This week’s Festive Friday features a guest post by Maggy Woodley of Red Ted Art. I’m delighted to have her here sharing some ideas for Christmas ornaments which children can make. If you have any ideas for crafts, gifts, traditions, decorations or anything else Christmas related do pop it on the Festive Friday linky at the bottom of this lovely post!

So lovely to be here today and get a chance to talk about one of my FAVOURITE crafting season of the year: Christmas! I just love everything about Christmas! The lights, the food, the time indoors and above all time spent with friends and family. I want my kids growing up enjoying the festive season and associating it not “just” with gifts and toys (bleurgh, the commercial side of Christmas really does make me sad sometimes), but with the magicalness of it all. My kids can’t wait for our nativity set to be set up and for our three kids to start their journey from one side of the room to the other…. They move every day – by magic…. No one sees it happen.
Anyway, that was a rather massive digression! I am here to talk about Christmas Crafts. A great thing to do as the days grow shorter and colder. And we love Christmas crafts that DOUBLE UP as either a Christmas ornament or a gift to family.
Today, I would like to share 5 of our favourite ornaments with you (add them to a packed of homemade cookies and you have a great little gift in itself!)

First up our, dear Walnut Owls (Granny got some for her Birthday – and she can’t wait to hang them up). I love these as we LOVE crafting with walnuts. Walnuts have a very “traditional” feel to me and we love making little Walnut Babies for the tree or racing mice. Being super thrifty, I actually cracked open these nuts first and then glued them back together!

I love these Felt Hearts – they work for me on so many levels – use them as an ornament… or use them as a key ring or as a zipper pull on your book back. They are also a great way to introduce basic sewing to young children and make a great gift for both family and the kids’ friends!

Nothing quite like a little Snowflake Ornament at Christmas. We particularly liked this one as it upcycles old puzzles – you know, the ones that have pieces missing. Yes, what DO YOU do with old puzzles? Well, this ornament is one solution for sure!

I REALLY love these Keepsake Ornaments – I made them from the kids’ baby cardigans. The ones that were stained and couldn’t be passed on any more. Aaaaah. The green one is my daughter’s and the snowman is my son’s. I always smile when I get these out each year. How our babies grow!

These  Cork Santas make me giggle. Clearly they look cute on the Christmas tree… but we also had a cheeky game of Santa bowling…
So.. what do you think? Inspired to make your own ornaments? I hope so! Time well spent.
I also wanted to share our Alternative Christmas Gift this year:
This year we are going to give “The Gift of Creativity”. The idea is to create “Basic” and “Jazzed up” Craft Kits that you can put together yourself – and then, if you wish, add a copy of Red Ted Art: The Book and you will have a fabulously creative gift – both original and different! What do you think? You don’t need much in a basic craft kit, especially if you add recycled materials and finds from nature…. I love to add pinecones, stones and recycled fabric to our basic craft kit to get the kids think creatively about things they can find and reuse.

About the Author:  Maggy Woodley, is a mum of two and loves all things crafts! She loves nothing better than to recycle and forage for craft materials –making crafts economical, a bit more environmentally friendly and fun. Maggy also writes at Life at The Zoo about cooking with kids, sciency “stuff” and the odd bit of gardening. Red Ted Art, is also now being translated into German, Spanish and Russian for more people to enjoy! Do check them out!

How Does Festive Friday Work?

Festive Friday is an ongoing Linky for all things Christmas and runs from now until Boxing Day. There is no long list of requirements, it would be lovely if you mentioned me in your post and gave me a little link – if you do I’ll give you a kiss under the mistletoe and share a glass of sherry or two, if you don’t I won’t poke you with the holly or snatch back the mince pies! Please link up any lovely Christmas posts, past or present and help me to build a resource for Christmas lovers everywhere!

I am also running a collaborative Festive Friday Pinterest Board and will be pinning all those who join in on a Friday (with a full credit and link of course!). If you would like an invite to join the board and add your own pins just ask!