I’m excited to share with you one ‘No Waste Christmas’ project that works really well for toddlers during the festive season. They’re a great way to: - spend some quality time with your kids - teach them fine motor skills and engage them creatively - make some decoration and gifts with love out of simple, everyday, throw-away items that would otherwise end up in landfill!
Dinosaur Advent Decoration
This dinosaur is a great decoration but I also use it as an advent moneybox. Each day of advent, we add a coin. After Christmas, the coins can then be used by your child to purchase some sustainable gifts, like seeds for a garden you can grow together.
You’ll need:
- an empty, washed drink container
- kids paint and brush
- cardboard, plastic bag and foil for spikes, feet and tail (whatever you have around to upcycle is fine)
- scissors (adult use)
- nail polish (optional)
METHOD:
1. Cut a hole big enough for coins in the side of the container, which will be the back of your dinosaur.
2. On a protected surface, paint the container the colour you want your dinosaur to be, we chose red, as it’s festive! NOTE – paint the container lid separately as you will need to still be able to open the bottle to collect the money after advent.
3. While that’s drying
Cut the cardboard into four sections about 1 1/2 inches high and 3 inches long.
Sticky tape into cylinders for legs. Draw or use nail polish to detail toes.
Cut your spikes. We used cardboard for the shapes. We then glued some sections of green plastic bag over the top for effect. You can make whatever shape/colour/size you like!
For the tail, we glued a washed dip foil lid in the shape of a cone.
4. When everything is dry, stick the tail, legs and spikes to the dinosaur ‘body’ and allow to dry.
5. Add finishing touches. We had some eyes I keep in an upcycled glass jar.
This can also be great present to give to someone who can appreciate the creativity and love your kids have put into their gift. It’s also super easy and you can use whatever scraps you have lying around. At this time of year, chip packets (washed after use) are an excellent source of silver foil, which works perfectly for shiny dinosaurs. You could also use paper ear-marked for recycling and decorate with kids’ handprints to wrap the gift for an extra personal touch!
Other posts you may like in the No Waste Christmas Campaign: Deck the halls with up-cycled beauties! No Waste Christmas: Sustainable Purchases No Waste Christmas: Gifts for kids