CIJ 2023-Through the Decades-The 90's-Activities

[sweetpumkinpye]

Christmas in the 90’s

Crafts and Activities.​

In the lead up to Christmas it was often difficult to keep the kids active every day. Here the school year finished around the 14th of December so the kids were home and already pleading boredom. Arts and crafts were big in the 90’s. . This was before kids knew NetFlix and other streaming services and they had to rely on their own initiative.
My kids enjoyed activity or colouring in books and we would hang their finished pictures up for everyone to see. Some of their craft projects were given to Grandparents and family members as a gift and were always welcomed.

After a day of gluing and cutting a VHS movie might also fill in some time. Many of the popular series of the time would bring out a Christmas version.









For the crafty Mum’s there were many great Christmas crafts available. Kits from the local craft store began appearing around August of September which gave us plenty of time to craft some new Christmas décor.

 

[Lori K]

I remember Shrinky Dinks, another craft kit where you put beads into a metal frame to make faux stained glass, and another one where you arranged some sort of plastic beads into a wreath shape with a bow and melted it in the oven to form a decoration that kind of looked like colored corn flakes. Does anyone remember the name of those kits? Whatever they were, GMa and DD made those for hours on end during her pre-Christmas break.

 

[Holiday_Mom]

As a preschool teacher, I can totally relate to those art activities. I did some of them in the classroom with the children. I loved teaching at Christmas. The four weeks leading to Christmas was focused on seeing, hearing, tasting and touching. We would do a walking field trip through town once the decorations were up for seeing and hearing. Tasting and touching was making rolled sugar cookies and cinnamon-scented playdough (which when rolled out with a cookie cutter became a Christmas ornament).

I began my children's Christmas book collection then. We loved I Spy: A Christmas Book of Riddles and The Sweet Smell of Christmas Storybook. I had a piano in my classroom so I'd play Christmas carols and the kids would sing along. I also had Wee Sing for Christmas which came as a book and CD. We'd listen to that the closer we got to Christmas.

you arranged some sort of plastic beads into a wreath shape with a bow and melted it in the oven to form a decoration that kind of looked like colored corn flakes. Does anyone remember the name of those kits?

Would that be perler bead kits?

 

[Miss JoDee]

Tasting and touching was making rolled sugar cookies and cinnamon-scented playdough (which when rolled out with a cookie cutter became a Christmas ornament).

We did "gingebread" playdough when I was a preschool teacher. I believe I still have the recipe in my recipe box.

 

[sweetpumkinpye]

another craft kit where you put beads into a metal frame to make faux stained glass, and another one where you arranged some sort of plastic beads into a wreath shape with a bow and melted it in the oven to form a decoration that kind of looked like colored corn flakes. Does anyone remember?

I forgot about these. DD did them all the time and stuck them to her bedroom window.

 

[jampss]

Oh, I did all of these with DD31! She LOVED crafts and so did I!

DD watched Wee Sing.

And Barney! The old one! The Backyard Gang!! DD would watch these over and over and those songs got stuck in our heads!

The first Christmas show was good and the second one was ok, too.

Waiting for Santa

Waiting for Santa (also known as Barney's Happy Christmas for Australian releases) is a direct-to-video released on April 30, 1990. It was the fourth video in the Barney & The Backyard Gang series. It marked being the only Christmas special in the Barney & The Backyard Gang series and the first...

barney.fandom.com

Barney's Night Before Christmas

Barney's Night Before Christmas is a 1999 direct-to-video Barney Home Video that was released on September 28, 1999. Directed by Ben Vaughn and written by Stephen White, this marked the second Christmas special in the Barney franchise, with the first being the Barney & The Backyard Gang video...

barney.fandom.com

 

[Whusky]

The paper plate Christmas trees: I remember making them, and I have one my daughter made a few years back. I stick it on the cupboard each year

 

[GrammaDeb]

Oh, Barney - I loved Barney! I bought several of the VHS tapes and watched them over and over with the grandkids and a little girl I babysat. My kids refused to let Barney be played in their house - haha. And of course we made the clothespin reindeer, lots of them. I still have several of them put away, except for their eyes. How did all the eyes disappear? We didn't make any of the melted or strung bead things but I bought ceramics and wooden ornaments for everyone to paint.

 

[PamelaG]

Sophia's preschool had an Elves Workshop one Saturday morning where the children made ornaments and a gift for Mom and Dad. She had a blast and I still have the handprint placemats and pinecone tree.

 

[sweetpumkinpye]

Oh, Barney - I loved Barney! I bought several of the VHS tapes and watched them over and over

DS loved Thomas the tank engine. I am amazed that there was any vision left on the tape we played them so often. DD loved Barney. I was so thrilled. I don't think I could have coped with any more Thomas!!!!