Christmas Craft for Kids: Wooden Spoon Reindeer

It's beginning to look a lot like--well, you know the rest! The holidays are in full swing. That means it's time to get crafting. Get your kids away from the television. Make them put away the video games and turn off their Ipods. Gather your family around the table for a special Christmas craft: the wooden spoon reindeer. These easy-to-make reindeer are cute as can be, and they make great, inexpensive gifts for teachers, coaches, or anyone your children might like to give to this holiday. There's no need to make a trip to an expensive craft store with this one. Everything you need you can find at your local superstore. Get ready. Get crafting.

Here's a list of everything that you'll need:

Wooden spoons (one for each reindeer you plan to make). Multi-packs are great, as they often contain various sizes of wooden spoons. This will allow you and your family to make an entire reindeer family.

Black fuzzy balls to use for the reindeer noses. If you want a Rudolph or two in your herd, make sure you spring for fuzzy red balls as well. You can find these little balls in the craft or fabric section of your local store.

Googly eyes. Be sure to pick up a pack of these in your preferred size. Don't forget to check the number in each package and get enough for all the reindeer you plan to make.

Acrylic paint. Pick your favorite hue of pink or red for your reindeer's lips and rosy cheeks. If you want your reindeer to be a shade other than the color of the wooden spoon, pick up a tan or brown bottle of paint as well. It might also be a good idea to pick up some black paint if you want to give your female reindeer eyelashes. Don't forget to grab paintbrushes if you don't have any at home.

Glue. Hot melt glue works best with this project, so grab a few sticks of glue. If you don't have a hot melt glue gun, rubber cement or wood glue might do the job.

Twigs. Your reindeer aren't complete until you give them their signature antlers. Send the kids outside to find a variety of small twigs. You can break them apart to look like antlers.

Instructions for assembly:

Now that you have everything you need, it's time to assemble your holiday reindeer. If you're going to paint the wooden spoons, do this first and allow them to dry on wax paper.

Next, supervise your children as you prepare to glue. You'll want to use the convex side of the wooden spoon for the face. This is the side that curves out. Pencil where you want to glue on the nose and eyes. Then add a dab of glue and place the fuzzy balls and googly eyes in the glue.If you're using hot melt, be extra careful not to touch the glue with your fingers.

Now it's time to paint on a mouth and some rosy cheeks. Paint some pretty eyelashes on your female reindeer.

The last step is to glue on the twig antlers. Select two twigs that look similar for each reindeer. Make sure the glue and paint is dry on your reindeer face, then flip over the wooden spoon. Add two dabs of hot melt to the backside of the spoon and press the antlers into place. Once the glue dries, you'll have one cute Christmas reindeer. Give them as gifts, or display them in your kitchen. Either way, these crafty little holiday deer and sure to spread some holiday cheer.