| The Activity Director's Office Presents Activity Ideas That Work by Gina Salazar, AD |
DECEMBER ACTIVITIES |
| Christmas Spelling Bee Have residents spell these words: eve joy red lord peace hark noel geese frost carols santa claus mistletoe poinsettia joyous holiday partridge turkey december evergreen yulelog traditions reindeer nativity sugarplum ornaments |
| Apple Cinnamon Ornament Craft . Materials Needed: Applesauce Cinnamon Cookie Cutters Straw Ribbon Instructions: Mix pretty much equal parts of the applesauce and the cinnamon until you get it to be a nice clay consistancy. Roll the dough out on wax paper until it is 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Use the cookie cutters to cut out holiday shapes. With the straw, poke a small hole towards the top of the shape. Put the shapes in a warm spot to dry, this takes a few days! Once your sweet-smelling ornaments are dry you can string a 8 - 10 inch piece of ribbon through the hole you made with the straw and hang it up! |
| Christmas card Wreath: (this project might take one or two times to finish) You will need: wooden clothespins(40 for each wreath) green paint paint brush red and green beads(medium size) wire Directions: paint the clothespins and let dry.then take a clothes pin and run the wire through the middle of it,then take a bead and run the wire through it,then a clothespin,then bead,and so on,do this until you get the size of the wreath that you want,then tie the wire closed.then put your chistmas cards on the end of each clothespin. Snow Globe: You will need: baby food jar paint florist clay plastic holiday figure(santa,raindeer,snowman) small plastic greenery silver glitter white glue Directions: Paint the lid of your baby food jar and let dry.press a piece of florist clay inside the lid and arrange the plastic figurine and greenery in the clay.squeeze a small drop of the glue to inside the lip of the lid.fill the jar with water and add about a teaspoon of silver glitter,carefully place your scene inside the jar,sealing the lid tightly.let dry overnight. in the morning shake the jar and watch the "snow" float down. |
| Holiday Trivia: ~what is the name of the famous singing chipmunk-Alvin ~what song contains the phrase"fa,la,la,la,la,la, la,la,la."-Deck the halls ~ what does "feliz navidad"mean-Merry Christmas in spanish ~ where does Santa leave presents-Under the tree,and in stockings ~what are the two colors of christmas-Red and green ~how many reindeer does Santa have-With Rudolph,nine. ~name the flower associated with Christmas-Poinsettia ~name a food item people often string together to make garland-Popcorn,cranberries. ~ name the famous Christmas ballet- The Nutcracker |
| Stuffed Gingerbread Man Craft Instructions to make a stuffed gingerbread man decoration out of a paper bag and newspaper. Materials Needed: Large, Brown Paper Bag Newspaper Paint Stapler Misc. Items to Embellish Instructions: Cut two large, identical gingerbread shapes out of a paper bag. Lay both gingerbread pieces together so the sides with any printing are touching - the outside pieces should be blank. Staple around the edges, but leave an opening in the top so you can stuff your gingerbread man. Wad up small pieces of newspaper and stuff your gingerbread man. Staple the opening shut. You can now add eyes, nose, buttons, rick-rack, and anything else you want. You can also staple on a small yarn hoop to use for hanging. Graham Cracker House Materials Needed: Graham Crackers Icing An Assortment of Candies Instructions: What you need to do is line a small sheet of card board with tin foil then place 4 crackers in a square standing up to form the base of the house. 'Glue' them together with iceing. Gently place 2 more graham crackers over the top to be the roof. Decorate your house using a variety of candy, which can be 'glued' on using the frosting. Be creative and try your hand making different sized houses! For more support use a small box or milk carton as a base for your 'gingerbread' house. This will help it be sturdier. |
| Candy Wreath Make a wreath using hard, wrapped candies, ribbon, and a hanger! A fun decoration that you can eat. Materials Needed: Wire Hanger About 35 Wrapped Candies Curling Ribbon Instructions: Straighten the hanger and then cut it in half using wire cutters (only 1 half will be used). Bend one of the pieces of hanger into a circle shape. Twist one end around the other to secure, leaving about 3-inches of one of the ends free. Bend that end over to form a small circle or hook for hanging. Use a pair of pliers if necessary. If needed you can also use some duct tape to help secure the ends together. Once you have the wreath base made, you can add the candy! You can use any kind of wrapped candy you like, anything from traditional peppermint rounds to suckers. About 35 of them will fill your hanger nicely, but this number can vary quite a bit from person to person because of how close they are tied together. Cut the curling ribbon into 8-inch pieces. Take 1 piece of candy and tie it to the center of a piece of ribbon. Then, use the ribbon to tie the candy tightly onto the wreath. You can either cut off the extra ribbon or leave it. The ends can be curled to add a nice touch to your wreath. Continue this process until you have the wreath as full of candy as you like. Hang your wreath and keep a pair of scissors nearby to share the candy with visitors! |
| Shredded Wheat Wreath Make a wreath using shredded wheat cereal, submitted by Beth and Mark. Materials Needed: Cool Whip Type Lids Shredded Wheat Glue Green Food Color Red Hots Instructions: Crumble up shredded wheat and mix with enough glue and green food coloring to coat. Put it onto the cool whip lid and shape it around the edge so it looks like a wreath. Press in the red hots for the berries and let dry overnight. Pine Cone Wreath Materials Needed: 8 Pine Cones (approximate) Wire Coat Hanger Duct Tape Items to decorate your wreath Glue Instructions: Cut the wire coat hanger in half and form it into a circle. Wind the two ends together. I them secured the ends and covered the entire circle with duct tape. This held it together better and gave the pine cones a better surface to stick to! Once you have your circle formed, glue on the pine comes (a hot glue gun worked best for me). Decorate as desired. I added a ribbon and holly made out of crafting Foam. A added red beads for the holly berries. If you want a larger wreath, just do not cut the wire hanger in half! :-) |
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Copyright 2004-Today The Activity Director's Office All rights reserved DISCLAIMER |
| Gina Salazar, AD |
