Felt Santa Hats

In preparation for Christmas, I needed a pattern for Santa hats for my, I mean, Santa's little helpers. I couldn't find any patterns readily, so I made my own. You can too. These are my easy step-by-step instructions for sewing a felt Santa hat.

What you need:

* Red felt

* Whit felt

* Scissors

* Red thread

* Whit thread

* Needle or sewing machine

* Tape measure

* Pins

* Bell or white pompom

How you do it:

Measure two isoceles triangles out of the red felt. Each triangle must have a base of 12" and a height of 15". Cut them out and stitch the edges together, leaving the base open. Turn the triangles inside out so that the seams are on the inside.

Measure a long rectangle out of the white felt, 24" by 3". Fold in half and stitch the short edges together. Now fold the rectangle in half lengthways so that the stitched seam is on the inside.

Slip the base of the red triangle into the white rectangle base so that the open edges are together. Stitch the white felt onto the red felt.

Turn the white felt down and iron flat. Stitch a white pompom or silver bell on the end of the hat to finish it off.

Merry Christmas!

Popcorn Threading

Ok, so this is an easy one. What's really great about it is that the kids get to polish off a healthy treat once it's done too.

All you need to do is pop up a whopping big bowl of popcorn (which the kids can do if you have an air popper, but you'll need to supervise if it's on the stove). HINT: Make more than you think you'll need - there's a lot of snacking that goes on while the creative juices are flowing!

Thread a nice long cotton onto a sewing needle - it mustn't be too sharp (for pokey little finger pricks) but it mustn't be too thick either (thick needles split the popcorn pieces into bits).

Set the kids to threading the popcorn. When they're through, tie the edges together and you'll have stylish popcorn jewelry - fit for any vacation!

*Including the actual popcorn making, this activity will probably take about an hour*

And what's popcorn without a movie, anyway? When it's all done, set them up in front of a good ol' Disney classic, and let them eat their jewelry!