Wintertime can be particularly challenging for parents during Covid. With the closure of numerous attractions and the cancellation of many holiday events due to restrictions, parents are facing the added pressure of keeping their toddlers engaged at home. While we try to spend a lot of time outdoors, enjoying the rain (or snow), we also try to make the most of our time indoors. We’ve been experimenting with a lot of holiday crafts and have found that they can also be excellent French activities for kids.
Filling and decorating a Christmas ornament
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You can easily get overwhelmed by the numerous activities on Pinterest and Instagram, so here’s a simple one that you can do together. I purchased everything from the dollar store, including the Christmas ball, but you can also buy it on Amazon.
What you need:
| A transparent Christmas ball ornament | une boule de Noël transparente |
| Bells | des clochettes |
| Stickers | des autocollants |
You can also get creative and use other decorative items such as:
| Sequins | des paillettes |
| Washi tape | du ruban adhésif Washi |
| Pom poms | des pompons |
| Pine tree leaves | des feuilles de pin |
Instructions
I put all the items in a tray, and Surya was immediately intrigued. She was familiar with all the items since we’ve been practicing a lot of French Christmas vocabulary.
We started with the jingle bells, and I showed her how to put them inside the ornament. If your child still puts things in their mouth, please make sure to supervise them closely during this activity.
Depending on the age of your child, you may find that some French Christmas activities for kids need specific instructions, while some require a demonstration. I found that Surya didn’t need a lot of guidance from me for this particular craft, so I mainly observed and commented occasionally if she wanted me involved. You may choose to let them focus and do the activity on their own, and discuss it after they finish.
I’m putting the bells in the ornament.
Je mets les clochettes dans la boule.
You can hear Surya narrating her actions on the video!
Then, she had some fun shaking the ornament!
The bells make a nice sound when you shake the ball.
Les clochettes produisent un joli son quand tu secoues la boule.
Next, she started with the snowflakes stickers, which were quite tricky and involved a lot of concentration.
I did not dare interrupt her.
She finished decorating her Christmas ornament with the second set of winter stickers, although she got bored and did not use them all.
You’re almost done!
T’as presque fini!
You can hear my little one exclaim:
Oh la la, c’est tout recouvert!
Oh wow, it’s all covered.
