During the month of November and December we have a lot of holidays going on for a lot of different people. Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and winter solstice to name just a few of the most common. Christmas gets a lot of commercial attention, especially around holiday decorating, but your family’s holiday can be just as much fun and just as lovely as those glossy magazine spreads, even though it may not be Christmas you’re decorating for.
You may or may not already know that I am Jewish, however I also love to celebrate diverse holidays that many of my friends celebrate; whether they are religious or cultural events.
As an arts and crafts business owner, I am always looking for ways to include the kids in every celebration. So here’s a quick rundown of some kid-friendly holiday decorating ideas around these three major holidays of winter time.
Advent Calendars Aren’t Just for Christmas
Just like how Peeps for Easter are no longer just for Easter and you can find them for just about every other holiday that there is. Advent calendars have been popping up at different times of the year as well.
Now not only do you want to countdown to Christmas or New Year’s you can countdown to Easter or Valentine’s Day. I bet most men are counting down to those days because they are stressed about getting the perfect gift for their loved one. (If mine is reading this I love flowers and choc zero keto dark chocolate bark and craft supplies). Lol.
Recently I saw the best Advent calendar I’d ever seen. It was Nakatomi Plaza with Alan Rickman (of blessed memory) AKA Hans Gruber, plummeting down the building’s facade. Each day was being counted down by the floor he passed on his way down. It’s absolutely everything and I definitely think I might have to do that one this year. (If you don’t’ understand the reference we cannot be friends)!
Here is a link to a Advent calendar of sorts that lets you count the 8 days of Hanukkah. In this article the author shows you step-by-step how to make this cute little wall hanging and include some pictures too! Curious about what Chanukah is about? Check out my blog about all things Chanukah!
Here are her written directions to the Chanukah Craft
1 9×12 sheet blue felt
2 9×12 sheets white felt
assorted colors felt sheets
glue gun
Stapler
dreidel shape template
dreidel pocket template
gift bow template
How to:
Glue the blue felt sheet to one of the white felt sheets. Cut a piece of white felt 12″ long x 2.35″ wide. Glue it to the center of the blue felt sheet.
Using the gift bow template, cut out around the bow shapes and staple them to the remaining white felt sheet. Cut out the bow shapes and the ribbon for the center. Glue one side of the ribbon around the back of one of the bows.
Glue one bow to the white backing, and the other to the front blue sheet. Wrap the open end of the ribbon around the back and glue down.
To prepare the dreidel pockets, print out 2 copies of each of the dreidel templates. Staple the templates to sheets of felt (you can double the felt so you cut 2 at once) and cut out the shapes.
Attach the pocket covers to the dreidels, making sure to only glue down the sides. Glue all the dreidel pockets to the blue felt sheet. For the numbers, cut 8 very thin strips of white felt.
Working quickly, draw the number shape with glue onto the dreidel pocket and press the strips of felt down on the glue, adjusting the strip to fit the number shape (you can practice with the strips beforehand to set the shape).
Alternatively, you may write the numbers with puff paint, or use number stickers.
Fill the pockets each night with Chanukah gelt, chocolate coins, or little gifts!
VARIATION: Instead of a bow, you can make the center strip into a stem for a menorah, and have a menorah branch out at the top.
You may also write the family name, child’s name or simply Chanukah along the center strip.
Winter Solstice for the Holiday Decorating Win
What is the holiday of Winter Solstice you ask? Let’s reference this article’s description as we contemplate some fun for this celebration. “The Winter Solstice is upon us!
Also known as the shortest day and longest night of the year, the winter solstice usually takes place on December 21st or 22nd every year in the Northern Hemisphere.
Many cultures around the world celebrate the solstice by holding festivals, and holidays. These celebrations were created to celebrate the return of light, and the joy of each day growing longer and longer.
The earth, as it turns out, has an axial tilt and daily rotation around the sun. As the Earth
follows its orbit around the sun it slowly tilts. The earth also has two hemispheres: northern and southern. When one hemisphere faces toward the sun (summer) the other hemisphere faces away from the sun (winter.)
This is because the two hemispheres face opposite directions along the earth’s axis. Now you know the science behind it. How about some activities to celebrate the solstice?”
There are many cool activities and ways to cherish this seasonal event. You can check many of them out in the above mentioned link. Many revolve around fruit and the sun. I love the dried fruit garland with oranges and cranberries.
I’m also a sucker for snowflakes and silver glitter so anything that you can find that make you feel excited about holiday decorting or warms up your space in preparation for winter is a win for me!
Kwanzaa Has Beautiful Decorations too!
Britannica.com says, “Kwanzaa, an annual holiday affirming African family and social values that is celebrated primarily in the United States from December 26 to January 1.
Both the name and the celebration were devised in 1966 by Maulana Karenga, a professor of Africana studies at California State University in Long Beach and an important figure in Afrocentrism.
Karenga borrowed the word kwanza, meaning “first,” from the Swahili phrase matunda ya kwanza, adding the seventh letter, an extra a, to make the word long enough to accommodate one letter for each of the seven children present at an early celebration. (The name Kwanzaa is not itself a Swahili word.)
The concept of Kwanzaa draws on Southern African first-fruits celebrations. Although Kwanzaa is primarily an African American holiday, it has also come to be celebrated outside the United States, particularly in the Caribbean and other countries where there are large numbers of descendants of Africans.
It was conceived as a nonpolitical and nonreligious holiday, and it is not considered to be a substitute for Christmas.
Each of the days of the celebration is dedicated to one of the seven principles of Kwanzaa: unity (umoja), self-determination (kujichagulia), collective responsibility (ujima), cooperative economics (ujamaa), purpose (nia), creativity (kuumba), and faith (imani).
There also are seven symbols of the holiday and these items are often used in holiday decorating: fruits, vegetables, and nuts; a straw mat; a candleholder; ears of corn (maize); gifts; a communal cup signifying unity; and seven candles in the African colors of red, green, and black, symbolizing the seven principles.
On each day the family comes together to light one of the candles in the kinara, or candleholder which is traditional in Kwanzaaa holiday decorating, and to discuss the principle for the day.
On December 31, families join in a community feast called the karamu. Some participants wear traditional African clothing during the celebration.”
A cool art project/decoration for this holiday can be making your own kinara. I found a good “how to” on this site. Here are the details.
Holiday Decorating a Kinara for Kwanzaa
- Recycled toilet paper rolls
- Paint (black, red, gold & green)
- Recycled paper towel roll
- Yellow cardstock
- Recycled cardboard
- Sequins (red, black & green)
- Mini craft sticks
- Scissors
- Glitter
- Hot glue gun with glue sticks
- Tacky glue
- Foam brush
photo credit is to this site
Directions
- First, cut a large rectangle from recycled cardboard (3 x 12 inches). Paint the cardboard gold and set aside to dry.
- Next, paint three toilet paper rolls red and three green. Paint the paper towel roll black. Set aside to dry.
- Cut a teardrop shape from yellow cardstock. Glue to the top of a mini craft stick to create the flame. You will need 7 total. Now add a little glue to the flame then sprinkle with glitter. Allow it to dry.
- Glue the bottom of the craft stick inside of the cardboard tubes. You can do this each night of Kwanzaa or add them all at the same time.
- Use tacky glue to attach sequins to the painted cardboard tubes.
- Finally, use a hot glue gun to attach cardboard tubes to the rectangle cardboard. Start with red, black then green. This completes your cardboard tube kinara.
So here you can see we’ve got the holiday decorating down pat. This should keep you and the kids busy for at least a few days.
Happy arting!