Christmas Craft Ideas

Christmas craft ideas can answer the age old question..what’s red and green, covered with stars and glitter? Christmas crafts of course!

There are a few things that seem more decadent at the holidays than enough time to sit and do nothing but craft. Why not indulge? Your sanity will thank you, and so will your kids. Christmas crafts don’t have to be complicated or expensive; all you really need to make it Christmas is the seasonal colors and glitter. Just in case you’d like some help getting the creative ball rolling, we did the grunt work for you. Keep reading and see how easy and fun Christmas crafting can be.

Popcorn balls

Easy, fun and delicious: popcorn balls are simple Christmas craft ideas you can give to neighbors for a treat, or eat them yourself as a reward for having been so good all year long. In case you need a recipe, or would like to try a new one here are few tried and tested popcorn recipes.

Marshmallow Popcorn Balls

1 TBLS vegetable oil
½ cup unpopped popcorn
6 TBLS butter
1 tsp vanilla
5 cups miniature marshmallows

* if you are popping the popcorn in an air popper omit the oil. You could substitute 4 quarts of popped microwave popcorn if you wish.

Step one: pop the pop corn and set aside
Step two: melt butter and marshmallows in microwave (about 2 min) do not over cook.
Step three: add vanilla, stir, and combine with popped corn.
Step four: wait until cool and form into popcorn balls.

Jazz it up a bit: add food coloring or decorate the balls with colorful candy or mini chocolate chips. Like the idea of color, but want to add a bit of flavor too? Omit the vanilla and add a bit of your favorite flavor of jell-o to the mix. This adds a fruity punch as well as holiday color.

Classic Carmel Popcorn balls

2 quarts popped popcorn
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter (and I do mean real butter, it won’t turn out with margarine)
1/2 teaspoon salt
Equal parts water and dark corn syrup (about 1/3 cup of each)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Step one: pop the popcorn and set it aside.
Step two: Combine the next five ingredients (leave vanilla out) in a sauce pan and bring to a boil stirring frequently. Boil, without stirring until candy thermometer reads
270°F. Remove from heat and add vanilla.
Step three: pour over popcorn. Stir to insure an even coat.
Step four: when it is cool enough to touch shape into balls.

A few tips to make these treats easier to create and eat: coat hands with butter or non-stick cooking spray before shaping them into balls. A friend of mine likes to use sandwich baggies over her hands like gloves. This works well too.

To make these treats easier to eat, add a popsicle stick to each popcorn ball before they cool completely. To use as an edible Christmas tree ornament, simply make a loop of ribbon or yarn and embed the ends deep in the popcorn ball. It will hold itself together when it cools. This is one of the tastiest Christmas craft ideas yet!