The long evenings leading up to Christmas can be the perfect opportunity to settle down with the children and get crafting. Find time to remove the impatience of waiting for Christmas Day by making tree ornaments or a collection of snow globes. These craft projects would also be excellent for classroom art or for a Christmas birthday party.

Christmas stockings

These embroidery hoops can make the most adorable decorations for any time of year. Embroidery hoops are very versatile for home decorating, so try to envisage them as a circular frame rather than a tool for embroidery.

1 Place the base fabric inside the embroidery hoop and trim around the edges. Either use pinking shears to create a nice boarder or trim away the excess fabric.

2 Draw a Christmas stocking on the paper. Make sure the stocking is the correct size to fit inside the embroidery hoop, cut it out and use it as a pattern piece.

3 Pin the stocking to some red fabric and cut out the shape.

4 Glue one side of the stocking and place it on top of the fabric inside the embroidery hoop.

5 To finish the piece, use the fabric glue to stick little beads to the stocking or, for a more grown-up version, sew on buttons or add some embroidery.

Buttons everywhere

Button Christmas wreaths are a sweet project for the little ones. Gather a selection of buttons from leftover projects and old clothes. This ornament can be made in a short amount of time, it only requires few materials and is mess free.

1 Thread the ribbon into the needle. Tie a knot at the end of the ribbon to prevent all the buttons from possibly sliding off the ribbon.

2 String buttons onto the ribbon until it is full enough to be tied into a full circle.

3 Gather the buttons into the centre of the string and tie a knot in order to form the wreath’s shape.

4 To finish the button wreath, simply use a leftover ribbon to create a decorative bow and loop for hanging the ornament on the Christmas tree.

Shaking things up

Gather up old jam jars and glitz up your Christmas decorations this winter with homemade snow globes. Children love playing with snow globes and making them is twice as fun. Be creative with the figures you place inside the snow globes by using small plastic toys or old Christmas ornaments.

1 Prepare an empty jar by thoroughly cleaning it and removing any labels or stickers from the outside.

2 Take a small plastic toy and, with some parental help, place a drop of strong glue at the toy’s base and stick it to the bottom of the jar. Allow this to dry fully.

3 Pour water into the jar, but leave a little bit of space for some air and the glitter. Add in some glitter, the more the merrier. Close the jar lid very tightly so there will be no leaks while shaking.

4 To make a cute jam jar cover, cut out a square of fabric which is a few centimetres wider than the jar lid. Use a pinking shears to cut the edges of the fabric, as this will create a nice zigzag trim. Use an elastic band to secure the fabric around the lid. To finish the snow globe, take a nice piece of ribbon and tie it around the lid to hide the elastic band. CL