Creative Family Fun

Your one-stop shop for kids activities and family fun

Terri Thompson

Christmas Word Games

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Do you remember playing Mad Libs as a kid? I do and I loved it!

So, when I was thinking about what you get you, my readers, for Christmas, I thought it would be fun to make up a couple of my own.

They’re simple stories written at a level that preschoolers are easily able to participate. They’ve been preschooler tested and approved and even my toddler loved them.

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And, now they’re ready to you and your kids to have fun with!

They’re a fun last minute Christmas game and also perfect for entertaining the kids while waiting for that big Christmas dinner.

Print off as many as you like! Set them at the kid’s table. Enjoy them during a family night. Have your older kids help the younger ones play. Enjoy!

 

The links below the pictures will take you to the printable. All you need to do it print it out and grab a pencil and your kids. I hope they provide you with a lot of fun!

Please feel free to share, but please do not post the links to the documents directly on your page. You may link to this post though!

Creative Christmas Countdown: Helping Others

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Thank you so much for joining me on Day 17 of the Creative Christmas Countdown. The ideas already shared have been wonderful!

Today, I have a little story that I hope will inspire you.

Once upon a time, there was a little girl with a very big heart. She loved everyone and always enjoyed helping others.

One day close to Christmastime, her mommy and daddy told her about a very important organization that helped make sure every little boy and little girl had a great Christmas. She wanted to help.

So, her mommy and daddy helped her count her money and took her to a store.

There she found the most beautiful Sleeping Beauty doll and knew that would make another little girls very happy.

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She bought that doll and her mommy and daddy drove her to a big cardboard box labeled “Toys for Tots,” and she dropped that pretty doll in it. She was smiling the entire time and talking constantly about that little girl “who we didn’t even know” that was going to get that doll for Christmas.

It is a memory that has stuck with her for over a year now and one that I hope becomes a yearly habit for the little girl.

My little girl was 3 the first year we took her shopping and through simple explanations was able to grasp what she was shopping for.

She loved the experience and my husband and I were very, very proud of the size of her heart.

I took the girls shopping again this year and they were excited to pick out toys.

Lizzie understood what we were shopping for, although AJ is still a bit too young to understand. We picked out four gifts, one from each person in our family.

We picked out a princess wand, a tea set, Duplos and a football.

The next step was donating them. I drove the girls over to our bank and we walked in and found a box overflowing with toys. It was wonderful to see!

We dropped the toys off and talked all the way home about the happy little boys and girls who would be getting some pretty cool toys under their tree.

I learned a very valuable lesson during this process as well. Never ever underestimate the power of a little kids heart. They understand far more than we give them credit for.

Unfortunately, the deadline has already passed for Toys for Tots donations, but if you are interested in your kids having this experience, you can start shopping next November.

Toys for Tots is not the only way you can teach your children about giving. Here are some ideas for giving all year long.

Check with your local food shelf. They will accept donations all year long. Take your children grocery shopping for the food shelf then drop off the items.

Your church is also a great resource. Donations and gifts of time are always welcome.

Check with your local Ronald McDonald House. Oftentimes they need and will accept donations of household goods and personal care items.

Next Christmas, choose an angel from the Salvation Army Angel Tree. Help your child shop for their angel. Or volunteer together as a family to ring the bell at the Salvation Army kettles.

Make an effort to give back over the holidays and all year long. The rewards are amazing!

Do you volunteer or give to charity as a family? I would love to hear your experiences!

Sparkly Christmas Tree Banner

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You may have notice that we’ve been crafting a lot lately with tissue paper and our latest creation is this sparkly Christmas tree bunting.

I’m sure we’ll eventually move on to a different medium, but until then we’ve been having fun and making beautiful artwork with our tissue paper.

Now, on to this easy kids craft!

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Supplies Needed:

Green tissue paper
Clear contact paper
Glitter
Scissors
Needle and thread

I cut small squares of contact paper and laid it down sticky side up on our trays. I was using the trays in an attempt to contain some of the glitter.

We then started sprinkling the glitter. The mess is actually minimal this way, since the contact paper catches most of it (unless, of course, your 2-yr-old manages to pull the top of the glitter bottle off).

After you’re satisfied with the amount of glitter, it’s time to cover the entire piece of Contact Paper with tissue paper. I had originally intended the girls to tear the tissue paper into small bits, but they wanted to go with large pieces instead.

After all the contact paper is covered, put another piece of contact paper on top so that your glitter and tissue paper is sandwiched in between.

Now, you need to cut it into tree-shaped triangles. We were able to get several tree shapes out of each girl’s glittery contact paper.

Just look at that pile!

Next, I took the needle and some strong thread and started threading the trees. I just ran the needle once through a spot near the top of each tree.

It was surprisingly easy to pierce the needle through the contact paper, so much so that I know Lizzie would have been able to have handled this part on her own.

We alternated the trees, one purple then one gold on the string. Once we were done, it was time to hang in the window.

The result was beautiful and I’m glad we went with the large pieces of tissue paper instead of the small. I just love the look of it!

Now, what should we do next with our stockpile of tissue paper?

Recycled Paper Chains

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Do you have a lot of leftover Christmas cards?

So do we!

I’ve been thinking about what to do with them and finally decided to just keep things simple and make paper chains from those old Christmas cards.

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The girls and I gathered around the Christmas tree with a pile of old cards, several pair of our fun scissors and a stapler.

No mess, no glue, just time together listening to Christmas carols.

We cut strip after strip after strip until we ran out of cards.

At this point, the girls were quite eager to see what the chain was going to look like.

We set up an assembly line.

I was manning the stapler and the girls were handing me strips.

Finally, our pile of strips turned into a very pretty paper chain.

A paper chain that we soon found out was perfect for tying up little sisters! (Just kidding! No child was actually tied up… we just had fun taking silly pictures!)

Don’t ever underestimate the fun of a simple activity this holiday season. Use what you have and do what you know how to do. You’ll have fun just spending the time together!

What is your favorite simple Christmas activity?

Follow the Leader

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I happened across the book Follow the Leader by Erica Silverman one day at the library and thought it would be the perfect book to inspire some fun, indoor play time.

The book is the story of two brothers playing follow the leader with the older brother leading the way. In the end, the older brother learns that his younger brother would love a turn being the leader, which was something my oldest sometimes (ahem… a lot of times) can use a reminder about.

Disclaimer: Please do not feel you need to have your eyes checked after viewing the next pictures. Yes, they are blurry. The girls were running way too fast to get a clear picture!

Follow me!
Spin around!
Hold your nose!
RUUUUUUUUUUUUNNNNN!
Now roll around!

And, when that was done, it was time to get creative with our movements. This is the time to have some fun and mix it up.

Fun and Crazy Follow the Leader Ideas

Parade version: pretend to play different instruments or be different characters in a parade

At the farm/zoo: pretend to be the different animals you would see

Silly movements: just how silly can you be!

Opposites: go from fast to slow, loud to quiet, high to low. How many opposites can you act out?

Sports: baseball, football, soccer, anything goes!

And our favorite: Ballet style! Swirl, twirl, and walk on your toes.

The next time the kids are feeling cooped up inside, challenge them to a fun & crazy game of Follow the Leader. It’s guaranteed to get their energy out!

Do you have any fun ideas for Follow the Leader?