This week we made our own Christmas stars - and had lots of fun. Particularly Isla loved the quiet time just sitting, glueing and sticking the colourful paper together. I helped by pre-folding the sheets of paper and instructing her where to put the glue and which parts of the star elements needed to be joined together. But other than that, she was able to make them herself.
It is a really easy thing to do - it took us about 30-40 minutes from start to finish - and the kids were completely absorbed by the task. We each had a hot chocolate (!) and even had some Christmas songs on in the back ground - a rare moment of peace in our household!
There were a couple of things that I learnt this time:
the one thing that I would do slightly differently next time, is fix the back of the stars (where the folds are) with a little glue, too. Otherwise, when you hang them in the window the stars open up very slightly, as the curtains keep brushing against them when you open and close them each day.
it was great having a large selection of colours for the children to pick from - they all choose very differently and enjoyed that part a lot
I had just one glue stick to share between them and I was worried that would cause arguments, but surprisingly it didn't. They always seemed at slightly different points making their stars - when one needed the glue, the others were busy picking out colours, helping me fold, or hanging their finished star.
This was an activity that I remember from my childhood - every year in the run up to Christmas we would make stars, sometimes at home, sometimes at school, and sometimes at playgroups. Each place would have their slightly different way of folding, or a special type of paper they would use (from coloured, to shiny, to transparent and everything in between) and there would be the smell of Christmas biscuits and twinkly Advent lights everywhere.
Sometimes, I wonder if I romanticise my Christmas memories and in fact it was one big rush for my parents to get everything ready for the big day. But I was speaking to a German friend this week and she had surprisingly similar memories. I don't know if it was Germany, or whether it was because we were children, or whether times were just a bit slower, with less technology, clearer boundaries between home and work, and most things within walking distance.
But I do know, that today, I constantly have to remind myself to SLOW DOWN. To enjoy the little moments (and the big ones) - and to just be present. To try and see the funny side when things go a bit wrong, even when in the moment, it seems difficult to do that. To put that list that always seems to be in my head of things to get done to one side and go with the flow.
I want my children to feel the magic and peace of Christmas just like I did as a child. To remember it as a time of doing special little things together and laughing and having fun. A time of giving and sharing and love. I know that for many children it always seems to be about the presents, and yes, I remember some of the special presents I was given but actually, the memories that really stand out for me today are of the activities we did together as a family. So that is what I will be sharing here over the coming weeks - a few little things that you might want to try with your family at the weekends or afternoons.
If you want to try the Christmas stars, you can download the instruction booklet at the bottom of this page if you like and organise your own paper. Or, if you don't have time to get any paper, you can buy the DIY kit that includes 48 sheets of colourful paper for £2.99 on our Christmas page here and I will send everything to you in the post.
I hope you have lots of fun and enjoy making your very own Christmas star memories together ;-)
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