Asleep on the hay.

Here is something that we are doing during the month of December. My family did this while I was growing up, and a couple of years ago I decided I wanted my kids to do it too, so I used some fabric scraps and craft sticks that I had on hand and made one for us. The idea is to make sure that there is enough hay in the manger to make a soft bed for baby Jesus before Christmas Eve. It's so easy to make. Here is how:

Supplies

Mini crafts sticks (or you can make a bigger one with regular sized popsicle sticks)

Glue gun or wood glue and fabric glue

Two small pieces of fabric

Some kind of stuffing (cotton balls are great)

Hay (or yarn, garden twine, etc.)

Make the manger by gluing three sticks together for each side. Once they are dry, glue them together on one edge. Then use four craft sticks (two glued to each side) to make the legs. For the baby Jesus, wrap one of the fabric pieces around the stuffing, making an oval shape, and glue it closed. Wrap the other piece of fabric around the first, like a baby blanket, and glue it closed.

During the month of December, set the manger up somewhere and put the hay close to it. Every time someone in the family does something good for others without being asked, that person can put one piece of hay in the manger. Baby Jesus will need a soft bed on Christmas Eve, so hopefully, everyone in the family will do lots of nice things. For me, this is a lot of fun and a great way to help our little ones feel and understand the true Christmas spirit.

More Birds' Nests

Here is the second birds' nest activity we did. I found this cute idea at Chocolate On My Cranium. It took a few days to complete because we had to wait for the nests and clay to dry. But you could also use the kind of clay that you bake to dry.

Here's what to do:

Mix 1/8 cup cornstarch with 1 cup water, and heat to boiling.

Stir constantly and let it thicken a bit, then remove from heat and let cool.

OR

Just use store-bought liquid cornstarch.

I think that using some glue mixed with water would work well too... maybe even better.

Cut pieces of yarn or string into varying lengths.

Wrap some bowls or cups with plastic wrap.

Dip the yarn into the liquid cornstarch and wrap around the outside of the upside-down bowls or cups.

Let dry... it may take a day or two.

In the meantime, make some little birds and eggs to go in your nests. You could make them out of clay and paint them like we did (my daughter even made worms, bugs and seeds for her birds to eat), or come up with another way. I'm sure there are a lot of crafty ideas out there for making cute little birds.

Have fun!