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FamilyCares Deck the Halls

Introduction

During the winter holiday season, families gather together and exchange presents as a way of expressing appreciation and love. This is the perfect time to teach our children the value of giving as well as the joy of receiving.

Most homeless shelters have limited budgets and are unable to decorate for the holidays. It can be a dreary place for families who are living at shelters with nowhere to go during the holidays.

Your family can show you care by making homemade decorations to brighten a local shelter by:

  • Providing holiday decorations for the shelter - Deck the Halls 1, or
  • Decorating the shelter with families staying there – Deck the Halls 2.

Before starting the project, engage your children in a discussion of what makes the holiday special for them, or read a book from the FamilyCares Holiday Hope Chest Book List. What decorations around the house make it feel like the holidays have arrived – snowflakes cut from paper or popcorn strung around the tree? Ask them how they could help families living at a shelter enjoy the holidays. Try to incorporate their ideas into the project.

Materials Needed will depend on the project:

  • Poster Board
  • Cardboard
  • Rickrack
  • Wrapping Paper
  • Candy Canes
  • Markers
  • Festive Ornaments
  • Popsicle Sticks
  • Assorted Colored Paper
  • Tape
  • Glue
  • Scissors
  • Staplers
  • Tinsel
  • Coloring Sheets
  • Stencils – Use cookie cutters of stars or trees
  • Glitter

Deck the Halls 1

  1. Contact a local shelter or soup kitchen and ask them if they are interested in any handmade decorations during the holiday season.
  2. Plan a specific time for you to go in with your children to drop off the decorations that you make together at the shelter or soup kitchen.
  3. Using the materials suggested above, make some of the projects from the Project Ideas below.
  4. Optional: Find out how many children are at the shelter and make a “kit” in a plastic baggie for them to create at the shelter. Include all items necessary to make the decoration as well as a sample.
  5. While making the decorations be sure to talk with your children about why you are giving the decorations.

Deck the Halls 2

  1. Contact a local shelter or soup kitchen and ask if they would like your family to help decorate the shelter for the holidays.
  2. Ask if you can work with the families at the shelter to make decorations.
  3. Depending on the needs of the shelter or kitchen (how many children and adults, what materials are available to them, etc), offer to drop off the materials listed above as well as the project descriptions below. Coordinate a drop-off time with the shelter.

Project Ideas

Gingerbread Men and Women

Materials Needed

  • Cardboard or brown construction paper
  • Poster board if you need a template
  • Scissors
  • Tape or glue
  • Rickrack
  • Markers
  • Construction Paper

Steps Involved

  1. Trace out the outline of Gingerbread Men and Women onto the cardboard or make a template from a poster board to trace onto brown construction paper. The figures can be as large as you want.
  2. Cut the figures out and distribute them to the children.
  3. Use the rickrack to “frost” the men.
  4. Use the markers and the construction paper for other features such as the eyes, buttons, etc.
  5. Put the Gingerbread Men and Women up on the wall, or just prop them if they are large enough.

Snowflakes

Materials Needed

  • White paper
  • Scissors
  • Markers

Steps Involved

  1. Carefully show the children how to fold the paper and cut out shapes to make individual snowflakes.
  2. Use the markers for the children to write their names.
  3. Remember to impress upon the children that each snowflake will be different and encourage them to compare theirs to others.

Stockings

Materials Needed

  • Construction paper
  • Scissors
  • Markers
  • Glitter glue or glitter and craft glue

Steps Involved

  1. Trace the shape of the stockings onto the construction paper.
  2. Cut the stockings out.
  3. Write their names on the stocking with glitter glue or using craft glue, have the children write their names on the stockings. Place the stocking on a larger piece of paper. Sprinkle the glitter over the glue name. Shake the excess glitter into a paper bowel and reuse it for another stocking.
  4. Optional: Paste cotton balls at the top of the stocking as in a white cuff.

Snowmen Stick Puppets

Materials Needed

  • Popsicle sticks
  • Construction Paper
  • White Paper
  • Markers
  • Scissors
  • Glue or Tape

Steps Involved

  1. Cut out three different sized circles for the bodies of the snowmen.
  2. Using the colored construction paper cut out other shapes for hats, carrot noses, buttons, and scarves.
  3. Glue the snowmen together on the sticks and decorate them with the markers and shapes.
  4. The children can play with them as stick puppets, or tape them to the wall depending on their preference.

Candy Cane Wrapping

Materials Needed

  • Candy Canes
  • Ribbon

Steps Involved

  1. This is a simple project. Precut the ribbon lengths and have the children tie the ribbons to the candy canes.
  2. These can either be distributed or if there is a tree, they can be placed on it.