An easy way to do "houses" without propping up walls is to just frost a pint size cream container. I like to glue them to a piece of cardboard with hot glue ,cut windows and an opened door before we start. If you cant get enough containers to do this ahead ask the parent to bring a CLEAN cream container and glue them on a coardboard square before you start. (always have a few extra cause someone will forget theirs) The marshmallow peep trees are cute in the yards, and I like the little gingerbread cookie men (I think they are mothers brand cookies?) to be put on the path. Fences can be made with pretzel sticks.
Instead of using candy, you can also make pioneer log houses out of the cream containers by using cinnamon sticks or pretzel stix horizontally on the sides, and mini wheats for the roofs. Use kidney beans as "rocks" for the shape of the chimney up the side of the house.
If you have a little tree there, an easy thing is to have the kids trace their hand , cut it out, add glitter around it, put their name in the middle and hang it on the tree or make a garland. We did this every year for the homeschool kids and they liked looking for their hand.
A REALLY cute idea for a craft is to make reindeer antlers. A brown construction paper band, and cream or light brown colored antlers get stapled on the band, and then the band is fit to size and stapled. At the station have some red makeup to put on thier noses , then have all the reindeer line up for a photo. We had them place thier hands up into a "begging' position like paws and it was the CUTEST photos ever. I also took an individual photo of each child like this, in front of the tree, so I could email it to the parent later.
Jingle bells placed on pipe cleaners with big beads can be a fun, easy for both young and old, a quick additional craft -then the kids simply twist them around their shoelaces for lots of jingly fun. or you can make them into bracelets.
Rayleys grocery store use to print the cutest xmas scenes on their grocery sacks. They even had handles. I would cut out the front and back side of these sacks into a large stocking shape (leaving the handles at the top) and then using a hand held hole punch, punching holes every inch all the way around the bottom and sides. Let the kids use red yarn to blanket stitch the two sides together into an adorable take home stocking for their stuff. Staple a name tag to the top left corner.
We decorated a cookie, and we placed it in a celophane party bag, tied the top, and it went into the stocking for take home.
You can make reindeer food, (put out lots of different snacks in bowels) and let them take a small scoop of each mix it together and put it in a celophane baggie to take home.
I printed small sheets of xmas music and put 3 or 4 together with a ribbon- one for each child so we could sing. They took them home after.
A cakewalk could be fun.
I dressed as an elf to add to the mood.
