Christmas Craft Ideas For Kids - Felt Father Christmas Tree Decoration

Join us for a crafty countdown to Christmas!

Each week of Advent we will guide you through Christmas crafts and gifts that will be complete by Christmas Eve, and will live on for years to come.  

We kick off the festive crafting season with an incredibly cute felt Father Christmas tree decoration. We would recommend this crafting activity for children ages 7 upwards because the felting needls used are very sharp; even experienced felters get a few pinpricks.

http://consciouscraft.uk/collections/felt

You will need: felting wool in red, light pink and natural, felting needle, felting pad, curly white crepe wool, gold string and needle.

1 - Using natural felting wool, create a rounded oblong shape. 

 2 - Start to felt your shape gently using your felting needle. Gently jab your felting needle all around your shape with your felting pad underneath.

 3 - Keep gently jabbing your body until it starts to firm up.

 4 - It should feel much firmer.

 5 - Create your Father Christmas face. Imagine where his face would be and place a thin piece of skin/light pink felting wool.

6 - Make a small round firm ball with your light pink felting wool; this will be his nose.

7 - Using your felting needle, start to gently jab/felt on the face and nose. Start shaping Santa's nose by creating a circle with your felting needle. You can lift the nose out of your shape by gently pulling it up and out with your felting needle.

8 - Create his body by using a large strip of red felting wool and wrapping around his body area.

 9 - Make sure it is quite firm. Create a nice rounded bottom shape.

10 - Shape by felting his body, continuously gently jabbing the red felting wool until it starts to get hard. 

11 - Using another large red strip of felting wool, shape around the head like a cone.

12 - Gently jab until it is firmly in place.

13 - Continue jabbing until your Father Christmas is felted and feels hard when you touch it. It can take time and each Father Christmas will be unique.

14 - Create the beard using your curly fully white crepe wool. Attach it with the same jabbing motion but only under his nose.

15 - Almost finished. Sew a gold thread in a loop at the top of the red hat, ready for hanging on your tree.