Advent Calendar 2013 Activity - Day 7: Christmas Pom-Pom Drop

I had seen the pom-pom drop activity on various blogs for sometime.  Apparently it's a way of keeping little ones fascinated with the laws of cause and effect.  Using a nearly empty wrapping paper roll, I wrapped the remainder of the paper around the roll and stuck it down.  Then I fastened the roll to the balcony door frame and left a tub of tinselled pom poms beneath it.  Wugs had fun dropping the pom poms down the tube, catching them at the bottom and investigating any piles-up.

What we used:
A nearly-empty wrapping paper roll
Pom poms (small enough to travel down the paper roll)
Tub
Glue
Sticky tape

Advent Calendar 2013 Activity - Day 6: Christmas Sensory Tub

Following the successful tree-decorating activity on 1st December, I decided to put together a Christmas sensory tub for Wugs to play with.  I would like to say that I had these decorations hanging around, but apart from one or two, our decorations were too fragile to withstand a toddler slamming them into the compartment under the seat of his ride-on car before being roughly transported up and down the apartment.  Thankfully I managed to find some child-friendly ones for Wugs to transport, jingle, crumple and stuff into various spaces as he wished.


What we used:
Tinsel
Child-friendly decorations

Advent Calendar 2013 Activity - Day 5: Star Decoration

Every year my husband and I argue over whether there should be a star (his tradition) or an angel (my tradition) on top of the tree.  Sadly both his star and my angel had broken, so I decided Wugs could make both to go on the tree.  Using 6 popsicle sticks, I created 2 triangles which I painted in silver acrylic paint before gluing them together in the shape of a star.  Then I passed Wugs some stickers for him to decorate.

What we used:
6 popsicle/craft sticks
Silver acrylic paint
Glue
Stickers

Advent Calendar 2013 Activity - Day 4 - Glitter and Sequin Decorations

I took the idea of sticking glitter and sequins to contact paper from our suncatcher craft.  I used just an A4 sheet of contact paper each time which I changed once enough glitter had been collected onto it.  I poured glitter into small containers for Wugs to pour over the contact paper and spread around as he chose.  Once he was finished, I sandwiched the glittered sheet between the two sides of laminating paper and whizzed it through the laminator to seal it properly.  Then I drew and cut out shapes and outlines of the boys' hands using a washable marker. I hole-punched the glitter decorations in the top and threaded them with string and then hung them from Wugs' and Dooey's tree in their play area.

What we used:
A4 sheets of contact paper
Different colours of glitter
Sequins or confetti
A4 laminating sheets
A laminator
Washable marker
A hole punch
String

Advent Calendar 2013 Activity - Day 3: Make and Decorate a Gingerbread House with Fischer Tips

This was a last-minute and not entirely successful project.  ("Shouldn't gingerbread houses have sloped roofs?" I remember somebody commenting).  I was actually looking for an excuse to test out a different modelling material on Wugs and had come across Fischer TiPs in a local toy shop during a sale.  The TiPs have a similar texture to that of polystyrene, but are made from potato starch.  If dabbed on a moist sponge, they become sticky and can be pressed into different shapes, stuck to other materials or to each other.  If dipped in water, they turn to paint.


What we used:
Cardboard box
Fischer TiPs
Sponge

I started the activity by putting the coloured Fischer TiPs into different pots, which Wugs emptied out and then sorted into different colours.  I cut out parts of the box to make the house and showed Wugs how to dab the Fischer TiP onto the sponge and then stick it to the house.  He created the chimney and the wreath-like shape above the door and then he spent the afternoon sending his cars down the chimney and racing them through the doors!

Advent Calendar 2013 Activity - Day 2: Make Christmas Cards

Today we made Christmas cards to send to our family in England.  Each card contains some art work from Dooey and some from Wugs.  Dooey's contribution was in the form of fingerprints (on the star, snowman's body or the holly berries) or an outline of his hand on dyed coffee filter paper.  Wugs' contribution was in the form of stickers, painting or the outline of his hand on coffee filter paper (all of which he dyed last week).  For details on how to dye coffee filter paper, please see this post. 

What we used:

Different coloured A4 card
Coffee filter paper
Washable markers
Stickers
Paint
Glitter Glue
Glue

Advent Calendar 2013 Activity - Day 1: Decorate the Christmas Tree

Today we kicked off our Christmas activities by decorating the Christmas tree.  I found myself wondering if part of the "magic" of Christmas was the way it evokes all the senses.  Whether it's the twinkling of lights on the Christmas tree, the reflection of one's face in a bauble, enlarged and distorted, the smell of turkey and roast potatoes in the oven or the ticklishness of tinsel when draped around the neck - Christmas truly is the ultimate super-sensory experience!