Making Holiday Placemats

Recommended Age Group: 3 Years +

Materials Required:

• Scissors
• Construction Paper in at least two colors
• Glue
• Ruler
• Glitter pens as desired

Instructions:
The holiday season includes much more than just Christmas. This simple craft can be used for any holiday this winter, and can also be used throughout the year for any festive occasion.

To create holiday placemats, first select your colors. One piece of construction paper will be the mat itself. You can choose another color or even two to weave through the mat. If you are creating a Christmas mat, red and green paper is certainly appropriate. Brown and orange are great for Thanksgiving, and blue and white, or green and gold are suitable for Kwanza or Hanukkah or simply for the overall winter season.

Take one piece of paper and fold it in half widthwise (a short fold.) Use the scissors to cut straight lines one inch apart from the folded edge to one inch from the outside edge. The straight lines should be parallel. A ruler might be useful to guide the cutting so that the lines are straight. Leave one inch at the top and bottom of the page as well to form a one inch border around the paper.

When the lines are cut, open the paper back up. You should have a piece of construction paper with approximately seven cuts in the middle of the page. The border of the paper should be completely intact. Place that piece of construction paper aside.

Pick up the piece of paper in your alternate color. Cut one inch strips from the paper along the shorter edge.

Weave the first strip through the placemat. Be sure it is flush to the edge of the one inch border and going in a straight line. When it is woven, line up the ends with the placemat and glue them down. Then weave the next strip through, but alternate the cuts used so that the colors make a checkerboard pattern. Keep weaving with alternating patterns until the center of the mat is a complete, colorful checkerboard.

Be sure all ends are glued and that the strips are pressed tightly against each other for a more uniform look. Wait for the glue to dry. When it does, you have new holiday placemats.

If you’d like, you can customize the placemats with a glitter pen. Help your child write the name of each family member or guest on their placemat for a very special holiday feast.