Guest Post by Leonor Brazao

Art is a creative activity that can really spice up the holidays for you and your kids. Your kids will enjoy discovering how they can make use of basic kitchen items in new and fun ways.  Making art also presents an opportunity to connect to your neighbors, friends or distant relatives. An art project can be a perfect way for your kids to show appreciation for the special people in their lives.

While you prepare for the holidays with shopping, baking, cooking and lots of errands, consider ways to engage your children in their own meaningful holiday projects. The recipe for a wonderful season is to have everyone involved and feeling part of the celebration. This is an ideal time to create special memories that will last throughout your children’s lives.

Create small gifts with your kids that they can share. Look for universal symbols that can relate to any culture, such as hearts, circles, stars or even our traditional turkey. You don’t need special materials. Just around the corner, in your kitchen, you will find some fun tools to create a special art project. Creativity is the secret ingredient that will truly make it unique..

1. Cut out a shape (hearts, turkey, stars, circles, etc.) from poster board or heavy paper.
2. Spread glue on your shape.
3. Cut out small pieces of spaghetti and place them on the shape.
4. Cover the shape with heavy aluminum foil, over the pieces of spaghetti.
5. Gently press the aluminum foil around the spaghetti pieces. Fold the extra foil under the edges and glue it to the back of the shape.
6. Use paint or Sharpies to color the shape between the raised lines made by the spaghetti.
7. Add details to your shape using the aluminum scraps or other materials, if you wish.
8. Make a hole on the top of your shape to create an ornament or glue the shape onto a card to send to your loved ones or to surprise a neighbor or friend.

Art projects are a great way for your kids to express themselves and how much they care!

Leonor Brazao is Abrakadoodle’s Artist in Residence. She uses her artistic talents to promote the Abrakadoodle brand, support franchise owners and inspire students. She holds a bachelor’s degree in visual communications from Universidad Presbiteriana Mackenzie in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Prior to her role at Abrakadoodle, Leonor worked in several advertising agencies managing creative campaigns. She won national recognition for a cultural project sponsored by the Portuguese Embassy in the U.S. Her artwork includes drawing, acrylics, tile murals, paper, collage and mixed media and has been featured in galleries, exhibitions and public displays since 1980.