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Mince pies are a very old English Christmas tradition. If you go back far enough (perhaps to the 11th Century), the pies were made with a minced meat mixture, sweetened with spices and fruit to represent the gifts of the Wise Men, and in the shape of a manger.
Have a go at this craft stock bookmark inspired by intricate traditional Maori designs.
You will need:
Important Maori men always had distinctive facial tattoos, often very intricate designs which were time-consuming and very painful! Women sometimes had tattoos around their mouths and chins, too. Kids can design their own Maori tattoos and wear them with pride with this mask craft.
Print and colour in this fun map of Scotland illustrating some famous Scottish landmarks.
Use our maple leaf alphabet to print for classroom activities, to decorate the house with banners, in scrapbooking, and all sorts of other projects! We also have some Maple Leaf Numbers too.
This maple leaf mobile is an excellent Canada Day craft for kids, who will enjoy cutting out and assembling the maple leaf shapes from our template.
You will need:
Enjoy our maple leaf numbers to print - you can use them in school projects or at home. Try some early counting games, perhaps? We've got a Maple Leaf Alphabet too.
Here's a Maple Leaf Template to print, with three different sizes of maple leaves. We've used it to make our Maple leaf mobile and Leaf brooch crafts.
Print and play our simple maple leaf tic tac toe game with kids on Canada Day! Simple use two different colours of buttons or other small objects - one for each player. Red and white would be the most appropriate!
Use this printable worksheet to plot the co-ordinates of the Titanic's short maiden voyage.
I'm sure a real Marauder's Map would come in very useful - but if you can't have a magic one, why not make this one and pretend?
Making the "board" will keep the kids occupied for a while; and so will playing the game. Siblings of different ages can play this with each other quite happily.
Real marbling takes quite a bit of effort and requires oil paints, tray, water and mess! Here is an easier version for younger children which still produces a very pretty effect.
Marbled Eggs are fun for kids to make - and pretty to display at Easter, too. You will need marbling inks, which are available in most craft stores. We've used bright colours but pastel colours would make pretty Easter eggs.
No Mardi Gras parade could be complete without a marching drum! Here is how your children can make their own using simple bits and pieces that you almost certainly already have to hand.
This fun Mardi Gras crown is great for kids of all ages - just decorate according to age and ability. The kids will be proud to wear them in their Mardi Gras parade!
These Mardi Gras cup shakers are fun to make and produce a satisfyingly loud noise for your Mardi Gras parade! Our photo of the craft is a little old, but it really did sparkle when we made it!
Kids will have fun making and wearing this fun, floppy Mardi Gras jester hat! Of course, while it looks like a jester hat, it is actually made like a simple crown.
Masks are what Mardi Gras parades are all about, and if you are going to have your own Mardi Gras celebration at home you will need to give the kids free reign in designing their own!
This Mardi Gras necklace is fun to make for all ages, but especially younger kids. Depending on how patient your kids are, you might want to prepare the "beads" in advance!