by Emily Acker

Created on: November 08, 2008   Last Updated: May 09, 2011

Christmas is a great time for children to get creative, and there a ton of books out there on Christmas crafts for children. I'll give you a few titles of books to check out, and then share with you my personal favorite simple Christmas craft.

I loved making crafts as a child (and still do), especially at Christmas time! Lucky for me, my mom was (and is) an avid crafter, so she would help me to make all kinds of things. But for those of you who don't have the talent that my mom has, here are some books that are rated five stars on Amazon and that should hold great craft ideas (and easy to follow instructions) for you and your children.

Disney's Christmas Crafts for Kids by Marge Kennedy - who doesn't like Disney?

The Best Craft Book Ever by Jane Bull - not an exclusively Christmas book, but does say that it includes some Christmas crafts.

Crafts to Make in the Winter by Kathy Ross - again, not just a Christmas book, but winter/Christmas = pretty much the same crafts.

Christian Crafts for Christmastime by Kathy Ross - for those of us celebrating the faith aspect of the holiday.

Now, to share my personal favorite Christmas craft - with paper snowflakes coming in as a close second.

Paper Chains!

What you will need:

Some paper - red or green works best, but any old color will do.

Scissors

A Stapler, or if you want to be safe (but not as much fun, just kidding) tape will work.

A bunch of youngsters ready to have some fun.

What you need to do:

Cut the paper into strips about an inch or two wide. Bend the first paper into a circle and staple the ends overlapping. Interlace the next paper with that one, and the next one with this one, etc, etc. Have fun and make some kind of pattern using different colors of paper, or make it all one color.

Hang the chains somewhere where the children will be able to admire their work often. Or wrap around your tree for a beautiful affect.

Have lots of fun! And remember your children are only young once.

* If you want to take extra time with the chains, and end up with less but better quality decorations, consider decorating the paper strips before stapling them. Use glitter glue, stickers, or markers or crayons.

I remember spending hours with my brothers and sisters at Christmas time cutting, stapling and hanging more and more paper chains. Sometimes I think my mom thought we made a few too many, but it was fun. :)

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