I don’t know about your kids, but since we entered December, I have lost count as to how many times my three year old has asked me if it is Christmas yet. It’s very hard for children to comprehend time, so to help my daughter with that, we made a fun Christmas visual for her: A Star Ring Chain Craft. Here’s how it works: We hang the star ring chain in her room and make it be part of her bedtime routine, beginning on the night of December 13th. Every night, she will remove a ring from the bottom of the chain. On the night before Christmas, she will remove the final ring and all that will be left is the star. That’s how she will know it will finally be Christmas when she wakes up the next day!
Materials Needed:
- Yellow Foam Star (I bought ours at the Dollar Tree)
- Green Construction Paper
- Red Construction Paper
- White Printer Paper
- Computer and Printer
- 1 Piece of Red Pipe Cleaner (I bought ours at the Dollar Tree)
- Hole Puncher
- Scissors
- Marker
- Stapler
- Glue
Directions:
- Use scissors to cut six 2″ strips of red construction paper.
- Use scissors to cut six 2″ strips of green construction paper.
- Use a marker and help your child write the numbers 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11 on the red construction paper strips.
- Use a marker and help your child write the numbers 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 on the green construction paper strips.
- Roll the #1 paper strip to make a circle and staple the ends together.
- Repeat step #5 with numbers 2 to 12 strips and connect them to the previous number strip as shown.
- Use a computer to type in a small sized font “Every evening after goodnights are said, take off one ring and jump into bed. When only the star is left to shine, then you will knot it is Christmas time!” Print it out and cut around it as pictured.
- Glue the printed words onto the star.
- Use a hole puncher to make a hole in the bottom of the star.
- Use a hole puncher to make a hole in the #1 red ring.
- Use the piece of pipe cleaner to connect the star to the #1 ring.
- Hang the star ring chain up somewhere where your child can easily get to it at bedtime and have them begin their star ring chain on the night of December 13.