
With the magical holiday season upon us, Discovery Bay resident and founder of Merrymaking and co blogger Linda Böhmer shares with us some holiday craft ideas that families can do to have a “safe at home” Christmas celebration. Her home bursts with creativity, leaving no room for pandemic blues as she crafts them away to the sound of crackling paper and the smell of freshly baked Lebkuchen.
This year she, together with her family, has created simple but elegant projects, making the pandemic holidays a pleasure and social distancing a breeze.
“Paper Star” Photo by Jan Yumul
Paper Stars:
These stars are perfect for hanging on your Christmas tree, or can be used as gift tags. They are extremely personal and are easy to make once the paper is folded, even for the little ones. Because they virtually do not cost anything, there is no reason why your Christmas tree should be bare this year!
The Christmas star represents the bright star of Bethlehem that shone on the night Jesus was born. It guided the wise men to the baby Jesus. It also symbolizes that Christ is the light of the world and is a shining hope to all of mankind.
You will need:
“Pine Cones” Photo by Jan Yumul
Pinecones:
Pinecones go hand-in-hand with Christmas decorations and I love the look of these gold-plated ones which can be created in record time.
You will need:
Coat the top third of the pinecone with a layer of the golden paint. Once dry, tie the string to the stalk in order to hang it from your tree; alternatively use it as gorgeous table decoration.
“Gift Wrap” Photo by Jan Yumul
Gift Wrap:
Gift wrap is very easy to make and besides enriching the festive atmosphere, it adds a personal touch to the gifts. This year our 4-year old inspired a diversion from the more common potato print, and we employed a star fruit – it makes a perfect natural star and is easy to grip.
The custom of giving Christmas presents to one another comes from the example of the wise men, who travelled a long journey to present Christ with gifts to honour and adore him – Frankincense, Gold and Myrrh. Star-printed gifts sound like a really bright idea to me in this gloomy pandemic year.
You will need:
a. Cut the star fruit in half and blot dry the exposed surface.
b. Dab your created stamp on the ink pad or alternatively apply paint with a brush and start stamping. Priceless gift wrap in no time.
“Nativity” Photo by Jan Yumul
Nativity:
In between all the rush and modern legends around Christmas, it is easy to forget the reason behind Christmas. When I asked our little boys whose birthday we celebrate on Christmas, they shouted their little cousin in South Africa’s name (who they have not yet met due to the pandemic)! I realised they could do with a little assistance to make the story of Christmas come alive. The figures and angels are super easy to make and are a fun activity to get the little hands dirty.
You will need:
a. Form a cone (body) and ball (head) from clay.
b. Insert a toothpick into the cone in order to connect the head with it.
c. Insert the dry leaves on either side to form angels, and add your own details to differentiate the other characters.
d. Let air-dry and paint if desired. We gave our figures a coat of paint to finish them off (chalk paint: sheepskin).
“Advent Calendar” Photo by Linda Böhmer (https://www.merrymakingandco.com/)
Advent Calendar:
Every child I know gets really excited about Christmas, and counting the days of Advent in anticipation of Christmas brings back very fond memories for most of us. Our boys are so excited about starting the count-down on their advent calendar, I think we may need to have a count-down until the count-down.
Although a myriad of chocolate-filled advent calendar designs is on the market, advent calendars were first used by German Lutherans in the 19th and 20th centuries. We elected to make a timeless advent calendar in which the content can be varied each year. This year the small boxes are filled with daily quizzes on the story of the Nativity of Jesus, and of course sweets. I have included a few ideas on quiz questions at the bottom.
You will need:
24 Nativity Quiz Questions: