Kat’s Money Corner: Seasonal help wanted

Between travel, gifts, decorations and meals, holiday expenses can add up pretty quickly. One clever way of saving money (and making some memories) is crafting your own decorations. Read on for some fun and creative ways to deck your halls and keep the kids entertained over holiday break.

Home For The Holidays

My son loves to play Santa’s workshop where we make all types of fun, festival items. The added bonus of this tradition is that we can turn those workshop crafts into decorations. Gingerbread houses are a great example. We do purchase the kits (I am not that crafty) and when they’re finished, we place it on our bookshelf with fake felt snow we use year after year.

http://www.wilton.com/celebrations/Christmas/gingerbread.cfm

If your kids enjoy making a miniaturized gingerbread house, then a life-sized house will probably be right up their alley, too. Using cardboard, scraps of leftover wrapping paper and their sugar cookie-fueled imaginations, their variations on a Christmas “fort” is bound to keep them busy.

http://innerchildfun.com/2013/11/cardboard-gingerbread-house-life-size.html

Christmas Crafts

We buy card stock, pipe cleaners, googly eyes, tissue paper and string in bulk. It’s fun all year round but comes into great use for holiday decorations. Some of our favorite kid-friendly projects are the cutest and easiest ones to make together. Popsicle sticks can be turned into just about anything. Set your kids to work making snowflakes or craft stick snowmen. Add a string to their finished projects and you’ll have an ornament!

http://formulamom.com/friday-five-5-easy-holiday-crafts-for-kids/

Coffee filter snowflakes can be hung on the sliding glass door and snowman garland can be added to and re-used for next year. Jack loves seeing his artwork all over the house! http://www.1pureheart.blogspot.com/2012/01/snowman-garland.html

Keep older kids busy with more complicated projects. For instance, have them make their own snow globes. A trip to the craft store or even just digging through their discarded toy chests can supply some very cool ideas for these snow domes. http://www.snowdomes.com/snow_globes/category/Kits

Paper crafts and homemade ornaments are also great ideas for kids and adults alike. Make a few extra of whatever craft you choose; they’re special mementos for grandparents, too! So, don’t just string up the lights and call it done – decorations that your children and families make together are guaranteed to make your home both merry and bright.

Kat's Money Corner is posted on Dollars & Sense every Tuesday. Kat Hnatyshyn, when not blogging or caring for her little one, is a manager with CommunityAmerica Credit Union. For more financial chatter, click http://twitter.com/savinmavens.

This story was originally published November 11, 2014 at 1:00 AM with the headline "Kat’s Money Corner: Seasonal help wanted."