In so many homes Christmas decorating is taken entirely away from the children. Some parents may set up a small tree hidden away in the childs room or basement and allow the child to decorate it.

I find this very sad. What kind of memory does this leave the child with-one of feeling that their contribution to the festivities does not matter or that their ornaments are not "good enough" in turn making them feel bad about themselves or maybe one that lets them believe that store bought decorations are better than homemade ones which in turn just drives home the commercialization of Christmas.

In my home we have an Angel on top of the tree that my son made and colored in kindergarten and other decorations he has made and this year we will add more from him and my 2 year old daughter. We do have storebought lights and some ball ornaments but we also plan to string cranberries and popcorn and make more decorations.

Our tree may not look perfect to those who are set on perfection but our tree is perfect in the fact that it is decorated with love as a family. Here are some ideas if you and your children would like to make some decorations (and memories) for your tree.

Salt Dough Ornaments

2 cups All -Purpose Flour
1 Cup Salt
1 Cup cold Water

Mix together slowly until you get the mixture the consistency you want it (like a cookie dough) You may need to add more water/flour as needed. Then roll out thin, like a cookie dough and cut shapes with cookie cutters and paint. Be sure to make a hole for hanging by using a straw before letting them harden. Let them air dry. You may need to turn them over occasionally.

Paper Chain Garland

Simply cut strips of red and green construction paper and fold in a circle and tape or staple and then add another strip through that loop and keep going until you have the length you prefer.

Sandpaper Ornaments

Cut sandpaper into a holiday shape and then let your children rub cinnamon sticks over the sandpaper shape. Punch a hole for adding ribbon to hang on the tree.

Cinnamon Sticks

This is really simple.Just tie ribbon around cinnamon sticks and tie on your tree branches.

Felt Gingerbread People

Another simple one is make a gingerbread man template and make outlines on brown felt and cut them out and let the kids decorate with paints, glitter, markers, buttons, rick rack, etc.

So many more fun tree decorations can be found by doing a search for "kids easy Christmas crafts" on your favorite search engine.

Angela Billings is a stay at home wife and mother who publishes an online newsletter Home and Family Weekly. http://www.homeandfamilyweekly.com.