making crafts with kids

Now that the holiday season is more than well underway, parents are being barraged with want lists from their children, buried in catalogs and flyers, and hounded by television and radio ads for the next big thing. My favorite way to combat all the commercial craziness is to set the kids to crafting. No matter what holidays you celebrate this season, or none at all, it is a great time to channel that energy and excitement into making gifts or doing good things for others. Here are some books to help channel the creative energy into gifts, decorations, or charitable donations from children and adults of all ages.

1. Crafts to Make in the Winter by Kathy Ross

2. Jewish Holiday Crafts for Little Hands by Ruth Esrig Brinn with Judyth Groner and Madeline Wikler

3. Crafts for Kwanzaa by Kathy Ross

4. The Greatest Cookies Ever: Dozens of Delicious, Chewy, Chunky, Fun & Foolproof Recipes by Rose Dunnington

5. Christmas Crafts From around the World by Judy Ann Sadler

6. Earth-Friendly Holidays: How to Make Fabulous Gifts and Decorations from Reusable Objects by George Pfiffner

7. The Jumbo Book of Needlecrafts by Judy Ann Sadler

8. Hanukkah Crafts by Karen E. Bledsoe

9. The Grolier Kidscrafts Craft Book by Cheryl Owen, Anna Murray

10. Swedish Christmas Crafts by Helene S. Lundberg

Looking for more inspiration and ideas to keep everyone busy? Here are some more books to create a spark of creativity, but if you are looking for a specific craft or type of activity do not be afraid to come on in and ask. We can find a book to help you out!

Find more inspiration here; Christmas Presents Kids Can Make by Kathy Ross, The Merry Christmas Activity Book by Jane Bull, Kids Knit!: Simple Steps to Nifty Projects by Sarah Bradberry, Fairy World Crafts by Kathy Ross, Kids Crochet: Projects for Kids of All Ages by Kelli Ronci, Holiday Crafts Kids Can Make edited by Gerald M. Knox, The Kids’ Winter Fun Book: Homespun Adventures for Family Fun by Claire Gillman & Sam Martin, Christmas Crafts: Things to Make the 24 Days Before Christmas by Carolyn Meyer, The Children’s Book of Kwanzaa: a Guide to Celebrating the Holiday by Dolores Johnson, Kids Knittingby Melanie Falick, EcoArt! : Earth-Friendly Art & Craft Experiences for 3- to 9-year-olds by Laurie Carlson, Festival Decorationsby Anne Civardi & Penny King, and Step-by-Step Crafts for Winter by Kathy Ross.

Are you one of the people that just loves Halloween? The decorations, movies, and dressing up can be great fun for adults and children of all ages. There are just so many activities and crafts that are great fun this time of year. If you are planning a Halloween party, looking for some good costume ideas, or just want to go crazy with the seasonal crafting, then here are a selection for books to get you started. I have broken the list down into two sections, one for the adults and one to give ideas for using with children.

Books for Adults:

1. Halloween: a Grown-up’s Guide to Creative Costumes, Devilish Decor & Fabulous Festivities by Joanne O’Sullivan. Finally, here’s a Halloween book that’s definitely for adults. It’s brimming with practical and inventive ideas for parties, decorations, and costumes, and with an amazingly atmospheric design that’s a luscious treat for grown-up eyes.

2. Halloween by Matthew Mead. A stylish celebration of Halloween for the entire family presents an array of holiday foods, spooky decorations, and entertaining suggestions that includes easy-to-follow instructions for pumpkin treat holders, personalized candy boxes, black cat cupcakes, black duct tape stencils, and other creative projects.

3. Better Homes and Gardens Halloween Pumpkins & Parties: 101 Spooktacular Ideas edited by Carol Field Dahlstrom. Half of this book features Halloween celebrations and entertaining, while the rest highlights creativity with pumpkins.All-new ideas for both crafters and noncrafters.One-of-a-kind Halloween how-to with detailed instructions, patterns, and recipes.Third in a series of highly successful Halloween books from Better Homes and Gardens.

4. Glitterville’s Handmade Halloween: a Glittered Guide for Whimsical Crafting! by Stephen Brown. A great book for intermediate to experienced crafters, Glitterville’s Handmade Halloween will delight readers as they make their way through the playfully photographed pages of the book, which include full, never-before-published instructions for making some of Glitterville’s most sought-after items, including Halloween candy garland and the studio collection of folk figures.

5. The Big Book of Halloween: Creative & Creepy Projects for Revellers of all Ages by Laura Dover Doran. This complete source book is the perfect treat—with lots of tricks, too! Adults and kids will enjoy the mixture of fun, food, and fright. There are 50 great projects and loads of imaginative ideas—everything from decorations to costumes, party ideas to pumpkin-carving patterns. A wealth of Halloween legend and lore help illuminate the holiday’s rich history.

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Book with Ideas to Share with Children:

1. 175 Easy-to-do Halloween Crafts: Creative Uses for Recyclables edited by Sharon Dunn. Easy-to-follow directions and full-color photographs show young craft makers how to create frightfully funny decorations, pumpkins, gifts, masks, costumes, and so much more. All of the crafts are made of recyclable materials and everyday items found around the house.

2. Halloween Crafts by Fay Robinson. Provides information about the origins and customs of Halloween, ideas for celebrationg this holiday, and instructions for making a bat sock puppet, a construction paper haunted house, and a treat bag that looks like a coffin.

3. Celebrate Halloween by Deborah Heiligman. Trick or treat? Celebrate Halloween is a real treat. Vivid images and Deborah Heiligman’s lively, inviting text illuminate the spookiest night of the year.

4. Paper Crafts for Halloween by Randel McGee. Provides instructions for making paper craft items for Halloween along with a brief introduction to the holiday and its history.

5. Fun-to-Make Crafts for Halloween edited by Tom Daning. Each of these 150 craft projects for Halloween can be made from easy-to-find materials and the easy-to-follow directions include full-color photographs to help make the assembly simple.

6. Halloween Fun: 101 Ideas to Get in the Spirit! edited by Carol Field Dahlstrom. A spooky guide to Halloween fun contains an abundance of ideas, recipes, projects, and instructions for creating frightening foods, devilish decorations, scary costumes, and much more.

As always, there are plenty more books about Halloween crafts, costumes, and fun here at the library. This includes scary stories, history, and books for all interests and age groups. Come check out the selection, unless you are scared? Oh, and have a fun and safe Halloween!