It’s less than a month until Christmas! And that means if your kids want to write to Santa Claus they’d better hustle their bustles!

Up here in the chilly north (Canada) if you write Santa, he will write you back. (Very exciting!) Assuming you write him in time, of course–the guy does get busy this time of year!

So let your kids practice their writing skills, dream the big dream about what they want for Christmas, and pop it in an envelope.

Letters To and From Santa

To write Santa in Canada you will need to write him a letter and mail it to Santa’s Canadian mailing address:

Santa Claus
The North Pole
H0H 0H0
Canada

Email him

If you are in the United States you will need to mail your letter to Santa’s American mailing address:

North Pole Christmas Cancellation
Postmaster
5400 Mail Trail
Fairbanks AK 99709-9998

(And isn’t that a REALLY bad first line of his mailing address? If I was a kid it would make me really, really nervous writing that on an envelope.)

Now, if your kids are a little more high tech… check this out:

Emails From Santa

Email Santa (Northpole.com): You email him, he emails back.

Email Santa Claus (EmailSanta.com) You email him, he emails back.

Note: There are a ton of ways to contact Santa these days, these are just two.

Videos From Santa

Now this is WAY cool. Last year my daughter got a PERSONALIZED video from Santa. Blew. Her. Mind. You can set one up for your kids at the “Portable North Pole” by clicking this link.

Now, I haven’t been able to confirm whether Santa writes back (physical letters) to his American kids, so if you know, drop a comment below. Have you tried any of these ways to contact Santa? What’s worked well for you and your kids?

Tweet this–> Have your kids written to Santa yet? Emails, letters, videos and more.

Make this easy Halloween chalk art craft with your kids!

Happy Halloween!

Almost.

I was looking through some of the crafts and things my kids have and what did I find? An easy Halloween craft that is also an easy arts and craft activity for other times of the year–those are always the best.

Chalk Art for Kids

What you’ll need for this craft:

A bat shape–whether you make it out of cardstock or have one of those plastic tracers (can be another animal! In fact, this would be an easy, fun craft for farm animal units and is an easy preschool craft as well.). Basically, you will need a distinguishable shape that you can colour with chalk.

Black construction paper.

Lots of different coloured chalk.

Tissues (This craft is so easy and beautiful you’re gonna cry! Actually, it is for the craft, but you are welcome to cry at this craft’s simple beauty.)

Hair spray (optional–the non-sticky kind is best)

Hey, joke time! What do which use to style their hair? Scare spray! Ha, ha, ha!

Here’s what you do to make this bat craft:

1. Colour the tracer with chalk. Lots of colour! Use different colours and go crazy!

2. Hold the tracer in place on top of the black construction paper.

3. Gently wipe (with the tissue) from the middle of the tracer outwards off the edge of the tracer onto the paper. Continue brushing/wiping outwards in different directions until you have wiped all the colour off the tracer and have a complete outline of your bat (or whatever tracer you have or have created). Don’t over-wipe. One gentle wipe in each direction should be enough.

4. Spray the paper lightly with hair spray to bond the chalk to the page–that way it won’t smear and wipe off.

There you go. An easy Halloween craft and easy chalk art for your kids.

Do you have any favourite chalk art masterpieces you’d like to share?

An easy Thanksgiving Craft for Kids–they’ll love it!

Happy Thanksgiving (weekend) my Canadian friends! And for my American friends, tuck this Thanksgiving centerpiece craft for kids in your back pocket for next month.

Kids love to be involved in big family celebrations and, in particular, feel pride when they can create something that is shared and enjoyed by everyone. An easy centerpiece craft is great way for kids to do just that!

This turkey-lurky is a craft Mary made with the kids at the local library and all the turkeys looked completely different even though the kids used the same supplies. I love how kids always add their own flair to their crafts. It’s unique and creative and also a form of self-expression. Who knew, eh?

How to Make a Turkey/Thanksgiving Centerpiece Craft

You’ll need the following supplies:

• terracotta pot* (small)
• feathers
• craft foam sheets (brown, orange, red) — if you don’t have foam sheets, you can easily use construction paper
• white glue (or a hot glue gun along with adult assistance)
• googly eyes
• fuzzy pompom balls
• scissors
• pen (you may want to sketch out the pieces before cutting and pen works a bit better than pencil on foam sheets–although pencil can work as well)

Using a brown sheet of crafting foam cut it into a long keyhole shape (see photo above). Cut a beak out of orange foam, and a mouth out of red foam. Then cut out that funny wattle shape turkeys have. (Also red–although if your kids are partial to purple or green, go with the flow.)

Glue the face parts, including googly eyes, on to the keyhole-shaped piece. (The fat part is the face, and the longer part is the neck which will be partly hidden from view when it is glued into the pot.

Glue the head onto the pot at the base of the neck. (Tuck it inside the pot.) Glue feathers–standing up–on the other side of the pot’s inside.

Along the last of the exposed rim, add the fuzzy pompoms. Why? ‘Cause they look cool.

Voila! A Thanksgiving Centerpiece. (Or, if you are teaching a unit on farm animals or birds, you now have an easy turkey craft for your classroom of little turkeys.

What are your plans for Thanksgiving? Do you usually have a centerpiece? Have your kids ever made one for you?

*No terracotta pot? Try using a small yogurt container and either painting it brown with thick paint or even better–no flaking worries(and easier)–try covering it with construction paper.

You will need this printable pdf template of the bunny ear headband, paper, markers or crayons, glue, and as an option: tape or a stapler.

Print off the template on white paper. Have your kids colour their ears and cut them out. Glue the bottoms of the ears on a long strip of paper (the headband) about 50 cm/20 inches long. Adjust this around your child’s head and either tape, glue, or staple it at that spot.

Your child is now, officially, a bunny rabbit! Wasn’t that easy?!

Note: While I originally thought cardstock would make better ears, I’ve since discovered that plain paper works well. The curvature of the headband keeps the ears from flopping down. However, if you want more durable ears, cardstock is still a good option.

Make it a family activity: Bunny ears for everyone!
This activity promotes: fine motor skills, imagination, and creativity.

To make a basic tree you will need: A branch with many little twigs on it, clay or playdough, small plant pot, and decorations.

Place the clay or playdough in the bottom of the pot. Push the branch into the playdough or clay. Once it dries, it will hold it in place quite nicely. Then, add decorations to the tree.

For the decorations, you can either make your own at home or buy some from a craft or dollar store.

You can also decorate your pot using markers, glitter glue, stickers, or foam pieces.

As well, you can place the streamers from Easter baskets on top of the clay to decorate your pot.

Make this a family activity: Get together to make your own decorations for your Easter tree–more people means more ideas!

This activity promotes creativity and fine motor skills.