Are your kids like mine - the second Christmas break from school starts they just want to lay around in their pajamas and stare at screens? And then they ask for snacks every 5 seconds, and say "Mom, I'm bored" about 2,000 times per hour? It's obnoxious.
If you're kids are like that too I have a craft that will keep them occupied for a pretty big chunk of time!! A printable gingerbread toy!
You're going to need:
• The files that can be found lower in this post
• White and/or colored cardstock and a printer
• Crayons, colored pencils, or markers
• Scissors
• A thick craft needle
• String
• Glue or gluestick
• Tissue paper or polyfill stuffing
Here are the files you'll need to print. Just right click on each one and select save or print from the menu that pops up.
How to Make Them:
Print the pages - as many as you need for your kids. I printed all the pages on white cardstock, and then also printed the first two pages on some brown and pink paper so my kids didn't need to color the body pieces.
Have your kids color all the pieces they want to use. They don't need to color the rest, unless they want to. You can make a 2 sided gingerbread man if you want to put a face on both sides.
Have your kids cut out both sides of the body and all their colored pieces.
Then using glue or a gluestick, the kids need to attach all the pieces and let them completely dry.
Take the craft needle and punch through each hole in both of the body pieces. It's easiest to do this by having your kids get on the ground and poking the needle through the paper and the carpet. Or you can put a piece of cardboard behind the paper so they can easily poke through without mangling everything.
We didn't do this step, and I'll tell you what - - having the holes pre-poked would have made things MUCH easier!
Then thread the needle with string and put both sides of the gingerbread man together with all the holes matching up. Then have your child sew around everything EXCEPT FOR A LITTLE BIT AT THE END.
That little gap at the end of sewing is super important because you're going to need to insert the polyfill stuffing or crinkle up some tissue paper to put inside. Once your gingerbread man has been "stuffed" you can finish sewing him up!
My kids got really tired of the sewing part. So here are a couple alternative ways to use these files:
• Just have them decorate the gingerbread bodies with the pieces they colored and sew nothing. This is by far the easiest option.
• Don't worry about stuffing, and using both sides of the gingerbread man. Just have them sew around one side. It will still look festive, make them use their fine motor skills, and keep them occupied for awhile.
The biggest part of this craft is for you to use the time they're occupied to hopefully get a breather....and maybe you can even accomplish something! I mean, don't plan on EITHER of those things, but we can all dream.....
And if you're wanting EVEN MORE ways to keep your kids entertained check out our Christmas Journal and Activity Book for Kids printable in the shop!
