Learning craft skills opens up plenty of opportunities for creative gifts this festive season.
“It’s amazing what you can create from what you’ve got with no need to go to the shops. Reuse and recycle what you have around your house, turn on the carols, turn off the screens, then slow down and connect with your kids,” said craft expert, Shannon Wong-Nizic, who runs online parenting resource, @ohcreativeday.
Here are Shannon’s top tips for creative, eco-friendly Christmas craft:
Reuse and recycle – In a season where excess and over-spending is promoted, be inspired by what you already have at home and reuse and recycle to create new Christmas projects. Get in the habit of collecting household items such as toilet roll holders, cardboard, scrap paper and cereal packets that can be turned into works of art!
Keep things simple and low-mess this festive season – Have a core set of materials for Christmas crafting that you can use again and again across different projects. For us, this means Pintor paint markers, scissors and sellotape. These items sit in a basket that can be pulled out at any time and packed up super quickly. I’ll often just leave the basket on the table as an enticing invitation and my children devise their own creative festive projects.
Craft connects us to loved ones far away – Handmade Christmas cards are such an easy but beautiful way to spread festive cheer, near and far. Try cutting up old cards and gift-tags, then re-make into new. It can be so rewarding to re-use old cards which often just get thrown away and creatively re-purpose them (and a cheaper alternative than buying new too!)
Let go of the expectations and just create – There is no such thing as ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ when it comes to creating with children. This is a time of the year when we can carry many expectations about how we want things to go and look which just creates even more stress. Sit down with the kids, loosen your control on the agenda and just create. Enjoy the process, don’t stress about the product.
Show that you value creativity – Joining in signals to your children that you value and make time for getting creative. Model that it’s okay to feel frustrated when your creative designs don’t turn out the way you envisioned. Model asking questions and curiosity – both important parts of the creative process!
Creating creates conversation – Busy hands makes conversation flow. Enjoy the chatter that comes along with creating alongside your little artists!
Shannon Wong is a teacher, mum of three and avid crafter. An enthusiastic fan of pom poms, PVA and paint, she runs popular blog and online parenting resource dedicated to all things creative, https://ohcreativeday.com/ and has over 40,000 followers on Instagram. To download Shannon’s free Christmas craft templates, visit: www.pilotpen.com.au
