Host: I had to find a crafty, creative way to get them out of the cold. It was freezing outside Amanda. So cold. So I’m inside now with Amanda Kingloff. She’s the lifestyle editor at Parents Magazine and she’s got some really crafty and fun ideas for the kids, things that will keep the kids really entertained right?
Amanda: Keep them entertained and they also make really great gifts. And most of them you can keep forever and ever so they’re great keepsakes.
Host: Just so you guys know, I have more fun making these things half the time than the kids so so take it away Amanda. What do we have here, why don’t you tell us what you’ve got?
Amanda: So this is one of my favorites, it’s a little bell and actually what it is is just a plastic cup and you cover it in tape or glue and you wrap tinsel garland around it and then you just string a ribbon through with a bell on the end and then you have a little bell.
Host: Just when I think you’ve though of everything, there’s something else that comes out. I really like this a lot too. And the kids obviously can get really involved with something like that.
Amanda: They’re really easy to do. This is also just a little ministocking which is a great way to give like tiny little gifts so you can make like a little candy cane out of chenille stems. It’s just felt and it’s a good way for them to practice their stitching.
Host: So the parents obviously would have to cut the slits?
Amanda: Yes, they would cut the slits and you could find the template for this in the back of the December issue of Parents Magazine.
Host: So you don’t have to do like me and just kind of wing it and figure it out. This looks a little interesting.
Amanda: This is our sort of recycled craft for the season. It’s a snowman made out of different bottle caps, tops, lids and what we did was we glued them together even his little hat is like a Coca Cola bottle top and he’s filled with pillow batting and just decorated with some felt shapes.
Host: And now we have the Christmas tree too kind of the same theme here right?
Amanda: All this is is we got a Christmas tree cookie cutter and traced it, cut it out and then what we did is we punched holes on the back and glued these little clear beads into the holes and when you hang it in the window, it shines so it almost looks like the tree is lit.
Host: Is there a reason that you cut the holes as opposed to just gluing them on there? It stays better?
Amanda: It allows the light to come through. It just gives it a little bling.
Host: That’s why you do what you do. Now what about this little thing here.
Amanda: This is really fun for the really little kids in your life, everyone has Legos and especially these big Legos are really easy to work with and all we did is we made a cube, took some ribbon, wrapped it up and then at the end of the holiday, you just rip them off and they have their toy back.
Host: You like the steam here Amanda. Last but not least?
Amanda: It’s the sweet star and I love this. It’s actually made out of just some plastic beads and these are cut up drinking straws so here you see the little bendy straw part. And they are threaded onto chenille stems and formed into a star shape.
Host: It looks like it’d be really fragile especially with kids around but it’s pretty sturdy.
Amanda: it’s really sturday and the kids love beading and threading things on.
Host: Kids love beading and I love doing some things too so you guys show me how to make it, what are we going to do now here?
Amanda: So we’re going to make these gum drop snowflake ornaments and they’re really easy. You don’t need much and don’t need any glue, you don’t need any paint. Super clean craft. So you start with toothpicks and you just can make a pattern.
Host: Take the smaller ones and put them on—
Amanda: Take the smaller ones and just thread them on. Just push them on. You want to do these with kids because toothpicks can poke them.
Host: Little dangerous and you want to make sure you have fresh gum drops too. Otherwise, it’s not going to be fun.
Amanda: You’re going to be hammering these through.
Host: I see you put only three.
Amanda: Put only three so we kind of want to fill it up to the end and then we have the large gum drops and--
Host: And then you end up taking what about four of these?
Amanda: Between four and six. You really want it to look like snowflake, form like a plus sign.
Host: I need to look at the example. That’s really bad.
Amanda: So you just press them in all the way around and you want to go along the sides and then you make like a star shape.
Host: This looks pathetic already Amanda. Thank god, I’m not the one teaching the kids. There’s mine. I tried. This is L shaped. I tried, I get the idea though.
Amanda: Then you just take a little bit of thread and you tie it to the top and you hang it on your tree.
Host: And you obviously have to make sure that you eat these?
Amanda: Yes, eat them. These are not ones you want to save in your Christmas bins for next year. These are one season ornaments.
Host: Thank you so much Amanda. Good to see you again.
Amanda: Good to see you too.
Host: And you guys can always get plenty of crafty ideas in Parents Magazine which is on newstands now or you can go to their website, parentsmagazine.com.