Holidays Category
Happy Thanksgiving From Our Family To Yours
All of us at Kolcraft wish you and your families a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with love and gratitude.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Easy Thanksgiving Craft for Kids
We love this easy, fun craft from Kim who works with us in the Marketing Department. (We love how she named them after our Wonderbugs. 
) Not only will these easy Thanksgiving crafts spruce up your dining table, they are a great way for the kids to help the family out during Thanksgiving. These easy Pilgrim and Native American napkin rings double as place holders and can be used for many years to come!
What you’ll need:
- Non-toxic marker
- Non-toxic glue
- Construction paper
- Ruler
- Scissors (for adult use only)
What to do:
1. Cut a half inch wide strip of construction paper (the length will vary depending on the size of your napkins) and glue the ends together to form a complete circle.
2. Trace the outline of a cup on a piece of construction paper and cut out. This will serve as the head of your Pilgrim or Native American.
3. For the Native American, cut out a strip of construction paper for the headband. Cut out and glue different color feathers to adorn the headband. Glue this to the top of the head.
4. For the Pilgrim napkin holders, cut out a square and rectangle. Glue the square to edge of the rectangle to make the top hat and adorn with a yellow buckle. For girls, cut out a bonnet. Glue the bonnet or top hat to the head. Cut out a peter pan collar using white construction paper and glue to the chin of the head.
5. Cut out and glue hair using construction paper to match whoever the napkin holder is for. Use yellow paper for blonds or make cute black pigtails for girls!
6. Use the marker to draw on the face and write the individual’s name.
7. Glue the circle from step 1 to the back.
You can also make these napkin rings into turkeys, cornucopia, or any other fall-themed shapes. Looking for other Thanksgiving craft ideas? Let the kids decorate a piece of construction paper for fun, personalized placemats for the whole family!
Tips for Your Kids To Help with Thanksgiving Dinner
You have a laundry list of things to prepare before you serve Thanksgiving dinner, you have company milling around and your kids are saying they are bored. What to do? You can have your kids feel part of your Thanksgiving preparations, by giving you a helping hand!
Decorating:
Have your kids make the decorations for the table. They can make napkin holders, place holders, placemats or a variety of other fun table decorations. We love the crafts our own Kolcraft fans have made for our Thanksgiving contest & think your kids will enjoy them too.
Cooking:
Let your child lend a hand in the kitchen with small tasks like mashing the potatoes, helping measure ingredients, snapping the ends off green beans or setting the timer for the turkey.
Setting the table:
Help your child feel special by setting the table: folding napkins, putting out the silverware (adults should put out the knives), serving-ware, etc. Your table will take on the unique feel of your child’s decorative eye.
What tips do you have for involving your children in your Thanksgiving preparations?
Decorate Your Thanksgiving Table
While it may seem like we just finished Trick or Treating with our children, Thanksgiving really is next week! We wanted to share with you an easy craft to do with your children and decorate your Thanksgiving Table.
What you’ll need:
- Toilet paper tubes (the amount depends on the amount of guests)
- Construction paper
- Glue
- Scissors
- A black marker
How to make this Thanksgiving Craft
The Pilgrim:
- Cover a toilet paper roll with black construction paper
- Glue a smaller patch with pink construction paper to form a face.
- Trace and cut a collar (as pictured) on white constructions paper. Glue the collar under the pink construction paper.
- Cut a square on black construction paper to form the base of the hat. Cut a strip and glue the ends together to form a circle and the hat.
- Draw the face and buttons on your pilgrim.
- Write the name of a guest on any colored paper and glue it to the hat
The Native American:
- Cover a toilet paper roll with beige (in this case we used orange) construction paper
- Glue a smaller patch with pink construction paper to form a face.
- Cut a strip of black construction and also cut fringe on one side of the strip to create hair. Glue on top of the pink construction paper
- Trace and cut feathers on other colors of construction paper
- Write the name of a guest on one of the feathers and attach it to the top of the roll.
This is one idea we have for a Thanksgiving craft, but we are also interested in seeing your crafts. Enter our Thanksgiving Craft contest for a chance to win $75 for holiday shopping! Enter here.
Celebrating Veteran’s Day with Children
Veteran’s day is a time to remember, be grateful and work for a peaceful future, but how do we explain this to our children? We found a few websites that have helpful activities.
- State of Virginia website with activities for K-5
- Enchanted Learning site with games and crafts for kids of all ages
- Simple PowerPoint presentations on Veteran’s Day for kids
Another way to celebrate Veteran’s day is to visit a Veteran in your family or at a nursing home, etc. Your child can ask questions and get to know your own local hero who has given him/herself in service.
How will you be celebrating Veteran’s Day with your children?
Easy Halloween Crafts
With Trick-or-Treating just hours away, we’ve compiled our favorite crafts and ideas to get you and the whole family ready for Halloween, whether you need a last minute costume for your little one or a kid-friendly craft for your Halloween party.
- Michael’s Arts and Crafts has fun spider and pumpkin stickers for a mess-free and kid-friendly way to decorate your pumpkin!
- Need a last minute Halloween costume for you little one? Check out our easy to make Halloween masks.
- Use construction paper, glue and markers to turn an old paper bag into a trick-or-treat bag. This is a fun project to do with your child that can spruce up their costume. Are they going as a bumble bee? Turn your paper bag into a beautiful flower!
- We love Martha Stewart’s spooky Glowing Ghost . Simply snap a glow stick and place into a balloon. Let your kids draw fun faces on the balloons for an easy decoration.
Do you have any last minute Halloween ideas? We’d love to hear them. Happy Halloween!
Creating a Homemade Halloween Costume and Craft
![](http://www.kolcraft.com/blog/<a href="http://www.kolcraft.com/blog/homemade-halloween-costume/"><img src="http://www.kolcraft.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/Marisa_Kim_Masks.jpg" alt="" title="Marisa_Kim_Masks" width="414" height="336" class="size-full wp-image-4644" /></a> "Homemade Halloween Masks")
Still looking for a Halloween costume for your little one? These inexpensive masks are easy to do and can be made out of materials you might already have laying around the house!
What you’ll need:
- Scissors (for adult use only)
- Non-toxic glue
- Construction paper
- Hole punch
- Yarn or string
- Paper Plate
How to make the flower mask:
- Cut out the inside circle of the plate, leaving a two inch perimeter.
- Using a piece of construction paper, cut out one petal.
- Using this petal as a stencil, tracing and cutting out multiple petals until you have enough to cover the perimeter of the plate
- Glue the petals around the edge of the plate until completely covered
- Punch one hole on each side of the flower mask
- Cut two pieces of string or yarn and tie one piece to each hole, leaving enough string to secure the mask around your child’s head
- On Halloween, wear a green t-shirt or sweatshirt for the stem of the flower!
- For a fun variation, instead of petals, cut out brown triangles to create a mane. Paint whiskers on your little one’s face for a fun and adorable lion costume!
Marisa & Kim try on the masks for us!
How to make the Frankenstein mask:
- Cut the paper plate in half. Trim off an inch from the perimeter of the plate.
- Glue green construction paper to cover the plate and trim any access paper.
- Cut out a large black rectangle. Cut tiny small triangle notches in the rectangle for Frankenstein’s hair and glue onto the plate.
- Use a black market to draw stiches onto the forehead.
- Cut two eye holes.
- Cut out to ‘nails’ and glue onto the ends of the mask
- Punch one hole onto each side of the mask
- Cut two pieces of string or yarn and tie one piece to each hole, leaving enough string to secure the mask around your child’s head
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
Monster Halloween Cookies 2011
Whether you are looking for a tasty treat for an upcoming Halloween party or a yummy way to use up your leftover Halloween M&Ms, these Monster Halloween Cookies are sure to be a hit with parents and kids!
Ingredients:
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 lb. brown sugar
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1/4 Tbsp. Karo White
- 2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/4 lb. butter
- 1.5 cups peanut butter
- 4.5 cups oatmeal
- 1/4 lb. of chocolate chips or peanut butter chips
- 1/4 lb. of chocolate candies
- 1/4 tsp. vanilla
What to do:
Homemade Halloween Decorations
Ghosts, witches and jack-o-lanterns are popping up around the neighborhood. A great way to decorate your own house with the help of your kids is with these homemade Halloween decorations. We have found a lot of great ideas and we hope you try some of them out.
- Halloween banners are an easy way to add some flair to your home. Party Planner Center is offering free bat cut outs to help create your banner. Add some googly eyes and the bats will really pop!
- Mini pumpkins offer a variety of options for your kids to decorate. You can paint the mini pumpkins or decorate them in a variety of ways. We loved this idea from MarthaStewart.com. Cut out a mouth on the mini pumpkin, add fake teeth, and use a pin to create two eyes.
- Using themed picture frames around your home can quickly create a Halloween feeling. We found the picture frame, above, on the blog I Heart Nap Time. Using your old Halloween photos or leave a Halloween message.
Happy Labor Day!
Whether you are excited that summer is coming to a close or wishing you had 3 more months of summer, we hope that this Labor Day is time of rest and enjoyment with your family.
Happy Labor Day!
