Nature Play- DIY Christmas Decorations, Treats and Gifts-Family Activities and Crafts

Creating Simple Christmas Joy

For Your Family

"The real things haven't changed. It is still best to be honest and truthful; to make the most of what we have; to be happy with simple pleasures; and have courage when things go wrong." ~ Laura Ingalls Wilder

Decorate an Outdoor
Christmas Tree

With A Feast For Your Local Critters!

This was a fun project that we used when we were foster parents.
We tried to accommodate all religions during our winter celebrations. And this is one activity that all the children enjoyed, without any awkwardness.

One of my best friends was born in Isreal, I was delighted to be a part of her family holidays as a blended Jewish and Christain family.
(I have including some Hanukkah projects at the end. I often prepared family crafts that supported the Jewish traditions and America's blended family.)

I chose a few trees in our yard that could be watched from a window throughout Christmas Day; and then gathered some materials I had on hand. In hopes we would have set the stage for a very magical Christmas Day as the wildlife creeped into they yard to feast on the meal that the left for them.

jute

pinecones

apples

oranges

birdseed

peanut butter

cranberries

peanuts

ribbon

thread

Needles of several sizes.

Parchment paper or news paper to cover the table

(This project would be great for little hands
with some adult help!)

I dried some apples (a few hours in a 200 degree oven) and used jute to make them into ornaments.

I used some hollowed out clementines to make little birdseed holders.

We strung some peanuts and apple slices.

Tied a few gingham bows.

This birdseed bell was the only thing I purchased for the tree. I just couldn't pass it up when I saw it!

Of course I added a peanut butter bird seed pine cone. :-)

And I strung some cranberries. (I read that birds don't need popcorn - it's empty calories and not good for them.) Warning these get juicy and stain clothing and table cloths. Use Aprons, newspaper or parchment paper

I loaded everything up and headed out to decorate!

I hope to see some birds (and not just squirrels and raccoons!) enjoying their special tree. :-)

Another version of christmas dinner for for the local wildlife with slightly different ingredients and a bit more demanding of a childs fine motor skills.

Outdoor Christmas Tree for the Animals

We loved decorating this outdoor ‘edible’ Christmas tree for our bird and animal friends!

If you haven’t already read it, it is a magical story about a Christmas Tree for the birds and animals. We read it last year so when I set up one of our artificial trees outside, it seemed fitting that we would decorate it with edible munchies for all our wildlife friends! I set up everything at the kitchen table and the kids moved through making ornaments and garland however they liked. I also happened to have one child home awaiting results of a Covid test (negative, hurray!) so she was able to help a bit during the day!

Materials for our Bird Tree

Oranges
Cranberries
Cheerios
Raisins
Bird seed
Gelatin
Floral wire
Twine
Twigs
Yarn

Cranberry and Cheerio Garland

Louisa started right in on this and used a needle/ nylon thread to string a good old fashioned cranberry garland. She added cheerios between the cranberries for a fun pattern. Note: obviously the cheerios won’t hold up great in inclement weather so use them accordingly! Tip: use a longer upholstery needle for faster garland assembly.

Dried Orange Slices

I can’t believe I’d never done these because they’re ALL over the interwebs. They don’t really match my interior decor, but they’re PERFECT for our outdoor bird tree. I sliced the oranges into even widths; I’d say mine were maybe 1/4 inch? They shrivel up when you cook them a bit so you don’t want to go *too* skinny. Obviously make sure you slice them with the ends facing front/ back to get that classic ‘orange’ appearance.

I placed my slices on a parchment paper/ silicon baking mat and cooked them pretty much all day. Someone suggested raising them up a bit on oven proof drying racks to speed up the process. I saw some recipes online to bake them at 250 degrees so that could have sped things up also. Regardless… I don’t know that there’s any way to really screw up this step unless you forget about them and they burn so… check periodically and cook until they seem firm!

Once the slices were dried out and cooled down, I wove a bunch of them onto twine with an embroidery needle to use as a garland. I simply wove through each orange slice on either side of the peel and they look great.

I also strung up a bunch of slices with a ribbon (and cranberry/ cheerio adornment) to use as single ornaments.

Bird Seed Ornaments

If you look up bird seed ornaments on Pinterest there are tons of them in adorable shapes and sizes using cookie cutters. When I looked through our cookie cutter stash, I found four that would have worked which seemed potentially time consuming… I ended up using muffin tins and it was SO simple. I mixed 4 envelopes of gelatin (the entire contents of the box) with 1 cup water and heated until the powder had dissolved. I mixed in 4 cups of bird seed and stirred until it was coated with gelatin.

I sprayed the muffin tins with cooking spray and pressed about 1/4 cup of the bird seed mixture. It’s sticky so you may need to spray the back of the spoon or your fingers before pressing the bird seed to compact it into the muffin tins. I used a skewer to make a small hole in each one before the gelatin cooled down.

Once the bird seed has cooled, the ornaments should pop right out of each muffin tin. Use a butter knife to gently pry them loose if needed. I strung ribbon through each one for hanging.

Star for the Top of the Tree

The only thing our tree was missing was the star on top! Louisa and I looked in the woods for five twigs that were all about the same size and the same length. Ours were about the same width as a pencil and maybe 18-inches long. To turn the twigs into the star, I arranged them like a regular five point star and then alternated each twig so that the star ultimately held together on its own. To secure it, I wove a piece of green yarn around every intersection point and tied it tight.

We just set up the tree so I’m excited to see how the nighttime critters like it. We definitely have birds and deer so I’m hoping the deer don’t pull the tree over and the birds find their way to the branches of goodies! The kids have a great time making ornaments after school and have done a pretty good job keeping the tree stocked. I plan to have the ingredients on hand so, if the animals enjoy it, we can keep it decorated all season!

edible ornament bird and animal christmas tree

I’m sure there are lots of other fun edible ornaments so if you have any family favorites or ideas unique to your family feel free to add them in!‘