boogaloo: winter wonderland

Christmas is over, the trees are tossed to the curb, and many of us have turned off our outdoor lights for another year. I love Christmas lights and think that they should really be left up all winter long. They have a way of really brightening things up in the dreary months of our Canadian winters. There is so little colour (and daylight) when we look outside now and the trees are all bare and lifeless. Kinda depressing!

This morning the kids and I made a simple, low-mess craft that I thought would help us get through these winter months - or at least give us something colourful to look at against that white blanket of snow.

Outdoor Tree Ornaments

Aren't they pretty?!

We collected yogurt containers and found a long ice cube tray but we could have also used plastic egg cartons and plastic bowls. If you'd like to make this at home, just be sure that you'll be able to get the ice blocks out afterward (plastic that is bendy works well). Just about any shape, size will do.

Then we put in all kinds of little treasures like glittery shapes and letters, mini pom poms, sparkles, multi-coloured tissue papers cut into little squares, and even little faux flowers.

Next we cut a few inches of ribbon and tied a knot in it. It doesn't have to be ribbon - you could also use wool, string, embroidery thread, tooth floss - whatever really. The nice thing about using ribbon though is that you can write each child's name on theirs and know whose is whose (using a waterproof marker of course).

When everything has been put inside the container - you are ready to add a little bit of water, and if you want - food colouring. You just want to cover the contents without it being too thick - an inch or 2-3 cms works well. I found it less messy to add the water at the very end. Then put the containers outside to freeze. If you are doing this on a mild day or in a warm climate, you can also put it in the freezer.