Kid Baltimore | Family Activities with Children in Baltimore, Maryland

String Ornaments

We are a gluey mess today, making these rather pretty string ornaments. They look wonderful on our tree, but I think a bowl filled with them would also make a lovely centerpiece for the table. First inflate a balloon to the size you want, and spray it with non-stick cooking oil (this part is very important, and prevents the ornament from collapsing as it dries). We thinned our Elmer's glue (two parts glue and one part water), dunked pieces of cotton string in and wrapped them around the balloon. For younger kids, keep the pieces of string short, but when I did one myself I found it was easier to keep it as one long piece, dunking and winding in sections.

Glitter is optional, but not in our house. The more, the better. Leave the ornaments hanging to dry overnight. The next day they should feel hard to the touch. Just pop the balloon and gently pull it out with tweezers.

Paper Christmas Ornaments

[Mom's Notebook]

Cut 6 - 2" circles of red paper (cardstock weight).
Cut 1 - 2" circle of white paper. Punch a hole on one edge for hanging.
Fold all red circles in half and cut a slit in the middle.
Place red circles around the white circle by sliding white circles into slashes.

There are so many great patterned papers to substitute for this project. Play around with anything you can find. The scrap booking section of any craft store is a good place to start, but a trip through the recycling bin would work well too. For younger kids, there are a few ways to make this easier. A circle punch makes cutting the shapes a breeze, but kids might not have enough weight to push it down. We decided to work on the floor and step on the punch. Much more effective, and fun.

 

Need something more challenging? Try this one. 20 circles. Think in groups of five. Thanks, Jess, for reminding me of this one.

Naturally Dyed Easter Eggs

I spent a strangely large amount of my childhood peering into dye pots with skeins of yarn bubbling away inside. That's what happens when you have an art teacher mom. So when Kate Shatzkin at Charm City Moms mentioned naturally dyed Easter eggs, I just had to give it a try. The basics are simple:

beets = purple
tumeric = yellow
red cabbage = blue

There are lots of other things you can try to make natural dyes, but this group provided a good range of colors.

The basic idea is to grate your dye ingredient (if needed). Cover it with water and boil for a few minutes. Add a tablespoon or two of vinegar. Strain the liquid into a glass and wait for it to cool enough for those little fingers to handle. Submerge boiled eggs until you get the desired color. Oh, and if you are like me, you'll try and sneak in a few lessons about color theory while you wait.

The beets are a must and produced a strong color with lots of speckles. The tumeric and red cabbage dyes needed more time for the color to develop fully, but after 15 minutes or so, the results were good. But most importantly, the kids had fun and they are now all a lovely shade of purple.

For the complete recipe see recipetips.com.

Sequins and Glue

Sequins and glue can tame any three year old. I'm convinced. When my oldest daughter turned 3, I invested in buckets (yes, buckets) of shiny little gems and glitter glue. The more sparkle the better.

But today's project had a purpose, Christmas presents! Of course, I'm not telling what goes in the bags. That would ruin all the fun. I spray painted Christmas trees on small gift bags and the kids decorated them. It still holds true, the more sparkle the better.

Holiday Train Garden - Shops at Kenilworth

Every year (well, for the last 19 anyway) the Shops at Kenilworth have built a huge holiday train garden. Model trains, airplanes, carousels, tractors, you-name-it buzz around and even over the water fountain. The 3-4 year old crowd is pretty heavy around here. They can stare to their hearts' content behind the plexiglass walls and even press buttons that control some of the displays.

Then, as if that weren't enough, we see the big guy... yes, Santa himself. And I'm pretty sure he was the real deal.

410-321-1909

The Shops at Kenilworth
800 Kenilworth Drive
Towson, MD 21204

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Miracle on 34th Street

Long, long, ago... my husband and I considered buying a rowhome at the corner of 34th and Keswick. We were hoping to turn it into our studio. But really, we just didn't deserve to own property on this block. I mean, the people who live on this block have taken the words "holiday spirit" to a whole new level of crazy. And I absolutely love them for it.

Close to Christmas, the traffic actually gets a little heavy. But it's worth finding a place to park to get a closer look. My question. Where do these guys store their Christmas decorations the rest of the year?

The Christmas Street
700 Block of West 34th Street - Hampden
Baltimore, MD 21211

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