Kids love Christmas crafts. Santa craft ideas for kids are an easy and fun way to spend time with your kids during the holidays. Choose from one of our Christmas craft-decorating, free ideas. SANTA PICTURE: If you're looking for holiday craft ideas for preschoolers,, this is a great place to start. So, let's begin with Santa pictures. There are a variety of Santa coloring books available during the holidays. Choose a picture from the book. Cut out the picture of Santa, and place the picture in the center of a sheet of white construction paper. Use a glue stick to secure the picture. Color the picture with colored pencils. Once coloring is done, use wisps of cotton to serve as Santa's beard and use a small ball of cotton at the tip of his red hat. You can use small, black buttons to serve as Santa's eyes, and a red button for his nose. Fill the rest of the area of the white construction paper by drawing presents or candy canes. When the picture is finished, your children can sign their names right under Santa's image. Take a piece of heavy cardboard and secure the picture to it. Put the picture in a frame to protect it. Place this frame in a memorable area of your house for all to look and admire. SANTA CHRISTMAS CARDS: Santa Christmas cards is another art activity your children will be able to do. With a piece of white construction paper, measure the paper to a size of 5×7 inches. Cut the paper to that particular measurement. You can either fold it vertically or horizontally. Tell your kids to personalize their version of Santa on the front page. Let them use crayons or colored markers to help stimulate their imagination. After the picture is finished, your kids can write Christmas messages on the inside of the card. Homemade Christmas cards are wonderful to display in your home or send to relatives and friends. You can even add this to your Christmas craft-a-day calendar; it's a great craft to do with your kids or students. MAKE A SANTA PLATE ORNAMENT FOR THE CHRISTMAS TREE: Things that will be used are crayons and markers, cotton balls, a large paper plate, and color sparkles. Trace or draw Santa, without his red hat, on the plate using the drawing materials. Use the cotton balls to serve as his beard. You can even stick the cotton balls together into a V-shape so that Santa's beard hangs off the plate. The cotton balls can serve as Santa's hair, also. Use a blue marker to color in Santa's eyes, and a black marker to draw Santa's glasses. Use red food color on a cotton ball to make Santa's nose. You can color the rim of the plate with red or green and add color sparkles to it. Finally, place the Santa plate on the tree by inserting an ornament hook at the top of the plate. Well that's it! There are many different ways to share with your kids on how to make Santa Christmas ornaments, pictures, and cards.

When we walk into large department stores or malls and see Santa, we know that Christmas is just around the corner.  Santa is a symbol of happiness and excitement for children.  Most of us have magical memories of Santa Claus.  There may be a time during the Christmas season where you or your friends need Christmas costumes such as Santa, Mrs. Claus or an elf.  People wear Christmas costumes in school plays, at house parties or even for surprising children Christmas Eve when Santa shows up unexpectedly.  Some people wear Santa Christmas costumes in stores to attract customers and listen to what some little boy or girl wants for Christmas. 

If you are buying Santa Christmas costumes for yourself or others, you certainly want to look authentic so nobody guesses it is you under the costume.  When looking for Santa Christmas costumes, you often find them in large department stores or costume shops.  Many shops online specialize in Christmas costumes.  The internet is a great way to shop, compare prices and have your Christmas costumes sent to you without ever leaving your house.  Once you have your costume, there are a few things to remember.  Father Christmas is a plump fellow with a round belly that shakes when he laughs.  He is probably plump from all the cookies the boys and girls leave out for him to eat.  If you are not plump to start with, you will need to make yourself heavier to wear Santa Christmas costumes.  A very easy way to give the illusion of being heavier is to take a cushion and sew a couple of ties on it.  Fasten the cushion across your waist and chest.  You may need to push it a bit to make it shake like jelly.  Make sure your Santa Christmas costume is big enough for the pillow to fit.  Your Santa boots should appear lined with fur and a turnover piece at the top that looks like fleece.  Put blush on your cheeks and nose as Santa has rosy cheeks and a cherry nose.

If you like to sew and have the time, making your own Christmas costumes is certainly an option.  There are patterns available for any Christmas costume you can imagine, such as Santa Clause, Mrs. Clause, Santa’s elf, Rudolf or even Christmas tree costumes.  You can find patterns at hobby and craft stores, fabric shops, large department stores and online.  You will find the best selection is on the internet, as there are hundreds of sites from which to choose.  They carry a huge selection of sizes, materials and price ranges.  It is certainly a fast and convenient way to shop for Christmas costumes.

Perfect your, ‘Ho, Ho, Ho” which is Santa’s trademark because you do not want anyone to find out your secret.            

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To parents, the holiday season may mean parties, music and pageantry, as well as a whirlwind of Christmas-themed activities, from Thanksgiving until Christmas Day. To their youngest children, the holiday season means planning for one thing-Santa Claus's Christmas Eve flight and visit. And every child understands that Santa Claus knows exactly where to leave the toys and goodies he's bringing, because he knows where every child lives. Lots of children are fairly meticulous about preparing for Santa Claus. Many of them write to Santa, carefully listing the toys and gifts they want to receive. Many children work hard to improve their behavior, as the holiday season begins, heeding carefully the advice in the song that says, "He knows when you've been bad or good, so be good, for goodness' sake!" Santa Claus is important enough to young children, that, for all of its ceremony and celebration, its lights and its sounds, Christmas can be serious business. Yet, every now and then, parents can come carelessly close to ruining Christmas, as though they didn't understand anything at all about the holiday. Like when parents decide that, after spending every Christmas of a child's life at home, this year the family's going to Grandma's house, or to the beach, or anywhere that's not home. It's the perfect way to panic a child. After all, how is Santa supposed to know where a family's going to be, if they aren't at home? Parents who make such ill-conceived plans for Christmas had better have a plan for convincing their children that Santa Claus can, indeed, find them, on the big night. Sure, Santa could leave the presents at the family's home, but then the children wouldn't have much of a Christmas morning, would they? The best thing is for parents to provide some kind of proof that Santa Claus is aware of the family's plans. The Santa at the shopping center could assure a child that he knows where the family will be. Or a letter from the Big Guy might make a child breathe easier. There are many ways a parent can find to prove that Santa won't miss them, but it's a sure bet that, if this is the family's first Christmas away from home, their child will be on pins and needles, worried about what Christmas morning will bring. Of course, no child will totally believe that Santa can find the family, until Christmas morning dawns and the child finds the treasures Santa has left. But once that's happened, and Santa's come through, the Christmas trip is something that can become a family's tradition.

It has become a common practice to send friends and family an electronic card for their birthday or a holiday, including Christmas. And it is easy to see that there are numerous good reasons for doing so. The price of Christmas greeting cards and stamps have risen to a level that makes sending Christmas cards an expensive hobby. These days everybody has access to a computer, so anyone can receive a card for Christmas. The Christmas e-cards have become very sophisticated, with great animation. Something that is not possible at that level with a Christmas post card. Another advantage of the email christmas card is the fact that you do not have to worry about the timely arrival of your card at its destination. Even friends and family that live far away can receive your card practically instantaneous.

Why is it, than, that there is still a large population, that will not send email Christmas cards, even if they have no problem sending email cards during the rest of the year? It seems that tradition plays an important role here. Christmas cards, by tradition, are displayed during the holiday season and make for a very festive picture. Furthermore, if the receiver looks at your card, chances are that it will bring back memories and it will make them think of you. And this is something we all appreciate at the end of the year. It makes for the special Christmas atmosphere.

What do you think? Do you prefer a Christmas post card, or is an Christmas e-card just as good for you. Share your opinions. Fill out the comment form and let others know what you think.

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Children of all ages love to dress up-at Christmas time they love it even more as adults are also inclined to dress up. At this time of year there is high demand for children’s Christmas costumes, there is also a demand for costumes for adults. In stores all over America a man is employed to dress up and play at being Santa Claus to entertain the children-in addition to this there will be other smaller people who may be dressed as elves. Children like to wear all kinds of costumes. Children’s Christmas costumes are a particular favourite-children love being asked to play angels or Santa Claus. They especially like wigs and beards and if they are in a school concert or pantomime and are asked to play Santa Claus, then they love it-just watch young children rummage in a box full of wigs and beards; they have so much fun.
More on Kids Love to Wear a Christmas Costume

It's so easy to get caught up in the excitement of the Christmas season. When the carols begin to play, we know that there are parties and events to attend, family to visit, and decorations to put up. It's also the time when Santa Claus makes his annual sleigh-ride, with his bag full of goodies for children everywhere. Parents look forward to Santa's visit almost as much as their small children. The delight a child expresses on Christmas morning, when seeing all the presents under the tree, is one of the most fulfilling sights in any parent's life, a moment they'll remember forever. Unfortunately, Santa usually leaves the bill for all that delight squarely in Mom's and Dad's mailboxes, come January. Many Christmas shoppers, and especially parents, hit the shopping bricks, each year, without doing enough delving. Though most parents know by Thanksgiving exactly what their kids want Santa to bring them, a lot of parents head to the stores without knowing where to find the best prices. As a result they may buy the sought-for item at the first store they come to, when they could buy it for less, down the street. The internet can be an alternative way of finding the perfect toys. Sometimes, leading up to Christmas, retail stores run special internet sales on popular toys and games. The advantage to internet purchasing can be in saving on sales tax, but consumers will pay for shipping, in most cases. It's also a good idea to make sure you're buying something that the retailer actually has in stock, and can ship promptly. Moms and Dads should always remember to take written shopping lists with them, when they hit the malls at Christmastime. A running account of what is spent, along with a total budget that's written out, can be a great tool to have when a parent is tempted to overspend. Once the Christmas shopping for the kids is done, parents need to put it out of their minds until Christmas morning. Too often, parents want to add that extra little spark to their kids' Christmas day, so they find themselves, at the last minute, running back to the store for just a little more. Then they exceed the budget, and usually wind up buying something that gets thrown away soon after it's opened. We all want the best for our kids at Christmas. Overdoing and overspending will only create financial tension, later on, and leave parents with less-than-perfect memories of Christmas.

With all the choices available for multimedia Christmas cards, why choose a paper Christmas card? In today’s worship of technology one might think that doing a digital Christmas card is the better way to go. However, there are a number of compelling reasons why a traditional paper Christmas card might still be the way to go.

Some of the reasons you might want to choose a paper Christmas card this year are: More on Why we still use paper Christmas cards

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There are many different Christmas recipes that you can use at Christmas time. For most people who celebrate Christmas, the holiday season is characterized by gathering of family and friends, feasting and giving gifts to each other. Christmas would be incomplete without the mention of Santa Claus, Christmas trees, mistletoe, Christmas cakes, cookies, puddings, other Christmas goodies and cards.

 Christmas recipe planning should be done with the precision and advance preparation of a military operation, so that the cook will enjoy it too. All the extra items that are needed for any Christmas recipes should be thought of well ahead of time. It is a good idea that you sit down and choose your Christmas recipes for the cake, puddings and meat, and then list all the ingredients that you will need for each of them. A good plan would be to start doing this in November.

At the beginning of December, decide on what meat you are going to buy and find out how much it will cost-at least this way you’ve made a start. Whether you are eating turkey or ham, any Christmas recipes just wouldn’t be complete without all the trimmings.

Whether the Christmas recipes are designed to be eaten formally at the table or buffet style-try to focus on foods such as roasts or casseroles. These may take a while to cook, but won’t need your constant attention in the kitchen. Whoever does the Christmas catering must also be able to enjoy themselves with everyone else, without having to spend too much time in the kitchen.

Buffets are a great way to manage feeding a crowd. Get as much done with your Christmas recipes as you can the day before-focus on foods that can be eaten at room temperature. It will save you a lot of time and work. Cover the food and remove it just before people go up to eat. When your guests walk through the door on Christmas day let the smells of all those Christmas recipes hit them. Keep a pot of mulled apple cider on the stove so the first thing that you can smell is a delightful mixture of cinnamon, clove and nutmeg.

Make extra large batches of items like spiced nuts, salad dressing or gingerbread in advance. The Christmas cake and most puddings should be made a month beforehand. If you’re not sure what to give them for dessert-solve the dilemma by asking your guests to bring a batch of their favorite Christmas deserts. Your guests can then show off their best Christmas recipes and everyone will enjoy the variety.

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In 1840 in London, England, a British narrative painter named John Callcott Horsley designed the very first commercial Christmas card.  Sir Henry Cole, first director of the Victoria and Albert Museum and a friend of Horsley, requested he do this.  The one thousand Christmas and New Year’s cards he designed never went on sale until 1843.  Controversy surrounded the card because it depicted a family toasting Christmas.  Although puritans denounced it immediately, many others loved the idea.  Other artists followed Horsley’s example, as the Christmas card became exceedingly popular.  In 1849, English artist William Egley designed an extremely popular Christmas card.  New years greeting cards, on the other hand, had been around since 1796 when merchants sent them to their customers.  These cards usually said best wishes for the New Year.  The fashionable Christmas cards gradually replaced the New Year’s cards. 

  More on Who invented the Christmas card?

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Every parent understands the importance of Christmas morning in a child's life. It's the goal of most moms and dads to help St. Nick make the day as perfect as they can. The joy a child expresses at finding the mound of toys and goodies left under the tree by Santa Claus is something that makes every parent smile. Every Christmas is the same, for most parents-they want it to be perfect, for their kids. Years pass and the various ways families mark Christmas morning become their own specific traditions, habits that make them comfortable. However they choose to celebrate the morning after Santa's visit, through the years, the memory of their first Christmases will remain strong in their family fabric. Every Christmas morning is a time which is unique in its own right and can be recorded and preserved forever. There are many different kinds of media available, today, with which to record the occasion. Unlike years past, there's no training necessary to be the family photographer, today. Most cameras, either video or photo, are simple point-and-shoot devices, making their operations simple enough for anyone to use. A lot of families, today, have video cameras, to record their children's lives as they grow. A recoding video camera, set on a mantle or a tripod in a corner, is a simple way to record the magic of a family's Christmas morning. Mini-tapes and DVD's are easy to store and keep for later viewing. Digital photo cameras, today, are also simple enough for anyone to be the designated family photographer on Christmas morning. Many families are just more comfortable with photos than with videos, especially on a morning when everyone rises and heads to the tree, with little regard for how they look. Candid photos, though can often be more interesting and funny, later on, than even video. Generations from now, the descendants of today's families will appreciate the fact that someone took the time and effort to record their ancestors at such a joyful time as Christmas morning.