Materials: 1 cup flour, 1 cup salt, ½ cup water, ornament hangars
Directions: Mix all the ingredients together to make the dough. Let the children mold the dough or flatten so it is ½” thick and cut with cookie cutters. (Use a straw to punch a hole for a hangar.) Let the dough dry for a day. Turn the dough over and dry another day. Paint with tempera paint and spray with shellac.
Adaptation: Dissolve 2 Tb. instant coffee in ½ cup hot water and add to the flour and salt. Your ornaments will look like gingerbread cookies.
Hint! Shorten drying time by baking in a 250° oven for 5-10 minutes.
SOCK SNOWMAN
Materials: white tube socks, fiber fill, rubber bands, markers, felt scraps, wiggly eyes, and other craft accessories
Directions: Have children fill the bottom of the sock with 3 large fists of fiberfill. Put a rubber band around this section. Put two fists full of fiberfill in and then put a rubber band around the middle section. Put one fist full of fiberfill in to make the head and put a rubber band. Pull the top cuff of the sock over the head to look like a hat. Decorate with wiggly eyes, felt scarf, yarn hair, etc. Draw on a mouth and buttons with markers.
HOLIDAY CRACKERS
Materials: cardboard rollers, wrapping paper, candy, small toys, curling ribbon
Directions: Cut the cardboard rollers into 5” sections. Fill with candy and little toys. Roll in wrapping paper, twist the ends, and tie with curling ribbon.
COOKIE SWAP
Materials: homemade cookies, zip bags, plastic gloves
Directions: Ask each child to bring in a batch of homemade cookies. They will need to bring in as many cookies as there are children in your classroom. (Encourage the parents to make these with their child.) Children wash hands, put on a plastic glove, then walk around and put one of each cookie in their zip bag.
Adaptation: Have parents write down the recipe for their cookie. Run off a copy and put together to make a cookie recipe book for each family.
HOT CHOCOLATE MIX
Materials: 1 box instant nonfat dry milk (25 oz.), 2 jars powdered non-dairy creamer (16 oz.), 1 cup confectioner’s sugar, 1 carton presweetened cocoa mix like Nestlé’s (16 oz), 1 jar chocolate malted milk powder (13 oz), decorative jars or tins, ribbon
Directions: Combine all ingredients in a large bowl with a wire whisk. Fill jars or tins with the mixture and attach these directions with a decorative ribbon: Mix 3 tablespoons of the mixture with 1 cup of boiling water. If desired, sprinkle with miniature marshmallows.
SPICED TEA
Materials: ½ cup instant tea, 2 cups Tang drink mix, 2 cups sugar, 1 package lemonade mix (14 oz.), 1 tsp. ground cloves, 2 tsp. cinnamon, decorative jars or tins, ribbon
Directions: Mix all ingredients in a bowl until well blended. Fill jars or tins with the mixture. Tie these directions on with a decorative ribbon: Mix 2 heaping teaspoons of mixture with 1 cup of hot water.