Santa Letters Are Only The Beginning Of Holiday Preparations

Knowing what to buy for kids during Christmas is usually not too hard. Those letters to Santa Claus are usually quite clear. Using them as a gift-buying guide is one of the fringe benefits of helping your kids write the letters. And the finishing touch to any Christmas tree is a pile of beautifully wrapped gifts underneath. Part of the fun of getting Christmas gifts is ripping off the paper to see what is hidden inside. You want you gifts to look as if they were a package from the North Pole.

Sometimes the shape of a gift can make it hard to wrap. You can buy gift boxes to accommodate most gifts. If you can’t find a gift box that your gift will fit into you still have options. While you are dropping off your Santa letters at your local post office, buy a shipping box in the appropriate size. You may want to check with your local stores, they sometimes have cardboard boxes they can give away for free.

Now that you have the gift in the perfect box you can begin. If you are giving a gift that is breakable use tissue paper or newspaper to cushion the sides on the bottom and sides of the box. You don’t want the gift to break from bouncing around in the box. Nothing puts a damper on the holidays like giving or receiving a broken gift.

A trick I have used over the years is to color coordinate the gifts. All the gifts that will be leaving my house are wrapped in one color and the ones that are going to be opened at home are wrapped in a different color.  If you have gifts going to several different places pick a color for each destination. For example all the gifts going to office friends could wrapped in silver paper and the ones going to Granny’s in red paper and so on.

Once you have your gift wrapped in pretty paper you must make a gift tag. You can use the self sticking gift tags you pick up at most stores that sell gift wrap. These are simple to use just fill in the to and from spaces. Sometimes I mark gift tags on gifts going to children from the real Santa. Be sure that you write clearly. You don’t want to be unsure who gets what gift.

Last thing to add is a ribbon. Ribbons come in all sorts of patterns and textures. You will want to use a color of ribbon that will match your paper. Don’t tie you ribbon too tight- you don’t want it to rip your wrapping paper. You can tie something like a candy cane or bell to the top of the gift. Kids like to find small bags of reindeer food attached to their gifts. I also add a new ornament to all my brothers and sisters gifts. This adds a personal finishing touch.

While your kids are anxiously waiting for their letters from Santa to arrive you can drastic them by allowing them to help with some of your wrapping projects. Kids always enjoy that and they can sometimes get very creative in the way they wrap things. It’s a good idea to let them practice their craft on gifts for pets or gifts that won’t be leaving your home.

Letters To Santa And Homemade Christmas Ornaments Make Christmas Special

Writing letters to Santa and making Christmas salt dough ornaments with your children is a great way to connect during the sometimes hectic Christmas season. We all know how important Santa letters can be. These ornaments can last for years as a reminder of the memories you made that year. Salt dough ornaments are so simple to make that even the youngest members of your family can participate.

The recipe is very easy to throw together and you probably already have the ingredients in your pantry. These ornaments are not for eating. Keep the dough in an air tight container until you are ready to use it so that it doesn’t dry out.

2 parts flour
1part salt
1part water

Mix the ingredients in a bowl. If you want colored dough add food coloring until you reach your desired hue. On a floured surface knead the dough. You can let the kids write their Christmas letters while you’re during this.

You need to work on a floured surface. You can roll out the dough and uses cookie cutters to make shapes. This is the easiest method for very young children. Older children might enjoy forming their own shapes.

You can add mirror pieces, glass beads, or glass gemstones. They will look dazzling on a lit up Christmas tree. These can also be used for the eyes and other accents on snowmen and gingerbread men.

A cute idea is to make a nice list with the names of all of your children and their ages. The names can be painted with gold or silver paint after they have baked.  Your kids can make a Christmas wish list. It is fun to look back at these ornaments and read past wishes.

You can make wrapped gift ornaments. You could even write a gift from Santa on the gift tag.  You can write your child’s name or the year in the to space. After you bake them make the ribbons using glitter glue.

My kids each make am ornament to leave out for Santa with the cookies and milk and magical reindeer food on Christmas Eve.

If you have used colored dough you can brush the top of the ornament with water for more vibrant colors. For a frosty effect dust light with flour before you bake. Put the name and date on the back of the ornament. Be sure to put a hole in the dough for a ribbon.

You will need to bake these in low heat between 200 – 250 degrees. Be patient they take several hours to dry depending on the thickness of the dough. After they have finished you can paint and decorate anyway you like. Always store these ornaments in an air tight container and they will last for years.

It’s simple traditions like Santa letters and homemade ornaments that can make special Christmas memories for all. These are the kind of things that kids remember when they grow up. They might forget what presents were bought for them and who came to celebrate with the family on Christmas Day, but they are not likely to forget the fun they had creating letters to Santa and ornaments to hang on the tree.