Winter Warmer Crafts

With the nights drawing in and the chill of winter all around, we felt it was time to bring a splash of colour, a heap of fun and a mountain of joy into your home with our Winter Warmer activities.

These are a perfect way to prepare for our Elves and Rein-dog Weekend on 12 - 13 December or the Reindeer Hunt throughout December!

You will find simple instructions for each craft activity so that you can help small hands to make each craft.  Please note that some of the activities will need adult supervision. This might be for cutting with scissors, gluing small objects or working with small, fiddly items.

Now, to get you sorted with some Winter Warmer crafts...

Reindeer Antlers – to prance around the woods!

You will need:

  • Dark brown card – an old cardboard box works
  • Scissors
  • Glue or sticky glue dot or sticky tape
  • Red pompom or red card
  • Pencil
  1. Cut a strip of card about 60 cm long, and 10cm or more wide.
  2. Wrap the strip of brown card around your head like a crown.  Stick it with tape to hold it in place.
  3. On another piece of flat card, carefully draw around the outside of your  hands and down the wrists a little way. Spread your fingers out wide to make great antlers!
  4. Cut out the hand antlers and save any scrap card.
  5. Stick the antlers carefully to the inside of the crown ring making sure enough antler pokes out the top. They should be about 10-15cm apart.
  6. Cut out some ears from the left-over brown card, and stick them beside the antlers on the headband, poking up.
  7. Cut out a l2 cm long piece of brown card, about 3cm wide.  This will be a nose.
  8. Stick the card for the nose in between the antlers, dangling downwards. This will hang in front of your nose.
  9. Stick your red pompom or a circle of red card to the bottom end the nose, just like Rudolph!

You are done! Why not wear you antlers to the Elves and Reindog Weekend, 12 and 13 December? We hope to see dogs and children (old and young) dressed as reindeer or elves, with a photo competition for selfies on site. 

Christmas Elf Crown – to bring some magic and mischief

You will need:

  • Card or strong paper, 60cm long and 10 cm wide (red, or decorate your own)
  • A4 card – green or red
  • Brown card scraps for ears
  • Scissors
  • Glue, sticky tape or sticky glue dots
  • White pompom, cotton wool or white paper
  1. Cut out a pointy elf-hat shape from the green card, as large as possible.
  2. Stick the base of the green hat in the centre of the long red strip of card on the reverse.  The long strip becomes your headband.
  3. Wrap the red headband around your head, measure the size you want and stick.
  4. Stick the pompom on the pointy end of the green hat.
  5. Use some of the brown card trimmings, cut 2 pointy ears out. They can be big or small!
  6. Stick the ears on the red headband, one on each side.

Fantastic! You are ready to be one of Father Christmas’ little helpers! Wear them when you come to Wheal Martyn for the Reindeer Hunt. You can explore the historic grounds and woodland trails in search of the ten missing reindeer that are hiding along the beautiful woodland trails.  Collect the clues to solve the challenge and help get the reindeer flying the sleigh!

Recycled Christmas Craft Ideas

  • Make a lantern from an empty jar – stick autumn leaves to the outside of a jar using PVA glue.  Place an LED tealight inside.  The light makes the leaves glow!
  • Make a paper chain garland – cut long strips of paper.  You could use old magazines or old wrapping paper. Glue the ends of one strip to make a ring.  Now thread the next strip through it and glue the ends, making a chain.  Keep adding more strips.

Share some of your own craft ideas using #wmwinterwarmer