakfast), so we decided to make ornaments for the tree with our snow globe cookie cutter. (Because painting is alot easier then icing 🙂 )
Apart from putting in the oven and taking it out again, this is literally one craft the kids can do by themselves from start to finish.
The Recipe has 3 ingredients and is SUPER easy:
4 cups flour
1 cup salt
1.5 cups water
- Preheat your oven to 100 degrees Celsius.
- Combine all of your ingredients and knead. If your dough is too dry add a little bit more water.
- Roll out the dough to a thickness of about 1.5 cm
- Using a cookie cutter of your choice cut out your shapes, if you are making handprints, use a side plate to cut a circle first and then have your child place their hand on that circle.
- Using a straw, make a hole in the top for where you want to hang your salt dough ornament.
- Bake for about 2 hours. If your ornaments are still soft to touch, put back in for another hour. (It will depend on your thickness how long you need to bake for. The thinner ornaments will take less time but thicker may take more).
- Once cooled, decorate as you wish. We used our favourite Dala paints, the acrylic works best and lots of glitter, especially at Christmas time.
- Finish with a varnish.
I normally do this over 2 or 3 days. The first day we roll and make bake our ornaments, on the second we paint and on the third day I spray it with a coast of clear varnish.
To end off our homemade gifts we made simple cards. Christmas Trees easily painted with plastic forks.
Remember to head on over to :
Justamamma for more easy christmas cards for kids
Ali from Earth to Ali Photography for her utterly gorgeous salt dough foot and handprints
This.is.bentleys.world for her ridiculously cute toilet roll crafts
Minimatissediaries for dreamy pine cone painting
Michelle from Mayalief for her exquisitie homemade wrapping paper