Winter time can often be a restless time of the year in the home if you have children. If you live in an area where the snow, sleet, ice, and wind chill can prevent you and your family from leaving the house - having projects on hand for kids to complete is a great idea. Whether it's a day off of school or a snowy Saturday, giving kids creative things to do during the winter time will help you create festive decorations for your home while keeping them occupied and out of your hair.
One great winter project that isn't specific to the Christmas holiday is creating popsicle stick snowflakes. This project is great for older kids (8 and up) but can also be done by younger kids under adult supervision. Everything you'll need for this project is available at any craft store. You'll need a box of popsicle sticks, white paint, blue and/or silver glitter, glue, and some silver/blue gemstones. If you'd like to adorn your snowflakes with anything else - take a look around the craft store for any other additions.
This project should take up a considerable chunk of the day since there are a few steps. First, kids will need to paint their popsicle sticks white. While the paint is still slightly wet, it's a good idea to sprinkle on the glitter so you don't have to worry about globbing on glue after your paint has dried. Painting and "glittering" one side of the stick at a time will help prevent wet paint from sticking to the paper you place the sticks on to dry. Once your sticks are completely dry, your child can start arranging them in the snowflake pattern that they'd like. Typically - your finished product will end up looking like an asterisk, but it's up to your child to decide how many sticks will go into their snowflake. By placing a dab of glue at the center of each stick, you should be able to glue them together into one "snowflake" shape.
After your sticks have dried completely, kids can decide whether they'd like to leave them as they are or adorn them with gemstones or any other decorative touches you may have picked up. Once they're completely dried and completed - mom or dad can even attach a magnet on the back for fun and festive refrigerator decorations. The snowflakes can also easily be laid on Christmas tree branches for fun and pretty ornaments. The kids will feel great since their artwork is being proudly displayed and mom will be happy to have them occupied for the entire afternoon.
If you have younger kids and want to keep them busy without the constant supervision, a great option that's always available is to print off seasonal coloring sheets from the computer. Instead of going out and buying an expensive coloring book that will be forgotten in a month or two, you can print out single sheets for kids to color that are seasonal. Choosing winter themed pages will allow kids to create artwork for around the home to add to the "festive" winter vibe. The coloring pages are free and can always be accessed. If you're going out for the evening and leaving kids with a sitter - printing out some pages for easy entertainment is a great option for kids who may not be able to handle complex projects on their own just yet. By getting them involved creatively in things and encouraging them to express themselves - your kids will learn about the seasons and learn how fun creativity can be.