Kids Christmas Decorations

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As I look through my Instagram feed I see so many homes beautifully decked out for Christmas. Our house has it’s own beauty. We have a theme of kid’s Christmas decorations.

We have a loved in-lived in look at our home. You can easily find activities to do in almost every room. This might be the occupational therapist in me, but I love decor that also serves a functional purpose. Especially if that purpose is play.

Today’s Therapy Thursday post is about how we play with our Christmas decorations. Play is an important occupation of children, it’s how they learn to use their bodies, interact with others and acquire knowledge. My son Big-C needs some help with learning different ways to gain strength, motor skills, and play scenarios because he has Down syndrome and doesn’t necessarily learn these things through play alone. We are intentional with creating an environment that helps to foster his development.

Felt Snowman

My boys have been a fan of this little man for a few years now. He is the simplest of decorations to create. Grab yourself some felt and get cutting. The shapes do not have to be perfect. What real snowman is perfectly proportional? To give his felt background a finished look I just placed some colorful duct tape around the border and stuck it to the wall with poster putty. Big-C needed help last year with getting everything in the right spot, but this year he is pro! We are working on developing his communication skills so cuing for phrases like “I want hat” is our focus this winter. Also he plays with it on his own. Be warned these felt body parts can end up anywhere in your house.

Fleece and Felt Christmas Tree

We got this idea from Pinterest (if you are a regular reader of this blog, that’s no surprise). It is made out of an orange traffic cone covered in a green fleece blanket. The ornaments are just cut out pieces of felt. The boys both like to decorate this tree, and occasionally some ornaments wander over to the snowman and vice versa. The learning we work on here is with learning shapes and colors, using language (sign and spoken) to identify them.

Christmas Book Box

I posted about how to make this project last year. You can check out that tutorial here. D-Man is in kindergarten and is just beginning to read simple books on his own. My boys currently have a love for books and we want to keep it that way. This book box is filled with a variety of Christmas books, which we add to every year. They get unpacked every year when all the other decorations come out. It’s like the boys get a mini-Christmas library.

Christmas Craft Table

Our craft table is in a constant state of flux. Sometimes it’s covered with homework, art supplies, stickers or a Lego creation. Over Christmas I try to clear it of all the extra stuff and grab a few crafts the boys can pick up and engage with on their own. Currently we have a Christmas paper chain craft, coloring books, door hangers with stickers and place mats. This is a place that is meant to get messy and a place to be creative. There is a little semblance of organization due to my 6-pack turned desk organizer, you can find out how to make that here. D-Man and Big-C could use some increase fine motor skills and this little crafting area is perfect for us to help them gain those skills.

Little People Manger Set

If you have small children in your life who celebrate Christmas this is an adorable and interactive playset. It’s music is not annoying in the least and of course it’s great fun to play with animals and little people. This is another toy that only comes out at Christmas time, so it’s like a new toy every year. Occasionally a Storm trooper comes to the birth of Jesus. The story telling and playacting that comes out of this little set is wonderful to listen to.

Random Christmas Toys

My boys accrue a bunch of random Christmas toys and we decided to keep them until they break, which can happen on any given day. One is the ring toss on the hat, we also have singing/dancing figurines, a kaleidoscope and some finger puppets. We also have gotten a few Christmas hats and stuffed animals. All of these random Christmas toys are out throughout the season to be played with, imagined with and sometimes slept with. We have a modest home so don’t have a playroom, so our living space is our playroom. Boy does it get played in. They look like the cutest little elves when they wear their Santa hats to snack time.

Advent Calendars

When D-Man was little his Grandparents gave him this terrific Advent Calendar. It was filled with trinkets and figures. Ever year it has fallen to the hubs and myself to refill it. This year the boys get two calendars, because we just can’t pass up a Star Wars Lego Calendar! It has been filled cars, guys, Lego parts and this year it’s Playmobil. These little pieces, I thought Legos were small. It’s a wonderful way to get kids up and out of bed early on school days to open a door. (Do your kids tend to wake up too early on the weekend and want to oversleep on school days….WHAT IS THAT ABOUT?!) My kids need to get their morning jobs done prior to opening doors, but it’s much easier to get them done when you know there will be a surprise reward!

OUR Christmas Tree

We love our Christmas Tree we bought it a couple of years ago, yes it’s fake we have allergies and asthma in our home so no real tree for us. This one is pre-lit, super bonus. It’s just hook it together and fluff it up. The boys get to decorate the bottom with the non-breakable and very playable ornaments while the hubs and I decorate the top in a more adult like fashion. I love that throughout the season they are moving ornaments around the tree. They have some ornaments that are interactive, some that play songs and some that want to come off and play like a robot and a teenage mutant ninja turtle.

I hope how ever you celebrate the holidays you are able to enjoy them with your family and friends. Please let me know in the comments how you bring play into your home this festive time of year!