Holiday Activities from Pottery Barn Kids

Holiday treats are extra sweet when shared in homemade containers. Part party favor and part accessory, kids will love customizing these Personalized Take-Out Containers, Glass Cookie Jars and Cookie Boxes, then filling with delicious cookies and candies!

Glass Cookie Jars

Materials

· One-quart wide-mouth glass jars (available at craft and hardware stores; purchase one per child)

· Adhesive-backed white felt

· White pom-poms

· Small pine cones (available at craft stores; two per jar)

· Brown pipe cleaners

· Narrow red satin ribbon

· Approximately 1/2″ red linen ribbon

· White paper

· Standard hole punch

· Craft tags (one per jar)

· Twine

· Letter stamps (optional)

· Hot glue gun

· White craft glue

To Assemble

1. Use the lid of one jar to trace circles on the white felt (one per jar you’re making). Adhere a circle of white felt to the top of each lid. Cut a long strip of white felt for each jar to wrap around the edge of the lid.

2. Attach a layer of white pom-poms to each lid with hot glue.

3. Use hot glue to attach pairs of pine cones to approximate the shape of a deer’s head and body. Twist together pipe cleaners and wedge them into the pine cones to create each deer’s tail, antlers and legs.

4. Use your hole punch and white paper to create a pair of eyes for each deer and use craft glue to attach them to the deer’s heads. Tie a small length of red ribbon around each deer’s neck.

5 Use hot glue to wrap a decorative band of red linen ribbon around the edge of each jar lid, on top of the white felt. Glue a reindeer on the top of each lid.

6 Use stamps or pretty lettering to put the name of one of your guests on each tag. Attach one tag to each jar with twine.

Personalized Take-Out Container

Materials

· Take-out containers (available at craft stores; purchase one per guest)

· White ricrac (or another festive color of your choice)

· Small red jingle bells (three per container)

· Needle and thread (red or green)

· Green felt

· White cardstock

· Colored cardstock (choose a festive color or print)

· Scissors

· Hot glue gun

· Red felt-tip pen

To Assemble

1. Use the hot glue gun to apply a band of ricrac around the top and bottom of each food containers.

2. Cut out holly leaf shapes from the green felt, making a pair of leaves to go with each container. Using your needle and thread, sew together small clumps of three jingle bells; create one clump per container. Sew a clump of bells to each pair of leaves.

3. Cut out several circles of green felt, the approximate size of a nickel. Cut one circle per container. Use the hot glue gun to carefully apply a drop of glue to one circle. Position the circle beneath the center of the metal handle of one of your food containers, and sandwich the handle between the circle and one of your holly-berry creations. Press firmly and hold for a few seconds to allow the glue to begin to set.

4. Cut out several small rectangles of white cardstock and then cut a matching number of slightly larger rectangles of colored cardstock. Glue the white rectangle on top of the colored rectangle, and then attach one to each container. Write the name of one of your guests on each container in red pen.

Cookie Boxes

Materials

· Craft paper boxes (one per child; available at craft stores)

· Construction paper in festive colors (red, green, white)

· Scissors

· Markers, crayons or other drawing tools

· Glue sticks

· Craft supplies such as pom-poms, glitter and sequins

To Assemble

1. Before the party, cut out some simple shapes from your construction paper, such as Christmas trees, snowmen, reindeer or bells.

2. Arrange a crafting table with the boxes and the crafting materials in the middle. Let each child decorate their box with whatever strikes their imagination.

3. Let kids fill the boxes with cookies from your cookie exchange before bringing them home.

Last-minute wrapping to do? Give your presents that extra little flourish of hand-crafted care, and try one of our creative approaches to gift wrapping. Make your presents even more magical this season with Starry Wrap, Keepsake Footprint Paper and Rudolph’s Nose Wrap.

Rudolph’s Nose Wrap

Materials

· A pom-pom maker (available at craft stores or online)

· Thick yarn in festive colors (we like red because it reminds us of Rudolph’s nose!)

To Assemble

1. Wrap your gifts. Choose a simple print or plain paper so the colorful pom-poms will really pop.

2. Use your yarn and pom-pom maker to create colorful pom-poms; the more layers of yarn you use, the more fluffy and round your finished pom-poms will be.

3. Leave extra-long lengths at the ends of your finished pom-poms and use those to wrap around the gifts like ribbon. Tape or knot them discreetly to finish.

Keepsake Footprint Paper

Materials

· A roll of solid-color craft paper (we like to use unbleached paper for a rustic look)

· Nontoxic poster paint (look for soy-based varieties; any color will work)

· A shallow dish or pan, such as a disposable pie tin

· A tarp or newspaper (optional)

To Assemble

1. Spread out a length of your craft paper; put a tarp or newspapers around the edges if you’re doing the project indoors.

2. Put a small amount of your paint in your pie tin. If your child is old enough to walk, set the tin at one edge of your paper, and have them dip one or both feet into the paint and then walk around on the paper. If you’re making baby footprints, gently dip your baby’s feet into the paint and press them on the paper. As an alternative, you can use your child’s hands to make a handprint design, or give them crayons or markers and let them create more free-form (and completely unique) artwork all over your craft paper.

3. Wait for the paint to dry completely before picking up the paper and wrapping your gifts.

Starry Wrap

Materials

· Star-shaped paper punch (two or three in different sizes add depth and variety)

· Festive colored paper (paper printed with small-scale patterns works well too)

· Clear masking tape

· School glue or a glue stick

To Assemble

1. Wrap gifts in solid-color paper. Any color will work, as long as it provides a noticeable contrast with the stars you plan to make.

2. Use your paper punch (or punches) to create handfuls of star “confetti.”

3. Use your masking tape to mark out where you would normally apply ribbon on your gifts. One single band works well, or you can create a cross to resemble more elaborate ribbon.

4. Apply a thin layer of glue to the tape on one side of your package. Sprinkle a generous application of stars over it. Wait for that side to dry completely before turning your package and applying stars to the other sides.

*Craft ideas and images courtesy of P0ttery Barn Kids.*