Holiday crafts for your kids

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Do you have a little artist on your hands? Here are some places around town where your child can get into the holiday spirit by creating decorations or gifts.

At Color Me Mine (1938 Pearl St., www.colormemine.com) your little one can paint holiday ornaments for the tree. Into the Wind Kites (1408 Pearl St., www.intothewind.com) has a snowflake-making kit to so your child can create a winter wonderland indoors. Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art is hosting a half- and full-day holiday crafts day for kids on Dec. 21. BMoCA will host Holiday Celebrations Around the World, where kids will make crafts while they learn about the various holiday traditions. Also kids will participate in the Art of Giving, where they can create presents for their family from recycled materials. To register or for more information, call Shannon at 303-443-2122, ext. 12.

Or keep your little one occupied at home with these simple and fun holiday crafts.

Menorah centerpiece

Materials:

8 10.5-oz soup cans
1 18.5-oz soup can (this one will
serve as the shamash)
Pencil
Hammer and nail
Acrylic paint
Glue
Glitter
Puffy paint
9 tea lights

Directions: Remove all labels from soup cans. Using a pencil draw a pattern on the can. Take a hammer and nail and start hammering out the design. Using paint, glitter and puffy paint decorate the can. Let the cans dry overnight. Put a tea light in each can and arrange the cans in a row with the largest one in the middle.

Graham cracker holiday house

Materials:

Piece of cardboard (i.e. shoebox top)
Aluminum foil
Small milk carton
Plastic knife
Box of graham crackers
Vanilla frosting
Coconut flakes
Your favorite kinds of candy*

Directions: Use a piece of cardboard, for instance a shoebox top, as the foundation for your gingerbread house. Cover the cardboard in aluminum foil. Frost the bottom of the small milk carton and then place it on the foil-covered cardboard base (the frosting acts as glue).

Spread the frosting on the milk carton and stick graham crackers on the milk carton’s sides and top. Spread frosting on the foil-covered base as well. Taking your favorite candies, start decorating the house and yard. Be creative! Continue using the frosting as glue. Scatter coconut flakes on base, covering the frosting, to represent snow. You can also do this on the roof of the house.

*Candy suggestions: Use candy corn as roof shingles. Candy canes for light posts, Twizzlers as trim for the house, nuts as rock siding, pretzels sticks as log siding, pretzel shapes for windows or fencing, an M&M for the doorknob, upside-down ice cream cones as fir trees (cover cone in frosting and dust with green sprinkles)

Clothespin reindeer

Materials:

3 Clothespins
2 Googly eyes
1 Small red pom pom
Glue

Directions: Glue three clothespins together (two facing down as the reindeer’s legs and one facing up as the antlers). Let dry. Glue the two googly eyes and red pom pom as nose on the reindeer’s face (the clothespin that is facing up). Let dry. Clothespin reindeer can serve as a tree ornament or a fun toy.

Picture frame ornament

Materials:

4 Popsicle sticks
Acrylic paint
1 picture
Glue
Colored yarn

Directions: Paint the four Popsicle sticks and then let them dry. Glue the four sticks together to make a square — two parallel on the bottom and glue the other two on top. Let the glue dry.

After the glue has dried, turn the square so that it looks like a diamond and tie a piece of colored yarn at the top (this is so you can secure your ornament to a tree).

Then turn the square over so the colored side is facing down. Carefully glue a diamond-shaped picture in the frame and let dry.