Countdown to Christmas: A pretty paper garland!

Christmas brings happy memories of my own childhood and I'm hoping with the things we do around Christmas time my kids will also have cherished memories.  They may not remember the decorations or even the presents they get.... it is the memories of doing things together that will hopefully last ... baking, putting up the tree, decorating, wrapping presents, an advent calendar, going to church, singing, eating  ....

Here is an easy craft to do with your kids to decorate your place!

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What do you need?

Christmas craft paper
Pencil
Circle stencil
Scissors
Hole Punch
Craft bells
Rope ribbon (or string)

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What do you need to do?

Trace and cut out a lot of circles.  Each garland we made had 26 circles. I ended up using my craft cutter to cut out the circles as the kids were not keen on cutting out that many circles!

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Punch a hole in each paper circle.

Cut the string to the size you want.  We cut ours approximately 1.5m for each garland.

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Lay out your paper circles making sure that you spread out the prints and plain circles to your liking.

Thread the circles onto the string, spacing them evenly and placing sticky tape on the back to secure them in place. Add some craft bells along the way.

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When you have secured all your circles and bells, you are ready to hang!  I used small 3M hooks above our fireplace to hang our pretty paper garland.  This is where we usually hang our Christmas cards and Christmas stockings.  Our Christmas tree sits to the side of this area as well! {Note: The stockings are not a fire hazard as the fireplace does not get used during a Sydney summer...in case you were wondering}.

This activity is perfect to do with your kids at home, at preschool or at school.  It will encourage fine motor skills and bilateral coordination skills in tracing, cutting and threading! Those hand muscles will certainly get a work out if they cut 26 circles! Perhaps your class could work together to make a few garlands? The one-hole hole punch pictured is also a fantastic way to build up hand strength as they squeeze it to punch a hole.

If you find yourself with extra circles, put them to use as lovely gift tags.  

Have you started decorating your place? Where will you hang your paper garland?

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