How to Decorate the Children's Table at Christmas

Make the children's table experience an enjoyable one for your kids. Allow them to make their own table decorations and to help decorate their table. This activity can help your children calm down from an exciting and eventful day and help you focus their attention on the dinner to come.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Discarded Bows
• Discarded Ribbons
• Used Gift Tags
• Cellophane Tapes
• Crayons
• Glues
• Christmas Napkins
• Christmas Paper Cups
• Christmas Paper Plates
• Plastic Utensils
• Scissors
• White Paper Place Mats
• White Paper Tablecloths
• Scissors
• Construction Paper
• Markers
• Crayons
• Markers
• small, potted Christmas trees

1. Purchase a small, potted Christmas tree that the children can decorate and use as a centerpiece.

2. Gather discarded wrapping paper and ribbon for the children to use in making their table decorations.

3. Designate a room or specific area of the house where your kids can work on their table decorations. Consider having an adult or older child present to supervise the children and to help small children with items that need to be cut with scissors.

4. Provide the children with construction paper in a variety of colors. Help them cut strips of red and green construction paper to glue together into paper chains. These chains can be hung with cellophane tape around the children's table and chairs.

5. Have the children make their own Christmas place mats. Draw several large Christmas tree shapes onto green construction paper and have the children color in decorations with crayons or markers. Glue on bits of discarded wrapping paper and ribbon as decorations as well.

6. Purchase a white paper tablecloth on which children can color in Christmas-themed pictures that you draw with a pen or pencil. Alternatively, let the children draw and color in their own pictures or glue on pictures and images from discarded wrapping paper to make a Christmas collage. The same can be done with white paper place mats.

7. Let the children decorate their Christmas tree centerpiece with discarded ribbons and bows, gift tags, paper chains and a few ornaments from your own Christmas tree.

8. Use paper plates, napkins and cups that have been printed with a Christmas motif. This will help eliminate the need to worry about broken plates or glasses at the children's table. Use plastic spoons and forks as well.

9. Help the children decorate their table with the items they've made.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep the children's table close to adults so that the kids feel like a part of the celebration and can show off their work.
• Allow glue used on paper chains, tablecloth and place mats to dry thoroughly before using these items to decorate the children's table.

Resources

• Letters From Santa
• Christmas Recipes

on 11/22/2005 Creating a collage on a tablecloth or placemats with discarded wrapping paper is a great way to recycle the paper and get the kids to help clean up (by having them collect their craft supplies to save.) To make it easier for them to make festive shapes, use Christmas cookie cutters (which most moms probably already own) to trace trees, angels, wreaths, snowmen, sleighs, stars, gingerbread people, etc. onto wrapping paper scraps to cut out and glue onto placemats or tablecloths. Kids can also make their own table runners (that can be rolled up and saved) the same way or decorating with glue, glitter and markers, using rolls of parchment paper from the supermarket, if you can find it in a roll. Also, they can decorate with aluminum foil, of course!